Nutrition/Healthy Eating
Proper nutrition and healthy eating will have a positive impact on your life. For assistance getting started on this path and maintaining proper nutrition, the Digestive Health & Nutrition Center in Lawrenceville can assist you. Led by gastroenterologist Angela Merlo, M.D., our team serves patients in and around Trenton and Princeton.
Most people use the term ‘diet’ when talking about the regimen a person uses to lose weight. In reality, a diet is just the food that we eat over the course of a 24-hour day. A person’s diet is satisfactory when it promotes good health by encouraging a nutritional lifestyle. Proper diets must include items from different food groups since just one food group cannot provide us with the nutrition we need.
A Balanced Diet
Having a balanced diet is essential for good health. A balanced diet includes all of the different food groups in the proper proportion. Nutritionists divide food into five groups. There are fruits and vegetables, protein, whole grains, dairy, and fat and sugar.
- Whole Grains
Breads, cereals, and pasta that are made with 100 percent whole grain qualify to be in the whole grains food group. This would include flour made from 100 percent whole wheat, corn, oatmeal, brown rice, spelt, and wild rice.
- Fruits and Vegetables
Consuming fruits and vegetables is essential for proper body function. This is because fruits and vegetables have a plentiful supply of necessary vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of the tissues in our body. In addition to helping our body repair itself, foods that are rich in protein provide necessary minerals such as iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B.
- Dairy
Consuming dairy products is one of the best ways for the body to receive calcium. Calcium is needed for healthy bone and tooth growth.
- Fats and Sugars
Examples of fats and sugars include things like cookies, biscuits, butter, chocolate, cake, non-diet sodas, and other products like these that have a high fat or high sugar content.
Fats can be divided into two categories. There are saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Things like margarine, cream, and foods that are fried have a high quantity of saturated fats. Fish and vegetable oils have high unsaturated fat content. Saturated fat should be consumed in small amounts. This is because when it is consumed in excess, there is an increased risk of developing heart disease.
Healthy Eating Plan
A healthy eating plan will provide your body with all the nutrients it needs throughout the day while at the same time keeping your calorie intake low enough to prevent weight gain. A healthy eating plan will lower a person’s risk for heart disease as well as other health issues.
A healthy eating plan will do the following things:
- Stress the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, and whole grains
- Include lean meats like fish or poultry, as well as protein from beans, nuts, and eggs
- Control portion sizes
- Minimize the intake of sodium, additional sugar, and trans fats
Calories
If an individual wants to lose weight, he or she must minimize the amount of calories that they take in from food and beverages and increase the amount of energy they put out by increasing physical activity.
A person who has the goal of losing between 1 to 1 1/2 pounds every week should reduce his or her daily food intake by between 500 and 700 calories. As a general rule of thumb:
- Eating between 1,200 and 1,500 calories will help most women lose weight in a safe way
- Eating between 1,500 and 1,800 calories each day will help most men, larger women, or women who exercise regularly to lose weight safely
Diets of less than 800 calories a day should be avoided unless you are under a physician’s supervision.
If you live in Trenton or Princeton and need assistance developing and sticking to a healthy eating plan, contact the Digestive Health & Nutrition Center in Lawrenceville to schedule a visit today.
