Well Man 16-45 
Healthy Eating
Why not try some of the following Healthy Food Substitutes!
It’s not as hard as you may think to incorporate healthier alternatives into your daily diet. By making just a few wise healthy food substitutions, you’ll lower fat, salt, sugar and increase fibre in your diet.
| Instead of this: |
Try this:
|
| Frying in fat |
Use cooking methods such as grill, poach, bake, roast or stir-fry
|
| Whole fat cheese |
Use reduced fat cheese
|
| Mayonnaise |
Use low fat mayonnaise
|
| Whole or half milk |
Use skimmed, or low fat milk
|
| White bread |
Brown wholemeal bread
|
| Cereals, pastas and biscuits |
Whole grain cereals, pastas and biscuits
|
| Butter or margarine
Butter or oil in frying, to sauté or stir-fry |
Cholesterol lowering – low fat spread/margarine
Use a small amount of virgin olive oil, or vegetable oil, and a non stick frying pan |
| Eggs |
Egg whites (usually 2 egg whites for every egg)
|
| Tinned Fish |
Water-packed tinned products
|
| Fatter cuts of meat – skin on |
Leaner cuts of meat or ground meat, skin removed
|
| Creamed soups |
Fat free milk based soups, mashed potato, pureed carrots, or tofu for thickening agents
|
| Dry breadcrumbs |
Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal
|
| Fruit (tinned) in heavy syrup |
Fruit tinned in its own juices or in water, or fresh fruit
|
| Fruit flavoured yogurt |
Plain yogurt with fresh fruit slices
|
| Full fat cream cheese |
Fat free or low fat cream cheese, or low fat cottage cheese pureed until smooth
|
| Full fat sour cream |
Low fat sour cream, or plain low fat yogurt
|
| Meat as the main ingredient |
Three times as many vegetables as the meat, likewise in casseroles, soups and stews
|
| Oil based marinades |
Wine and/or balsamic vinegar, and/or fruit juices
|
| Seasoning salt | Finely chopped herbs or garlic, celery or onions, or herb only seasonings – such as garlic powder |
Why is too much sugar bad for the body? 
There are the well known factors such as tooth decay and high sugar levels converting to fat, which can lead to obesity, in turn triggering diabetes and heart disease. However, there are other important health issues that result from eating too much sugar;
Unstable blood glucose - Eating too much sugar causes our blood sugars to go haywire. When the sugar levels in our blood fluctuate, they lead us to feeling fatigue and exhaustion.Headaches and mood swings are also apparent when the blood glucose is unstable. Moreover, the more sugar we take in, the more unbalanced our blood glucose becomes, and the more sugar our body craves in order to fix the imbalance it perceives.
Malfunctioning immune system - The bacteria and yeast that are present in our blood stream feed on sugar and cause them to multiply. If there is an imbalance in the growth of these bacteria and yeast, our immune system may not be able to handle it. It could, therefore, weaken.
Chromium deficiency - Ironically, too much sugar in the body causes the body’s ability to regulate sugar levels to go on strike. This is because most of the sugar we eat is already refined and lacks chromium, the chemical needed to help manage the levels of sugar in our blood.
Nutrients - Consuming sugar makes the hunger pangs go away. That is why we are often told not to eat sweets before a main meal. When we take in too much sugar, we do not feel the need to eat food that contains more of the important nutrients that our body needs, such as vitamins, iron, calcium and magnesium. There is a difference between feeling full after every meal and gaining the nutrition you need from every meal.
Stress - When we eat too much sugar, we go on a sugar high because of the energy boost we get from the sugar consumption. But this sugar high is only temporary; our energy level takes a plunge afterwards. When this happens, the body releases hormones to bring the sugar level in our blood back to optimum level, and these hormones include the stress hormones: adrenaline, cortisol and epinephrine. These hormones make us irritable and stressed out.
Aging - When we eat too much sugar, the process called glycation can occur. When this happens, some of the sugar we consume sticks to the proteins in our body, causing our body tissues to lose their elasticity. It is not just our skin that is affected, but also our internal organs. The faster that the body loses its elasticity, the faster aging occurs.
Cognition - Too much sugar in the body also affects our mind’s ability to learn and recognize.
Tips to reduce your sugar intake:
|
Instead of this:
|
Try this:
|
| Sugar |
Cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract can be added to give impression of sweetness
|
| Sugar in drinks |
Honey
|
| Canned sugar drinks |
Sparkling water with a slice of lemon or lime
|
Weight Concern
Weight Concern is a registered charity, set up in 1997 to tackle the rising problem of obesity in the United Kingdom.
The charity, which won the Best New Charity of the Year Award in 2002, works to address both the physical and psychological health needs of overweight people.
Weight Concern has shown how psychologists, dieticians and exercise specialists working together can help people make the lifestyle changes they want, to control their weight.
For more information contact;
Weight Concern
Brook House
2-16 Torrington Place
London
WC1E 7HN
t 0207 679 6636
w http://www.weightconcern.org.uk/
e enquiries@weightconcern.org.uk
