Watch Out For Sugar And Saturated Fats
Food and nutrition play a crucial role in health promotion and chronic disease prevention. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, more than half of U.S. adults have one or more diet-related chronic disease, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease or certain cancers.
Everyone, regardless of health status, can benefit from lowering their sugar and saturated fat intake to follow healthier diet patterns. Here are a few of their recommendations:
Minimize Sugar
Sugary drinks are among the worst things you can put in your body. If you’re used to adding sugar to your coffee or tea, try reducing the amount you use before giving it up altogether. If you drink a lot of soda, transition to flavored sparkling water before transitioning to water with lemon or berries. Sugar can be a strong addiction, so if you try to cut it out too fast you could end up with side effects including increased cravings and mood issues.
The new guidelines recommend limiting added sugars to less than 10 percent of calories per day for ages 2 and older, and to avoid added sugars for infants and toddlers.
Limit Saturated Fats
Eating foods that contain saturated fats raises the level of cholesterol in your blood. High levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The new guidelines recommend limiting saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories per day starting at age 2, and the American Heart Association recommends limiting these to no more than 6 percent.
Examples of foods with saturated fat are: fatty beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin, beef fat (tallow), lard and cream, butter, cheese and other dairy products made from whole or reduced-fat (2 percent) milk.
In addition, many baked goods and fried foods can contain high levels of saturated fats. Some plant-based oils, such as palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil, also contain primarily saturated fats, but do not contain cholesterol.
Dr. Kimberly Muhlenkamp-Wermert and the team at Live Well Chiropractic Center knows that nutrition is a huge part of your overall health and well-being. We are proud to offer a variety of supplements and support products, as well as a full suite of chiropractic care, orthotics and corrective exercise for your entire family. Give us a call at 513-285-7482 to find out how we can help improve your nutrition and overall health. Be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for our latest updates and tips!
