What Is Five-a-Day?

If you are a healthy eating enthusiast you have probably come across the recommendation to eat five vegetable and fruit portions a day.  However, for many of us what constitutes a portion is rather confusing.

First off, fruits and vegetables MUST be part of the diet of anyone wishing to live a long healthy life. Statistics show that people who eat more vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet involving exercise are likely to have a reduced risk of catching diseases like diabetes and cancer.

Vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins and other nutrients that our bodies need to prevent illnesses. Many of the lifestyle diseases we worry a lot about today including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer can be prevented by adopting healthy diets that incorporate five portions of vegetables and fruits.

 To top it all, eating more fruit and vegetables can also make weight management easier.

 So, what makes up five-a-day?

Not many of us eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.  One reason for this is we don’t know what makes up a portion. 

Here is what makes up a portion:

-1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables

-One medium piece of fruit eg apple or orange

-1 cup vegetable juice,

- 1 cup of raw leafy greens

-½ cup cooked dry peas, beans, lentils

--½ cup of 100% juice

¼ cup dried fruits or vegetables

Remember that that five-a-day is the recommended minimum; eat as much fruit and vegetables as possible!

Df

The Devil Is In The Portion Size

Diets that restrict people from eating certain types of foods are known to lead to quick weight loss, and then quick regain. So, No you don’t have to ban Bread because some guy said bread makes people fat. You don’t have to ban Chocolate, chips or that delicious fried chicken.

If you are looking to lose weight, or maintain a healthy weight, start with your portions. Do you eat half a kilogramme of roasted beef for lunch? Start with cutting that down to a quarter.  You will be amazed by the results of such simple tactics, which I have to add, are much more sustainable that banning meat!

The foods we like the most, salty, sugary, and fatty happen to unfortunately be the most harmful to us. But we like them.  Instead of banning them, which can lead to bingeing later, it is best to eat them in smaller portions.

 Go for a small slice of cake, 2 spoons of ice cream, one small piece of fried chicken, a handful of peanuts, a small glass of soda etc. Remember to accompany this with healthier foods like vegetables, fruits and unprocessed grains.

To top it all, get active; walk 30 minutes a day, take the stairs and you will start to see some difference.

Remember, Food is not the devil, the devil is in the portion sizes!!

Df

Tackling Obesity in Africa

Ring the alarm: Obesity is coming to Africa!

 For decades this continent has grappled with hunger and starvation which has claimed the lives of millions of people. You only have to google ‘Ethiopia hunger’ and you will be bombarded with shocking images from the 1980’s famine which inspired the song “We are the world”.

Today Africa has to fight off another monster; obesity. It is already a big problem in developed economies like the US and Europe with statistics showing nearly two thirds of their population is either overweight or obese.

Scientists now say that the number of obese people in the developing world -Africa included-has quadrupled to ONE BILLION.

Research shows that in South Africa, Africa’s second largest economy, about 61% of adults are obese. This presents new challenges for governments to deal with considering that obesity creates room for many diseases ranging from diabetes to heart ailments.

It is obvious that ‘blaming the victim’ won’t solve the problem. It did not work in the campaign to reduce smoking and it hasn’t worked in the anti-obesity campaign in the US and Europe.  Africa needs to learn from the world and start putting in place measures that ensure we have an environment that enables people to live healthy lifestyles. And we need to deal with this before it gets any worse.

This blog will not ‘attack’ or insult those who are overweight, instead we will cheer them on to adopt healthy lifestyles. At the end of the day what is most important is not fitting into some bikini, but being healthy at whatever weight. 

So No, I won’t recommend some stupid cabbage diet or one of those maple syrup diets celebrities gush about.

I hope to inspire my readers to do little things, like eating more vegetables and fruits, which will make them healthier.

 Now let’s get this healthy journey started!