What Constitutes a Healthy Diet?

When it comes to healthy dietary recommendations, there’s a lot of conflicting information from the world of medical science.  To complicate matters, there are about a zillion books, documentaries, and news reports that attempt to provide us with nutritional “advice.”

Despite a plethora of differing opinions from the “experts,” there is an issue on which they agree: Our country has an alarming obesity problem.  About 1 in every 4 health care dollars are spent combating the resulting side effects of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Physical activity is a big part of the solution.  Regular exercise is good medicine, both as prevention and treatment.

Diet and nutrition are the complement to exercise.  Here’s some sound nutritional advice for the masses (and about as close to a consensus as the experts get):

• Eating fat doesn’t make you fat.  The importance of reducing fat intake is a myth, and was never supported by any good evidence.  All it did was make people rush to replace fat with carbs.
• Some fats are better than others.  Unsaturated fats — like those found in olive oil, nuts, and legumes — are good choices.  Too much saturated fat (red meat, cheese, butter) can be bad.  Trans fats, sometimes listed on food labels as “partially hydrogenated oils,” should be avoided.
• Choose your calories wisely.  Some forms of calories make you store fat more readily than others, and refined carbohydrates — white rice, pasta, crackers, cookies, candy — are at the top of that list.
• A protein-rich diet may or may not be good for you.  If you’re physically active and eat lean protein sources (chicken and fish), it’s a good thing.  If you’re sedentary, it’s just a lot of extra calories from another source.
• Sugar is bad, especially when you drink it.  Sugary beverages — even one a day — raise your risk of diabetes and obesity.  Sugar has adverse metabolic effects and virtually zero nutritional benefit.
• Your body needs variety to function properly.  Every day, you should eat an assortment of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole-grains, and healthy fats.  Whole foods are better than supplements.  Aim for balance.

Your thoughts?

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What Constitutes a Healthy Diet?

When it comes to healthy dietary recommendations, there’s a lot of conflicting information from the world of medical science.  To complicate matters, there are about a zillion books, documentaries, and news reports that attempt to provide us with nutritional “advice.”

Despite a plethora of differing opinions from the “experts,” there is an issue on which they agree: Our country has an alarming obesity problem.  About 1 in every 4 health care dollars are spent combating the resulting side effects of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Physical activity is a big part of the solution.  Regular exercise is good medicine, both as prevention and treatment.

Diet and nutrition are the complement to exercise.  Here’s some sound nutritional advice for the masses (and about as close to a consensus as the experts get):

• Eating fat doesn’t make you fat.  The importance of reducing fat intake is a myth, and was never supported by any good evidence.  All it did was make people rush to replace fat with carbs.
• Some fats are better than others.  Unsaturated fats — like those found in olive oil, nuts, and legumes — are good choices.  Too much saturated fat (red meat, cheese, butter) can be bad.  Trans fats, sometimes listed on food labels as “partially hydrogenated oils,” should be avoided.
• Choose your calories wisely.  Some forms of calories make you store fat more readily than others, and refined carbohydrates — white rice, pasta, crackers, cookies, candy — are at the top of that list.
• A protein-rich diet may or may not be good for you.  If you’re physically active and eat lean protein sources (chicken and fish), it’s a good thing.  If you’re sedentary, it’s just a lot of extra calories from another source.
• Sugar is bad, especially when you drink it.  Sugary beverages — even one a day — raise your risk of diabetes and obesity.  Sugar has adverse metabolic effects and virtually zero nutritional benefit.
• Your body needs variety to function properly.  Every day, you should eat an assortment of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole-grains, and healthy fats.  Whole foods are better than supplements.  Aim for balance.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

What You Do Makes a Difference

What you do makes a difference.  The question is, will the difference be positive or negative?

The answer is, it depends on what you do.

Every choice you make will have rewards or consequences.  Everything you do, today, will impact tomorrow.  The impact may be on you, a family member, a friend, a teammate, or someone else… but there will be an impact.

You can choose to start the day with a positive attitude, or be miserable.

You can choose to greet others with a kind word, or disregard them.

You can choose to do your homework and study for your upcoming test, or waste time playing video games.

You can choose to practice your ball-handling and shooting, or skip it.

You can choose to take batting and fielding practice, or put it off until another day.

You can choose to workout, or take the day off.

You can choose a healthy, sensible diet, or overeat lots of junk.

You can appreciate and develop what you do have, or you can focus on what you don’t have.

Your choice.  What’ll it be?

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Eat Some Brain Food

Studies show that diet affects many different aspects of cognition, including memory and thinking ability.  According to researchers, a healthy diet may reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we age.

Brain food is real: Study shows how diet affects memory as we age

Eating well is good for your mental as well as your physical health. The brain requires nutrients just like your heart, lungs, or muscles do. Here is a resource that provides a list of foods that may be particularly important to keep our grey matter happy:

10 foods to boost your brainpower

Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill (yet) to bring us back to the height of our cognitive powers, but there are some foods that have been shown to improve brain function, protect against age-associated cognitive decline, and encourage focus and clarity.  Here’s another informative resource from Huffington Post:

12 Superfoods To Boost Your Brainpower

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

What Constitutes a Healthy Diet?

When it comes to healthy dietary recommendations, there’s a lot of conflicting information from the world of medical science.  To complicate matters, there are about a zillion books, documentaries, and news reports that attempt to provide us with nutritional “advice.”

Despite a plethora of differing opinions from the “experts,” there is an issue on which they agree: Our country has an alarming obesity problem.  About 1 in every 4 health care dollars are spent combating the resulting side effects of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Physical activity is a big part of the solution.  Regular exercise is good medicine, both as prevention and treatment.

Diet and nutrition are the complement to exercise.  Here’s some sound nutritional advice for the masses (and about as close to a consensus as the experts get):

• Eating fat doesn’t make you fat.  The importance of reducing fat intake is a myth, and was never supported by any good evidence.  All it did was make people rush to replace fat with carbs.
• Some fats are better than others.  Unsaturated fats — like those found in olive oil, nuts, and legumes — are good choices.  Too much saturated fat (red meat, cheese, butter) can be bad.  Trans fats, sometimes listed on food labels as “partially hydrogenated oils,” should be avoided.
• Choose your calories wisely.  Some forms of calories make you store fat more readily than others, and refined carbohydrates — white rice, pasta, crackers, cookies, candy — are at the top of that list.
• A protein-rich diet may or may not be good for you.  If you’re physically active and eat lean protein sources (chicken and fish), it’s a good thing.  If you’re sedentary, it’s just a lot of extra calories from another source.
• Sugar is bad, especially when you drink it.  Sugary beverages — even one a day — raise your risk of diabetes and obesity.  Sugar has adverse metabolic effects and virtually zero nutritional benefit.
• Your body needs variety to function properly.  Every day, you should eat an assortment of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole-grains, and healthy fats.  Whole foods are better than supplements.  Aim for balance.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

What You Do Makes a Difference

What you do makes a difference.  The question is, will the difference be positive or negative?

The answer is, it depends on what you do.

Every choice you make will have rewards or consequences.  Everything you do, today, will impact tomorrow.  The impact may be on you, a family member, a friend, a teammate, or someone else… but there will be an impact.

You can choose to start the day with a positive attitude, or be miserable.

You can choose to greet others with a kind word, or disregard them.

You can choose to do your homework and study for your upcoming test, or waste time playing video games.

You can choose to practice your ball-handling and shooting, or skip it.

You can choose to take batting and fielding practice, or put it off until another day.

You can choose to workout, or take the day off.

You can choose a healthy, sensible diet, or overeat lots of junk.

You can appreciate and develop what you do have, or you can focus on what you don’t have.

Your choice.  What’ll it be?

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?