Healthy-living tips for the busy woman

Ultima modifica 6 Novembre 2015

The basics on fat

Fat is an essential part of our diet. Found in meats, dairy products, oils, some fish, experts recommend that 30% of daily calories should be in the form of fat. Fat is part of all body cell membranes. It provides energy, keeps the joints pliable. thins the blood and reduces the risk of clotting. Vitamins A and D must be dissolved in fat in order to enter the body.

Fat deposits in the body when the intake exceeds the body’s capacity to deal with it. Food also produces a waxy substance called cholesterol, which, in excess, damages the body just as fat does.

Fats are divided into saturated (animal fats) and unsaturated (vegetable fats). They trigger the liver to make cholesterol and so provide energy. Cholesterol moves through the body in two forms.

• Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) – the bad one (causes plaques in the arteries) Saturated (animal) fats convert into LDL.
• High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) – the good one (reverses some of the damage done by LDL). Unsaturated (vegetable) fats  trigger less LDL and more HDL

The liver also manufactures its own cholesterol so the amount in the blood doesn’t always correspond to a person’s dietary habits. People’s systems vacuum up excess cholesterol at different rates.

Furthermore, some unsaturated fats which have been industrially processed to make solid margarine, peanut butter, pastries etc., are transformed into trans-fatty acids which can send LDL soaring and become even more dangerous than saturated fats if a person has a high cholesterol problem.

Aesthetically ugly fat on the body is what generally worries people. However, excess saturated fat intake triggers the liver to produce more LDL with often fatal results.

Studies have shown that regular exercise raises HDL levels and boosts an enzyme that vacuums LDL and other bad fatty acids out of the blood.

If you have a blood test result to hand, check the levels of triglycerides (dietary fats which the liver has not completely broken down). If these are too high you must revise your eating and exercise habits.

The basics on carbohydrates

A substance found in grain based foods (potatoes, pasta, rice, wholemeal bread, etc.) which provides the nutrients needed by the body .

Too much carbohydrates in one’s food intake leads to overweight as the body stores the high sugar content of these foods. Put simply, a cup of tea or coffee can dilute one or even two spoons of sugar but not ten spoons. When we over-indulge in fats and sugars the body rebels (heartburn, indigestion, cramp) and then it converts all this excess calorie intake into fat which it cannot eliminate with the means it has at its disposal (bowels, sweat ducts, bladder). With incorrect dietary habits the fat and sugar continue to arrive at a rate faster than the body can cope with. So it stores the fat on thighs, stomach, arms, bust. The aim is to balance intake and use, to avoid digestive stress, excess toxins and unnecessary weight.

Tips summary

• FIVE fruit-vegetable combination.
• 1 tablespoonful virgin olive oil dressing per day.
• Reduce animal fats (Cheese, butter, red meats)
• Fish and white meat at least once a week. (not fried)
• 1 – 2 litres of water daily.
• 10 minute daily exercise routine, Use your home. Stairs, Chairs Floor exercises. Rolling pin. Brush handle. For the over 40’s. Limit activities that put strain on knee, ankle and elbow joints.
• Walking at a brick pace for 30 minutes every day is the best present you can give yourself.

Your body knows what it needs to survive. It can also heal itself of a lot of what is inflicted on it. It will warn against danger and rebel against abuse for as long as it can. Then it will succumb. Listen to your body.

Frances Fahy