Abstract: Modernization is a two-edged sword; though there is growing health awareness but the quality of food has deteriorated. People today choose popping pills than eating fresh fruits. In this article author explains the Basic and Specific guidelines for maintaining a healthy food habit.

It is now almost impossible to avoid advice on diets, natural food special supplements and the like if one is trying to pursue a healthier life style. There seems to be as many guides and self help books extolling one approach as there are others warning you of its dangers. Not withstanding the enormous amount of conflicting literature on the subject , there is a consensus view which has emerged and which, if followed with the addition of some of your own personal touches will ensure you have very few dietary problems.

Basic guidelines to a healthy diet:

1. Limit sugar intake ( this means reading labels carefully ) although canned foods, bottled sauces, dressings and cereals may some times be described as "natural" they often contain high quantities of sugar

2. Avoid highly processed foods with preservatives and coloring added

3. Eat natural whole grain breads, cereals pasta and rice rather than highly processed varieties

4. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables rather than those which are frozen or canned

5. Eat high quality protein sources (low fat dairy products whole grains beans fish eggs) and avoid high fat meat, high fat cheese, red meat, and processed meat

6. Find suitable beverages to replace coffee tea and fizzy canned drinks try a variety of juices and drink plenty of spring water

7. Reduce your salt intake by avoiding added salt and salty snack foods

8. Keep tobacco and alcohol consumption to a minimum and avoid unnecessary medication

9. Keep fast food and canteen eating to a minimum

10. Reduce your consumption of fried foods both at home and in restaurants, cook vegetables in a steamer rather than a sauce pan

11. Try to eat your largest meal in the earlier part of the day to ensure the body is able to rest more at night

12. Give yourself time to eat slowly peacefully and with concentration that way you will be aware when you have eaten enough and will be less likely to over eat. Digestion is aided by a peace full mind and body -the last point is often overlooked, no matter how healthy or natural your diet is if you eat it in a rushed and stressed state then the body's digestive processes will work against all the trouble you have taken to select and cook the food, we can now expand on some of these guidelines and add a few specific hints.

SPECIFIC HINTS :

Regarding Carbohydrates -these are the major sources of "quick energy" for the body and are converted in the body to glucose which is our basic fuel and which is stored in the liver and muscles. Over the last fifty years we have reduced the proportion of complex carbohydrates in our diet from 70 to 50%while our intake of simple sugars (cakes sweets fizzy drinks) has increased. This increase in intake of simple sugars has resulted in an increase in obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) and on a daily basis may cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar levels giving rise to mood swings and a tendency to feel excitable and nervous, then feel down and depressed.

Reducing the refined carbohydrates in diet involves:

1. Cutting down on pasties, sweets, cakes, biscuits

2. Changing from white bread to whole wheat bread

3. Reducing added sugar to drinks and cereals

4. Avoiding processed and tinned vegetables and fruits

5. Reducing the consumption of soft drinks

6. Experimenting with other forms of sweeteners -i.e. honey fruit, parsnips and molasses.

Fats and cholesterol : Fats are the major source of calories in our diet and like cholesterol is an essential ingredient for many of our tissues and cells. Cholesterol is made by the body from the fats we eat. It is required to make our hormones, the bile salts if the level of cholesterol is increased, however then it is deposited along the walls of the arteries (a little like the furring produced inside a kettle) this "furring" may cause the blockage of blood flow which causes heart attacks. Whereas it is true that animal fat predispose to the formation of atherosclerosis, it is the total content of fat in diet that matters.

One of the ways to reduce the effect of fat in our diet is by increasing the lecithin content in diet; lecithin is one of a special category of fats called phospholipids and is found in peas, beans, onions and garlic. It is interesting to note that many traditional high fat diets found in the Mediterranean are all combined with raw onions and garlic. The diet are thus well balanced and do not produce the fatty deposits that might lead to heart attacks, despite the high incidence of fat in the food consumed. Manufactured vegetable oils sold as a "healthy alternative" have to pass through a complex chemical process known as hydrogenation which makes them stable at room temperatures. It is therefore advisable to choose those natural oils that are pure extracts of vegetables or grain e.g. olive oil, corn oil, sunflower oil. Heating oils above 190C /375F potentiates their ability to cause atherosclerosis which may explain the importance of reducing fried foods to a minimum

Reducing fat content in Diet involves:

1. Reduction in the consumption of fried foods

2. changing from red meats to chicken fish or beans as a source of protein

3 Increasing the intake of beans and sprouts as well as onions and garlic

4. Reducing bread-spreads of whatever variety

5. Changing from fatty cheese to cottage cheese

6. Changing from full cream milk to skimmed milk

7. Keeping to a maximum of 3 to 4 eggs a week

Proteins: Most people think of meat as a first class protein and believe other sources of protein are somehow less nutritious. Another popular misconception is thinking of a meatless diet as a vegetarian diet. Proteins are the building blocks and skeleton of the body. A high protein diet is required at the time of growth (childhood pregnancy) but we generally eat more protein than we need. Some wheat contains up to 14%protein and the average is 7%. Beans are a particularly good source of protein but have become unfashionable in the west; we can de-gas beans by allowing them to soak well and changing the water at least once. Do not cook the beans in the same water you have soaked them in as the water will have absorbed the gasses from them.

Tips on protein consumption:

1. Reduce or eliminate red meat consumption

2. Eat fish, chicken or cheese of the appropriate variety

3. Introduce a bean dish once a week

Fiber, vegetables and fruit: The reduction in the fiber content of our diet is thought to be one of the most important changes in the last 50 years leading to the development of many diseases e.g. appendicitis, gall stones, constipation, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, large bowel cancer. Fiber derived from vegetables and fruit is not absorbed by the body but produces bulk and aids in the excretion of faeces reducing the time of waste retention in the bowel. So it is better to increase the vegetable and fruit content which will ensure an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins, Minerals and Food additives: There is no sadder sight these days than to see people popping vitamin & mineral pills in the misguided assumption that they are maintaining a healthy diet. Charts and tables of what each vitamin or mineral can do for you are displayed in almost every health book and pharmacy. But the fact people don't understand is that additional supplementation is not necessary, if you ensure you have a good basic diet with fresh fruit and vegetables, and adding vitamins and minerals in special circumstances only.

The various food additives found in our foods include preservatives, food coloring, oxidizers, softeners, stabilizers and anti-oxidants and they have been shown to have a cumulative toxic effect on the body. Since 1986 all foods have had to have information about all additives included on their packaging. It is quite a chore however to keep checking them, it is easier to buy fresh food and avoid tinned, processed or packaged articles.