How important it is to be mindful about what and how you eat during meals

What we eat defines (in a large part) our lifestyle and determines our health.

The older we are, the more belly fat we have and the more health issues we have (high blood pressure, prediabetes, diabetes, abnormal cholesterol), the more careful we have to be with our diet. For example, a 25-year-old athlete with almost zero belly fat and blood pressure of 110/75 can be much more liberal with his/her diet (may consume many more carbs and more salt) than a 35-year old who is overweight and has high blood pressure or a 45-year old with prediabetes.

While we need to get nourishment (protein, fiber, vitamins, and healthful fats) and pleasure out of our meals, we must watch our carbs, total calories, and salt. For food that comes in a package, we need to look at the food label and make sure that we can afford the calories and that salt is less than 400 mg per package and added sugars less than 10 grams. 

High sugar or refined grains (white bread, white pasta, white rice) will make us hungry every two hours (due to insulin spikes and mild hypoglycemia two hours after the meal) and thus is much more “costly” in calories than the initial calorie count might make us think.

Fast foods like hamburgers and pizza are very calorie dense and have too many unhealthy fats and should be eaten in very small amounts and no more than once or twice a week (unless you are a youngster or an athlete). 

For most of us, sugary beverages, cookies, desserts and ice cream should be left out of our regular meals and eaten very rarely. 

Fresh vegetables should make up the largest part of our meal. So get your fiber, protein, and vitamins but be stingy with your sugars, salt, and bad fats.

To your health
Dr. Anthony