Week 3… Color Your Plate
It is week 3 and this PT is still talking about nutrition and food! Why? Because I believe it is that important to our overall health and wellness! In the upcoming weeks I plan to speak to lifestyle habits such as exercise & movement, sleep, hydration and other habits that are critical to our journey towards optimal health and wellness.
But before moving on, I want to delve a bit more into nutrition. Many people I work with come to me with the primary goal of wanting to lose weight. While my program is focused on health gain by adopting a variety of healthy lifestyle habits including nutrition awareness; weight loss can often be the result of positive lifestyle change. Keep in mind, weight is only one component of a person’s overall health picture, and being thin does not necessarily equate to good health. A key way to assess your overall health, is to know your health numbers. Those numbers include: blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar level, and total cholesterol along with your waistline measurement and body mass index (BMI). These measurements can be easily taken at your doctor’s office and should be a part of your annual physical exam. It is really important to not only know these numbers and what their healthy ranges are, but also what you can do to positively impact these numbers. Click here to learn more about Knowing Your Numbers.
So how can we positively impact our health through what we eat? In my 8 Weeks 8 Habits to Health, these first 3 weeks are focused on food and nutrition as I believe that these health habits are foundational to all those that follow. In week 1, I talked about Real Food & the 5 Ingredient Rule. In week 2, the focus was watching Added Sugars and staying within the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended guidelines. Adopting these two lifestyle habits is a great start to your health journey. This week I want to build on nutrition with tips on how your plate should look as well as positive guidelines to follow when developing healthy eating habits.
Let’s start with what the experts say about nutrition. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating an overall healthy dietary pattern that includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy sources of protein (mostly plants such as legumes and nuts, fish and seafood, low fat or non-fat dairy; and, if you are a meat eater, lean and unprocessed meat). The AHA also recommends avoiding processed foods.
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) dietary position statement reads: For the treatment, reversal and prevention of lifestyle-related chronic disease, the ACLM recommends an eating plan based predominately on a variety of minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Both emphasize a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains with lean unprocessed sources of protein. This leads me to this weeks habit… Color your plate and know what should go on it!
Let’s start with eating fruits and vegetables and the why behind a colorful plate! We all know we are supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables but do we actually know the why? Fruits and vegetables are filled with micronutrients comprised of phytonutrients (which give them color), and vitamins and minerals that fuel the entire body and help boost our overall health.
Each color of the rainbow has associated phytonutrients that provide health benefits. Here are a few examples of the phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals that are found in your fruits and vegetables and the health benefits associated.
Red Foods: tomatoes, watermelon, pink guava, grapefruit, strawberries, raspberries
phytonutrient= lycopene (from Vitamin A family)
vitamins and minerals= folate, potassium, vitamins A, C, K1
Health Benefits=anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, may improve heart health, may improve skin protection
Dark Red Foods: beets, prickly pears
phytonutrient=betalains
vitamins and minerals=fiber, folate, magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin B6
Health Benefits=anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, may lower risk go high blood pressure, may benefit heart health, may lower risk of certain cancers
Orange & Yellow Foods: carrots, sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, bananas, pineapple, tangerines, pumpkin, winter squash, corn
phytonutrient= carotenoids (beta carotene, alpha carotene, beta cryptoxanthin from Vitamin A family)
vitamins and minerals= fiber, folate, potassium, vitamin A & C
Health Benefits=anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, may benefit heart health, eye health and lower cancer risk
Green Foods: spinach, kale, broccoli, avocados, asparagus, green cabbage, brussels sprouts, green herbs
phytonutrient= chlorophyll, vitamin K, carotenoids, omega 3 fatty acids, and in cruciferous greens such as broccoli= insoles, isothiocyanate, glucosinolates
vitamins and minerals=fiber, folate, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, K1
Health benefits= anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, improves bone health. strong teeth, eye health, digestive health
Purple Foods- blueberries, blackberries, concord grapes, red/purple cabbage, eggplant, plums, elderberries
phytonutrient=anthocyanin
vitamins and minerals=fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamin B6, C, K1
Health benefits= anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, may benefit heart health, brain function, lower risk for type 2 DM, and certain cancers
White/Brown Foods- cauliflower, garlic, leeks, onions, mushrooms, white potatoes, parsnips
anthoxanthins, flavonoids, allicin
vitamins and minerals= fiber folate magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin B6, K1
Health benefits= anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, may benefit heart health, may lower risk of colon and other cancers
This is a lot of information to take in! The take away here is fruits and vegetables are definitely good for you! They are filled with healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals. When you hear food can be a source of medicine for the body this rings true when it comes to fruits and vegetables!
Now that we have established how important fruits and vegetables are to our overall health, here are some general guidelines you can follow when planning your meals that incorporate the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables and whole grains), lean sources of protein, and healthy fats.
Carbohydrates (Choose Complex “Smart” Carbohydrates)
Whole Fruits & Veggies: RDA =5 servings a day.
Grains: RDA= 6 servings with 3 being whole grains.
Complex carbs are filled with nutrients and fiber that promote weight loss, healthy digestion, heart health, brain health, and help maintain blood sugar.
Protein
Protein: RDA= .8 g/kg of weight for healthy adults & 1.5g/kg for older adults.
Example: 150 lb person (x.45) = 68kg (x.8)= 54 grams of protein a day.
Protein helps balance blood sugar, provides necessary building blocks for brain health, and builds lean muscle mass.
Choose lean sources of protein that are hormone free, antibiotic free, free-range and grass fed.
Good sources of protein= Chicken, turkey, low/non-fat yogurt, fish, nuts
Healthy Fats
Good fats are essential to our overall health. Omega-3 essential fatty acid is a major building block of the brain crucial to function. Choose omega-3s or unsaturated fats vs. saturated/trans fats.
Best food sources of Omega-3s= Salmon & other wild caught fatty fish, avocados, walnuts, almonds
General Healthy Eating Tips
Water is the best drink to hydrate the body with 9-13 glasses/day is recommended.
Keep a food journal to promote accountability and self-reflection
Read ingredient labels and avoid:
· High sodium content (Daily levels per AHA 1500-2300 mg)
· Added sugars (Daily levels per AHA 24-36 grams/adults)
· Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, sucralose
Preservatives, nitrates, processed foods, high fructose corn syrup
Sources:
American College of Lifestyle Medicine