Adjusting To Diet Change

Proper nutrition involves getting adequate volume of each nutrient on a daily basis, hence knowing how much is adequate, and how to achieve a wide spectrum of all nutrients is vital. Because of differences of environment, customs, and circumstances, one will not fit all, but knowing how to customize daily diet to fulfill nutritional needs will help to keep us healthier and stronger for longer, thus increasing active years with the ability to earn, hence increasing wealth. On a micro nutritional basis, volume matters. You need to get the right volume of each nutrient in your diet. Shortfall will inhibit repairs, thus resulting in ailments. Therefore on a macro basis, volume has to be important. Shortfall in the amount of each kind of foods we eat will result in shortfall of nutrients, thus shortfall in body repairs, and later deteriorating health. Therefore the first thing we need to focus on when considering our diet is full meals. Eat to the full capacity of your stomach at each meal. Eat at least three times per day.

What to Eat

No one food has adequate of all the nutrients your body requires. Some foods are even without some of the body’s needs. It follows then having a wide variety of foods is important. First to consider are the macro nutrients – carbohydrates (sugars, fibers and starch), fats (plants and animal), amino acid (plant and animal proteins), and water. We need to know, in general where to source all these macro nutrients.

Carbohydrate – sugar:

We are all familiar with where to get abundance of sugars. There is our common table sugar, and fruits. Each of these produces different kinds of sugars and are equally important in our diet. It is from glucose that the brain gets its energy. Our table sugar is 50% glucose. Use it moderately and you’ll benefit from it. Brown sugar is said to be the better one, retaining trace amounts of other nutrients. In my case, it’s the better tasting sugar. Fruit sugar, fructose also plays its part. That we get from fruits. The key is to ingest natural sugar. In my opinion juices boiled to sugar (as in the case of cane sugar) is natural enough. Over processed sugars might be a problem any way and should be limited in use.

Fibers:

We get fibers from both fruits and vegetables, but more from vegetables. Raw (uncooked) vegetables are important part of the diet. Even then cooked vegetables do play their part in the diet. Therefore it is important to include both cooked and uncooked vegetables in your meals. Fiber, with the help of friendly bacteria is important for the production of certain vitamins, and also for efficient bowel movement.

Starch:

Starch is also important: Starch helps to provide energy. This nutrient is more abundant in root vegetables, but also in other vegetables in smaller quantity. Grains such as rice and peas are abundant in starch. Of course our beloved flour is mainly starch. I prefer to limit my starch intake to mainly root vegetables and whole unprocessed grains. I’m not saying do not have polished grains. If you like them, have a little for the starch.

Amino Acids (Protein)

The best source of all strands amino acids in adequate amount is animal. Therefore it is important to include meats, milk, and eggs in your diet. Plants do supply a limited amount of amino acid, in some cases too little to maintain adequate protein health. However, plant protein does have their place in our diet. Hence including grains, nuts, and seeds in our diet is also important. 

Fats

Fats are unavoidable in our diet. All protein sourced foods do have fats. Fats are important for the production of protein, and provide, energy among other benefits. Natural fats in a balanced diet do not have adverse effect on our bodies. We need however to keep away from processed fats. Fats sourced from meats, nuts and drupes are good. When choosing oils for cooking for example, ask the questions, what percentage of the source food is fat? Is it really possible to get this volume of fat from this kind of food? We all know that coconut produces oil when boiled, but what about some of the other oil sources. Can you conclude the same? Meat fats are natural, but even then the better ones are that of animals that eat natural foods such as grass, or food products. For example, cows fed on grass, pigs fed with garden products, sheep fed on grass, goats fed on grass, chicken fed with corn and/or other grains, and so on.

Water:

Water is very important in the diet. Water provides an environment that enhances efficient absorption of nutrients, keeps the cells plump and moist and flushes the system. Therefore it is very important to consume water everyday – no lest then 8 glasses.

So there you have it; in general every day you need to strive to include sugar, raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, root vegetables (whole food), grains, seeds, nuts, meats, milk, eggs, fruits, and water in your diet. In terms of the oil to cook with; I use coconut oil.

Some of you may look at this and see it as much to keep up with. Besides many of you do not like vegetables. So how do you address the need for a balanced diet when in fact you do not like vegetables, but you like rice, pasta, and fries? What do you do?

The taste does adapt to different flavors. Train your taste to adapt to new flavors one at a time, or even two at a time. This is what you do. Create your new cuisine. Mix what you like with a small amount of what you do not like. Do it regularly for a period of time, then gradually increase the amount of the disliked food as you gradually decrease the liked food. After a long while you will find yourself eating the once disliked foods by themselves. Adding tasty dressing also helps to make disliked foods even more palatable.

Suggestions:

You may mix chopped vegetables (tossed) more of what you like less of what you do not like. Add a vegetable dressing that you like. 

Include a small amount of raw chopped vegetables in your favorite rice, or pasta.

Make juices – carrot, and beet goes well with milk. Green leafy vegetables goes well with citrus juices (especially orange, or a mixture of orange and lime or lemon) and ginger; a little sugar to taste and a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor (not to taste).

Points to Note

Before looking on proportion, please note this. Do not make drastic change in your diet at any time. The shift of your diet must always be gradual. If you like pasta and you are accustomed to having that daily; continue to have it everyday. If you suddenly stop eating pasta, after a few days of your new diet you will start craving pasta and will have no desire for the new diet ever again. You need to train your body to make the change. Drastic shift will not do the job. Gradual shift will do it smoothly without you even realizing its happening. So how a pasta lover does ends up with a balanced diet?

You are accustomed to half plate pasta with pre-cooked refrigerated vegetables and the other half chicken, followed by a full glass of soda. Now you need to make a change. Here is an example.

1. Combine a small amount of shredded raw carrot, chopped lettuce, or any other leafy vegetable (cabbage, kale, parsley, celery, etc) of your choice and mix in with your pasta. You may add some chopped nuts for additional nutrition.

2. Add a small portion of steamed cabbage, pak choi, amaranth (callaoo), or any other single leafy vegetables of your choice.

3. Add a slice of yam, sweet potato, plantain (or any other whole solid foods of your choice) to your plate. That means the amount of pasta will reduce a little, and so will the chicken.

4. Blend a small amount of two or three other leafy vegetables along with citrus of your choice, including the other ingredients as described above, and try that for a few days.

You may vary the vegetables each day then we will look at proportion of each food group in another post.

How about the soda? You may experiment with a small amount of soda in a green vegetable juice as flavor, or drink between meals until you find yourself drinking less. However, make sure you are filled at each meal. This will help to discourage snacking or the desire to snack. Your new vegetable diet may cause you to be hungry more frequently. That is okay. You are because your body has found what it wants and is utilizing it. It will not cause you to increase in fat accumulation since you will in fact be reducing the amount of fat producing foods, and adding non-fat producing foods. When your body gets sufficient of  the nutrient(s) it craves, the hunger will go away. Therefore, when you are hungry, eat another meal of similar combination of vegetables and the foods you are accustomed to, or snack on nuts, or fruits. Work on improving on a daily basis. Make small daily adjustments. Rice lovers can try this suggestion also. As you gradually move away from your old diet you will find that your contribution to wealth also includes savings on fuel cost. In addition, the quality of your life will improve. Foods such as pumpkin, potatoes, plantain, yams, and the like, cook in shorter time, especially if they are cut in small pieces. Rice for example takes 20 to 30 minutes to cook. Whole foods as mentioned above cook within 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size cut. 

To reduce the duration of hunger cycles take a complete food supplement such as Walgreens Multivitamin Adults 50+ (available at Amazon). Younger adults can also take this supplement.

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