adopt afood reeducation menuIt is a gradual and conscious change in eating habits that aims to establish a balanced and healthy relationship with food.
It is an individualized process that involves understanding food, listening to one's own body and choosing nutritious and suitable foods for each person, according to their nutritional needs and lifestyle.
This approach values the pleasure of eating, respect for personal preferences and the adoption of conscious choices regarding food, without unnecessary restrictions or extreme diets.
Through a food reeducation menu, it is possible to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way, improve health and prevent chronic diseases related to food.
Instead of following restrictive and temporary diets that promise quick results, a food reeducation menu is a lifestyle change that aims at the long term, so that healthy food choices become a natural and pleasurable habit, without guilt or deprivation.
Click to see the Index
The Importance of Nutritional Reeducation
Make anutritional education, or healthy eating, is important for many reasons, including fueling the body, acquiring needed nutrients, reducing disease risk, increasing longevity, and promoting physical and mental well-being.
First, food is what fuels a person and delivers the calories and nutrients the body needs to function. If the diet is deficient in calories or nutrients, then health can suffer. In addition, diet quality affects risk for disease, longevity, and mental health.
While diets high in ultra-processed foods are associated with higher mortality and an increased risk of conditions like cancer and heart disease, diets composed primarily of nutrient-dense, whole foods are associated with greater longevity and protection against disease.
While certain people need or choose to avoid particular foods or go on diets for health reasons, most don't have to follow any specific diet to get well.
Fact is that thenutritional educationis welcome for everyone, focusing on lifestyle and healthy eating to sometimes achieve weight loss and finally general well-being.
Fundamentals of Healthy Eating
When talking about healthy eating, the first thought may be about calories. While calories are important, primary attention should be on nutrients.
That's because nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, are what the body needs to thrive. Nutrient density refers to the amount of nutrients in a food in relation to the calories it provides.
All foods contain calories, but not all foods are nutrient dense. For example, a chocolate bar or macaroni and cheese may be high in calories but lacking in vitamins, minerals,protein, efiber.
Similarly, foods sold as “diet/light/zero” may have little or no calories but also lack nutrients.
For example, egg whites are much lower in calories and fat than whole eggs. However, an egg white offers 1% or less of the daily value for iron, phosphorus, zinc, choline, and vitamins A and E.B12, while a whole egg has 5-21% Daily Value for these nutrients. It's because of the nutritious, fat-rich yolk that whole eggs have more calories.
Also, while some nutrient-dense foods, such as various fruits and vegetables, are low in calories, others, such as nuts, whole-grain yogurt, egg yolks, avocados, and fatty fish, are high in calories. And everything is fine. Just because a food is high in calories doesn't mean it's bad for consumption. Just because a food is low in calories doesn't make it a healthy choice.
If food choices are based solely on calories, healthy eating is not being considered.
As a general rule, try to eat mostly foods that are rich in nutrients like protein, fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. These foods include vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, fatty fish, and eggs.
Check out:Is it worth counting calories?
Diet Diversity
Another component of healthy eating is dietary diversity, that is, eating a variety of foods.
Eating a diet that is rich in different types of food supports gut bacteria, promotes healthy body weight, and protects against chronic disease.
Also, eating a variety of foods can be difficult if you are very selective. If this is the case, try introducing new foods one at a time.
If you don't consume a lot of vegetables, start by adding a favorite vegetable to one or two meals a day and go from there.
Although you can "turn your nose" to try new foods,researchesobserved that the more a person is exposed to a certain food, the greater the chances of them getting used to it.
Macronutrient Relationships
Macronutrients, the main nutrients obtained from food, are: carbohydrates, fat and protein.
Meals and snacks should be balanced between these 3. In particular, adding protein and fat to fiber-rich carbohydrate sources leads to dishes that are more filling and taste better.
For example, if you are snacking on afruit, try adding a spoonful of peanut butter or a little cheese. This can help you feel fuller than just eating the fruit. But it's okay if the diet isn't balanced all the time.
Counting macros and following a macronutrient plan is not necessary for most people. Exceptathletes, people seeking a specific body composition, and those who need to gain muscle, weight or fat for medical reasons.
Highly Processed Foods
One of the best ways to improve your diet is to cut out ultra-processed foods. You don't have to completely avoid processed foods. In contrast, highly processed products like soda, candy, sugary cereal, for example, have almost no whole ingredients at all.
Researcheshave observed diets high in ultra-processed foods at a higher risk of depression, heart disease, obesity and many other complications.
On the other hand, diets low in these foods and high in nutrient-dense whole foods have the opposite effect, protecting against disease, increasing longevity, and promoting general physical and mental well-being. Also, it is better to prioritize nutrient-dense foods, especially vegetables and fruits.[1]
Should I Cut Out Certain Foods and Drinks for Health?
On a healthy diet, it's best to restrict certain foods. Or rather, do what we call “Smart Exchanges”.
Decades of scientific researchassociate ultra-processed foods with negative health outcomes, including increased risk of disease and premature death.
Cutting out sodas, processed meats, candy, ice cream, fried foods, fast foods, and highly processed snacks is a smart way to improve your health and reduce your risk of certain diseases. However, you don't have to completely avoid these foods every time.
Instead, try to prioritize nutrient-dense, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains and fish, reserving highly processed foods and beverages for special occasions.
Foods like ice cream and candy can be a part of a healthy, well-balanced diet, but they shouldn't be part of your everyday life in large amounts.
How to Follow a Healthy Diet Successfully
The first step to follow a healthier diet through food re-education is to give due importance to food. For example, when shopping, focus on:
- fruitsand fresh and frozen vegetables.
- protein sourcessuch as chicken, eggs, fish and tofu.
- Sources of “good” carbohydrates, such as whole grains.
- Starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash.
- Fat sources like avocado, olive oil, and full-fat yogurt.
- Simple, nutritious snack ingredients such as nuts and seeds, peanut butter, olives, fresh fruit.
For those who are starting food reeducation, keep it simple and think about the 3 macronutrients:
- Protein: eggs, chicken, fish, or a plant-based option like tofu.
- Fat: olive oil, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocado, cheese or full-fat yogurt.
- Carbohydrates rich infiber: starchy options like sweet potatoes,oat, certain fruits, and grains, or low carb fiber sources like broccoli, cauliflower.
Food Reeducation Menu
Check out below what an example of a simple and cheap food reeducation menu would look like.
- Breakfast: 1 cup of coffee with skimmed milk, 1 slice of wholemeal bread with white cheese and 1 slice of papaya.
- Morning snack: 1 apple and 1 handful of chestnuts.
- Lunch: unlimited green salad with tomato, cucumber and grated carrot, 1 grilled chicken fillet, 2 tablespoons of brown rice and 1 ladle of beans.
- Afternoon snack: 1 skimmed yogurt with 1 tablespoon ofoat.
- Dinner: 1 deep dish of vegetable soup with shredded chicken.
- Supper: 1 glass of skimmed milk with cinnamon powder and/or cocoa powder 70% cocoa.
Remember that it is important to adapt the food reeducation menu according to your needs and food preferences, in addition to seeking the guidance of a nutritionist so that a suitable food plan can be prepared for your case.check herehow can we help you.
And if you want other examples of diet, check out ourFLEXIBLE MENUSwith several affordable options, including pizza, ice cream, sushi, that will make youlose weight in a lasting way and with a pleasurable diet.
Conclusion
Anutritional educationis a process ofchange of eating habitswhat visaimprove food quality and promote health. It is based on balanced food choices, food variety, moderation in quantity and respect for individual preferences and needs.
Aimportanceof nutritional education is related to the prevention of chronic diseases, such asdiabetes, hypertension, obesity,cardiovascular diseases, among others. In addition, it can promote weight loss in a healthy and lasting way.
To carry out nutritional education, it is necessary to identify theeating habitscurrent trends, plan balanced and varied meals, respecting individual preferences and needs, and haveregular nutritional monitoring.
Changing eating habits can be gradual, so that it is easier to incorporate into your routine.
Food re-education is not a restrictive or temporary diet, but alifestyle change that promotes long-term health and well-being.
Ref.: healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-eat-healthy-guide