Carmen Bowen-Wright
AN APPROPRIATE diet can be the bastion of good health and wellness. A consistent state of wellness leads to long life with little infirmities or none at all.
Hence, I would bring to your note a mountain community in Russia where average life expectancy of people was 110 years. Life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live in that population from birth to death. Their diet mostly of yogurt, cheese and whole-wheat bread coupled with manual labour, contributed to their wellness. Manual labour was their main form of exercise.
Another set of persons who keep well, compared to the general population, are the vegetarians. Some are strict, eating only fruits, raw vegetables and nuts. Others add eggs, cheese and milk, which addition is frowned on by 'purist vegetarians'.
You read a lot about diet and nutrition, but it is indeed very complicated and difficult to understand by lay persons. Much of this is compounded by the way our professionals explain what a suitable diet is. I hope this article will give you some directions on how to choose foods for yourself which will contribute to wellness. Of course, there are special diets for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and arthritis. These will not be discussed today, as the focus is on diet and nutrition for healthy persons to adhere to, so as to promote and maintain good health.
A rounded diet will contribute the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, energy and muscle building foods you need. There will be no need to supplement with man-made vitamin and mineral supplements if your diet is adequate.
To achieve this, you must choose foods from each of the food groups set out below. If at all possible this should be done for each meal. Remember to be modest in the amounts you choose.
As a guide, a man or a woman working on a construction site doing manual labour or a farmer who ploughs manually need twice as much as what store clerk, a civil servant and other sedentary persons need to eat. Many sedentary persons however, are eating more calories than they burn off in their daily pursuits and obesity sets in, disturbing their wellness.
THE SEVEN FOOD GROUPS
Group 1: Staples - For example, flour, cornmeal, yams, bread, coco, dasheen, plantain, green bananas, oats, whole wheat flour and rice.
Group 2: Legumes - For example, peas (all types) beans (all types)
Group 3: Fruits - For example, mangoes, oranges, June plum, pineapple & others.
Group 4: Vegetables - For example, tomato, callaloo, pak choi, okra, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, turnip, beet, carrot. (Remember the latter three have higher sugar content than the others, so use in modest amounts, no more than half cup at any meal).
Group 5: Foods from animals - For example, eggs, milk, cheese, dairy products including yogurt. ( if you are healthy or not allergic to any, there is no contraindication to taking them. The caution is to eat them in modest amounts). All meats for example, beef, fish, pork, chicken, goat, shellfish ( in choosing this group you would avoid any you are allergic to for example, lobster).
Group 6: Fats and oils - For example , cooking oil, margarine, meat fats, such as chicken and pork skin.
Group 7: Sugar and sweet - Stagaback, icy mint, wet sugar and all other sweets and sugar.
Dr. Carmen Bowen-Wright is a preventive medicine specialist and wellness physician; phone: 927-4301; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
