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Nutrition - 12 Food Health Tips

By Paul Stephen Lubicz – The Wellbeing Manager

1. Skipping Breakfast
Women are the biggest offenders here, but according to nutritionist Sue Radd, breakfast is the most important, yet most overlooked meal of the day. "Breakfast refuels your body, gives you a kick-start, and causes kilojoules to be used more efficiently during the day," she explains. "If you skip breakfast, or depend only on a cup of coffee, you'll also be more likely to snack on sugary and fatty foods to get you by until lunchtime."

2. Avoiding Water
Water is often dubbed the "forgotten factor". Water is lost from our bodies throughout the day via the kidneys, perspiration and expired air. The Australian Kidney Foundation recommends that adults drink eight glasses (two litres) of water a day; more if you exercise in a hot, humid climate. Upping your intake also has benefits for dieters: it prevents overeating by filling you up, and by replacing some soft drinks, juices and alcohol with water, you consume fewer kilojoules.

3. Going Vegie when you eat out
While a vegetarian diet has many health benefits, some vegie meals are high in fat because of the way they're cooked or because of the ingredients. A spring roll stuffed with cabbage and bean sprouts is just as bad deep-fried as a pork one, and that pasta with the creamy sauce, top that with some full-fat cheese and say goodbye to your good intentions.

4. Too many Low-Fat snacks
Don't fall into the trap of believing you can eat these foods with abandon. Some reduced-fat foods aren't necessarily low in fat, and some low-fat foods are packed with sugar or salt to make them taste better. A 97 per cent fat-free muesli bar may contain only one gram of fat, but it has a carb total of about 25g, of which 10.3g are sugars. Eating one will add about 520 kilojoules to your daily total, and give you an energy boost, but too many could cause you to pile on excess kilos.

5. Wraps versus Sandwiches
Even if a wrap is stuffed with lean chicken or tuna and plenty of salad, it can still be a diet nightmare. The tortilla alone can add more than 500 kilojoules to your daily total, as well as extra salt. They also offer very little fibre. The sauces and dressings can also be high fat, high salt, high sugar, or even all three! A better option is a sandwich made out of wholemeal bread. If you really can't resist a wrap, ask them to hold the dressing, or make one at home using a thin wholemeal wrap and top it with a low-fat dressing or mustard.

6. Avoiding all fat
Fat is the most concentrated supplier of kilojoules, but it is also essential for good health. Fats are carriers of fat-soluble vitamins including A, D, E, K, and antioxidants, and they supply essential fatty acids which our bodies can't manufacture. The Australian Heart Foundation recommends a daily fat intake of 25 to 30 per cent of total kilojoules and making healthier fat choices such as mono or polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated animal fats. Ditch the butter for margarine, switch to a low or reduced fat or soy milk, and cut down on red meat in favour of more fish.

7. Cutting out carbs
The anti-carb crusaders have caused a surge in the popularity of high protein diets, but according to nutritionist Dr. Rosemary Stanton, you shouldn't condemn breads, cereals, grain foods, fruit and yoghurt to the "Without these, any diet will lack fibre and nutrients," she explains. "Low-carb diets may produce a rapid initial weight loss, but the only study to follow a number of participants for 12 months found no significant difference in their weight loss compared with people on a more balanced diet."

8. Starving yourself
You may lose weight initially, but much of this weight loss is water and muscle, not fat. Loss of water leads to increased hunger and possibility of dehydration, and loss of muscle causes your metabolism to slow down and store the little food you're giving as fat. It also doesn't teach you anything about making lifestyle changes. "Focusing on food alone isn't enough," says clinical psychologist and Executive Member of the Australian Psychological Society College Clinical Psychologists, Amanda Gordon. "Obesity isn't just about food. It's also about what's going on inside your head."

9. Setting unrealistic goals
Even if you lose a few kilos during the first week of your diet, keeping it up in the long term is a tough call. Michelle McClintock is a Brisbane-based psychologist helping people with eating and body issues. She says that many dieters expect to get it all right first time, and fail to meet unrealistic goals. "When a person can be satisfied with small improvements towards their goal, they are much more likely to be successful," she says. "For many, it seems illogical that they can ease up and make better progress."

10. Pigging out after working out
According to Dean Piazza, an expert personal trainer and founder of the online fitness organisation Get Fit, you need to eat a healthy diet regardless of how much you exercise. "A bad diet can lead to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and even cancer," he says. Piazza recommends that you eat a healthy meal that contains carbohydrate and protein 45 to 60 minutes after working out. "This is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients," he explains. "It also helps your muscles to recover faster from the workout, and make training the next day easier."

11. Big Portions
Between the misguided urgings of our parents to clean our plates, and massive restaurant meal portions, many of us overeat. A study tracking foods in the US from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s reported last year that we're eating larger portions, which equals more kilojoules. If possible, get someone else to serve your food at home. It's all too easy to add an extra spoon of mashed potato because you had a good, or a bad week. And when eating out, ask the waiter to doggy-bag half your food before it's served, or split a meal with a friend.

12. Smoking instead of Eating
Many smokers worry about gaining weight when they stop lighting up. Some studies have shown that smoking cigarettes increases metabolic rate and recent non-smokers do report an increase in appetite once they quit, but the health risks outweigh the perceived benefits. When you quit, increase your activity level to burn off extra kilojoules and tackle the need for oral satisfaction by chewing on fruit or raw veges when you feel a craving coming on.