An adequate diet avoids the risk of suffering from chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, or arterial hypertension.
The beginning of a new year is the ideal opportunity to set goals and objectives that generate comprehensive well-being, within them, an adequate diet is essential to improve the physical, mental, and emotional state of people. “Including a nutritional plan in the daily diet will make it possible to establish attainable goals when eating, without diets that are impossible to comply with and with the incorporation of the necessary nutrients according to age or physical activity carried out. In addition, this practice helps to generate healthy habits that are maintained over time,” explains Adriana Brito, nutritionist at Vita, a brand of Pasteurizadora Quito.
The specialist adds that an adequate diet avoids the risk of suffering from chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, or arterial hypertension, and in the case of suffering from them, it allows to control their progress. It also adds that optimal nutritional planning contributes to maintaining an adequate weight, improves intestinal functions, maintains glucose levels within established parameters, among other benefits that help improve the quality of life and general health of people.
It is important to point out that the nutritional plan is personal and depends on physical conditions, age group, gender, health status, etc. In addition, if you have a metabolic disease, it is essential to do it with the guidance of a specialist doctor. Taking these specific considerations into account, Vita’s nutritionist provides below some general recommendations that will allow you to carry out a proper diet during the new year.
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The daily menu should include all food groups to balance nutrients. It is important to give priority to those of high biological value such as dairy products and proteins since they provide building elements and are key to the restitution of tissues; followed by vegetables, fruits, slow-absorbing carbohydrates that do not undergo any processing such as tubers (potatoes and cassava), cereals (rice and wheat) and vegetable fats (olives, avocados, nuts), the same ones that provide energy for our activities.
The specialist recommends combining them so that a complete and varied plan can be developed. This is very important since there is no single food that provides all the nutrients and in the amounts that the body needs.
All foods play an important role and that is why a perfect balance must be achieved in the daily consumption of each one, respecting the recommended percentage of the different macronutrients to maintain the recommended portions, without exceeding. The menu should include animal proteins that should be consumed at least 8 ounces a day divided between dairy and meat, vegetables in portions of 1 to 2 cups a day, fruits between 2 to 3 daily units, and cereals in average consumption of 2 to 3 cups daily. Below is the detail of its nutritional contribution:
○ High-quality protein: It is an essential nutrient since it fulfills several functions in the body. Protein is responsible for forming tissues, transporting vitamins. It is an essential macronutrient that is acquired through foods such as dairy, eggs, or animal protein: meat, fish, shellfish. A glass of milk (250 ml), for example, provides around 8 grams of high biological value protein.
○ Fruits and vegetables: Important source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibers, and water, they also provide energy in the form of carbohydrates. The recommendation is to consume 2 or 3 fruits a day. It is recommended to consume between meals, as a dessert. Like vegetables, they provide an extra vitamin, fiber, and minerals to the diet, consumed as salads. 1 cup provides 4 grams of protein.
○ Grains and cereals: They provide carbohydrates that favor energy and fiber. You can choose brown rice, quinoa, or oatmeal. The latter has many nutritional, anti-inflammatory, and digestive properties. The nutritionist points out that its daily consumption allows adequate intestinal motility and contributes to maintaining the correct function of the intestinal microbiota. It fulfills functions such as delaying gastric emptying, achieving an optimal satiety effect, which also allows weight control.
○ Vegetable fats: An important source of energy, they are found in foods such as olives, virgin olive oil, avocados, and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, etc.
● Include dairy products in the daily diet. Dairy products are also basic in the nutritional plan since they provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, fat, and proteins of high biological value. It is recommended to consume between 2 to 3 glasses of milk a day.
Another option that must be present in the diet is yogurt since it provides all the properties of milk such as calcium, phosphorus, Vitamin B, D, and probiotics that make it complete and functional to maintain and improve intestinal functions.
● Make healthy preparations: Food should be cooked in the oven, on the grill, or steamed to eliminate excess fat, especially meat. This also helps lock in the flavors for an enjoyable yet nutritious dish.
● Eat food slowly: Chewing slowly provides the right feeling of fullness, allowing you to eat smaller portions, which translates into fewer calories. This practice will also help better digestion and that nutrients are optimally assimilated by the intestine.
● Maintain adequate hydration: Drinking enough fluids throughout the day is key, always between meals and to accompany them. You can choose water, fruit nectars, oatmeal, milk, or yogurt.
● Perform physical activity: It is important to perform at least 30 minutes of physical exercise a day, to effectively accompany the nutritional plan.
● Measure progress: This practice will be a motivation to continue nutritional planning throughout the year and not abandon it halfway. Write down daily the healthy foods that are being incorporated into the daily diet, and check the physical changes that you are having such as greater energy, better digestion, feeling lighter, better skills, or reduction in measurements.
● Be disciplined: Discipline is essential to maintain an adequate nutritional plan. To avoid clutter, you can make a weekly menu plan, with days and times of food, containing all the food groups and the portions mentioned. Thus, it will be easier to develop good eating habits. Remember that if a metabolic disease occurs, it is essential to carry it out with the guidance of a specialist doctor.
Nutritional plan proposal for 5 days:
DAY 1
○ Breakfast: Still water with (6 spinach leaves, 1 celery stalk, ½ pineapple slice, water, lemon, and ginger), cooked greens, hard-boiled egg, aromatic or coffee with skim milk without sugar.
○ Mid-morning: 1 apple with peanut butter, water.
○ Lunch: Quinoa, salad of lettuce, tomato, and colored peppers, baked tilapia with orange and rosemary, water.
○ Mid-afternoon: Red fruit oatmeal, 3 almonds, and water.
○ Dinner: Skim milk, baked potato tortilla with avocado, beans, tomato, lettuce, and shredded chicken.
DAY 2
○ Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with tomato and mushrooms, semi-skimmed milkshake with strawberries, cooked cassava.
○ Mid-morning: 200 ml strawberry yogurt and 3 nuts.
○ Lunch: Brown rice, lentils, carrot, pickle, and heart of palm salad, tuna in water.
○ Mid-afternoon: 1 tangerine and a portion of peanuts.
○ Dinner: Zucchini stuffed with chicken, corn, and natural yogurt, lentil stew, aromatic of your choice.
DAY 3
○ Breakfast: Peach nectar, oatmeal cooked with skim milk, cinnamon, sliced almonds, hard-boiled egg.
○ Mid-morning: Peach yogurt and water.
○ Lunch: Pork chop, Creole potatoes with sambo seed sauce with saltwater and lemon, radish and spinach salad, olive oil, water.
○ Mid-afternoon: 6 pistachios with 1 square of semisweet chocolate, aromatic water.
○ Dinner: Chocho, tomato, corn and tuna salad, aromatic orange, and ginger.
DAY 4
○ Breakfast: still water with (1/3 pickle, green apple, lemon, ginger), cooked sweet potato, avocado, and poached egg on top, aromatic or coffee with whole milk.
○ Mid-morning: Natural yogurt with a chopped kiwi.
○ Lunch: Whole wheat noodles with lean ground beef, lettuce, tomato and onion salad, water.
○ Mid-afternoon: Skewers with pieces of baked beef, cherry tomato, olives, and basil.
○ Dinner: Broccoli with milk cream with lemon, rice cakes with chickpea hummus, shredded and aromatic meat.
DAY 5
○ Breakfast: Scrambled egg burrito with tomato and spinach, Moccachino (chocolate-flavored milk, coffee, and ice).
○ Mid-morning: Naranjilla and passion fruit oatmeal, lupins with cherry tomato, and lemon.
○ Lunch: Yellow sweet potato chips, baked chicken, cauliflower carrot and yellow zucchini salad, water.
○ Mid-afternoon: Oatmeal with milk and cinnamon, banana.
○ Dinner: Tomatoes stuffed with quinoa, beans, and peppers au gratin with grated almonds, lemonade.
