Archive for the ‘Eating Healthy’ Category

Your Serving Sizes Of Food – Complications Of Diabetes

Sunday, March 13th, 2011


Watching your serving sizes can help you keep the complications of diabetes in check. A dietitian can advise you on how many servings from each food group you should eat per day. But how much is a “serving size?”

The amount of food that is counted as one serving is listed below. If you eat a larger portion, count it as more than one serving. For example, a dinner portion of rice using the chart below is 1/3 cup. The amount you eat may be 1 cup. This would count as three servings from the breads and starch group.

Serving Size Based on Food Groups

Fruits Serving Sizes

1/2 banana
1 small apple, orange, or pear
1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit

Vegetables Serving Sizes

1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of other vegetables; cooked, raw (chopped), or canned
1/2 cup of vegetable juice

Bread, Cereal, Rice, Starchy Vegetables, and Pasta Serving Sizes

1 slice of bread
1/2 English muffin, bun, small bagel, or pita bread
1 6-inch tortilla
4-6 crackers
2 rice cakes
1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal
1/2 cup cooked cereal, pasta, or bulgur
1/3 cup cooked rice
1 small potato or 1/2 large potato
1/2 cup sweet potatoes or yams
1/2 cup corn kernels or other starchy vegetables such as winter squash, peas, or lima beans

Nuts, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Dry Beans, Cheese, and Meat Serving Sizes

2-3 ounces cooked lean beef, veal, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, or fish
2-3 ounces low-fat natural cheese (such as Swiss, cheddar, Muenster, parmesan, mozzarella, and others)
1/2 cup of cooked dry beans
1/4 cup tofu (bean curd)
1 egg (or equivalent serving of egg substitute)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 ounces of processed cheese (American)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup canned tuna (packed in water)

Milk and Yogurt Serving Sizes

1 cup of low-fat milk
1 cup of low-fat yogurt (unsweetened or sweetened with aspartame or other artificial sweeteners)

This article was first published in www.webmd.com on 10 August 2009.

Omega 3 Foods – Essential Fatty Acids Beside Fish Oil

Sunday, February 27th, 2011


omega 3 foodsFor some people, omega 3 is commonly associated with fish and fish oil. But there are omega 3 foods from other sources of essential fatty acids that you can include in your daily diet. Because of the prominence of fish oils in the market, omega 3 foods are often forgotten.

ALA, EPA, and DHA are the components of omega 3 that are most nutritionally beneficial. According to studies, these fatty acids are easy to absorb when taken from food instead of supplement form.

Omega 3 foods do not only promote heart health by lowering the bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, but they also help in reducing blood clot in the arteries, protect the arteries from hardening, reduce stiff and inflamed joints, improve symptoms of depression, improve blood sugar levels, and reduce the risks of developing serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Omega 3 Foods List

Omega 3 foods can be grouped according to the type of fatty acids that they contain.

Omega 3 foods that are high in DHA and EPA does not just include fish. Many believe that fish from cold waters are richer in fatty acids. However, there are other varieties that are high in omega 3 such as Albacore tuna, sardines, mackerel, salmon, lake trout, Atlantic herring, and swordfish.

It is essential to add omega 3 foods in the diet since the body cannot produce ALA. DHA and EPA derived from food is around 35% of ALA. ALA-rich foods include flaxseed and flaxseed oil, Brazil nuts, walnuts, soybeans and soybean oil, soy nuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and olive oil.

Other foods that you should include are fruits, vegetables and beans that are high in omega 3. Foods with high fatty acid content include tofu, cauliflower, kidney beans, winter and summer squash, navy beans, strawberries, green beans, broccoli, romaine lettuce and collard greens. Wheat germ, beef and free range chicken are also high in omega 3 fatty acids.

ALA-rich omega 3 foods are only dietary sources of fatty acids. It is advisable to cut down on trans and saturated fats since they can interfere with the conversion of ALA to DHA/EPA. In choosing the right foods, you will be able to absorb the right amounts of omega 3 fatty acids required by your body.