February 1, 2010
Forgoodhealth, weneedabalanceddietoftherightfoods, andifyouwanttolivealong, healthylife, thenyoushouldeathealthy.Researchhasshownthateatingabalanceddietcanhelpreducetheriskofdifferentdiseases, includingcancerandheartdisease.
Whatexactlyisabalanceddiet? Eatingabalanceddietmeansthateachdayyoushouldeatavarietyoffoods.Thereare, ofcourse, manydifferentkindsoffood, andwecanputtheseintogroups.Forexample, wetalkaboutthefruitgroup, thevegetablegroup, thegraingroup (that'slikebread, cereal, rice, andpasta), thedairygroup, andmeatandbeansgroup.Tomakesureyouhaveabalanceddiet, Irecommendyouchoosefromeachofthevariousfoodgroupswhenyouplanyourmenu.
Eachday, mostofwhatyoueatshouldcomefromthegraingroup.Youshouldtrytogetbetweensixandtenservingsofgraineachday.Oneservingofgraincouldbe, forexample, asliceofbreadorahalfacupofrice.Blso, youshouldeatthreetofiveservingsofvegetables.Oneservingofvegetablescouldbehalfacupofbroccoliormaybeacupoflettuce.Besurealsotoeatalotoffruit-twotofourservingsiswhatyoushouldaimfor.Oneservingoffruitcouldbeoneappleorasmallglassoffruitjuice.Dairyfoodsareimportant, too, inabalanceddiet, butyoushouldonlyeatsmallamountsoffoodslikemilk, yogurt, orcheese-_disibledevent = \”http://cnak.englishtown.com/schoolcontent4 / _imgs/cla_int_c/un4/spe/media/ID4-ing.jpg \”>
TheFrenchDiet
Foryearsdoctorshavetoldusthatahigh-fatdietcanleadtoheartdisease.Eatinglotsofhigh-fatfoodscancausethearteriestoclog, whichcanresultinheartattacks.Ontheadviceoftheirdoctors, manypeoplehavechangedtolow-fatdietsandgivenupdifferentkindsofdessertsandsnackfoods.Somehaveevengivenupwholemilk, eggs, andmeat, becauseofpossibledangerstotheirhealth.Butisthisnecessary? Isthereawaytoenjoysomehigh-fatfoodswithoutarisktoyourheart? SomescientiststhinkthattheFrenchmayhavefoundananswer.
TheFrenchdietcontainsalotofcheese, cream, andbutter – allhighinfat.YetFrenchpeoplehavethelowestdeathratefromheartattacksamongEuropeancountries.Why? What''sthesecret? Somescientistsbelievethatredwinehassomethingtodowithit.TheFrenchlovetheirredwine, andtherecouldbeaconnectionbetweenredwineandahealthyheart.
Believeitornot, alittleredwinemightwellhelpprotectagainstheartattacks.Thechemicalsinredwinehelppreventbloodclotsthatcancauseaheartattack.Butdon''tgorunningforyourcorkscrewyet! Doctorsrecommenddrinkinginmoderation, whichmeansonlyoneortwoglassesofwineaday.Ifyoudrinkmorethanthat, youmightactuallyincreasetherisksofheartdiseaseandotherhealthproblems.Toomuchalcoholcanalsocausedamagetoyourliverandbrain, andcancausecancer.Remember, too, thatdrunkdrivingisillegalandalcoholismisaseriousprobleminsomesocieties.Soifyoudodrink, doitinmoderation.Beingsmartmeansbeingsafe.
Ifyouuseonlywithafeworalittle, themeaningcanbecomemorenegative.
We''veonlygotalittletime.
Onlyafewfriendscametomyparty.Itwasveryquiet.Bvegetarianissomeonewhoonlyeatsfruits, vegetables, grains, cereals, nuts, andseeds.Theydonoteatfish, meat, orpoultry (forexample, chickenorturkey), andsometimestheyavoiddairyproductsandeggsaswell.Somevegetarians, however, keepallanimalproductsoutoftheirlives.Thesekindsofvegetariansarecalledvegans.
Vegansnotonlyrefusetoeatmeatandfish; theyalsoavoiddrinkingmilkandeatingcheese, eggs, honey, andbutter, becauseallofthesefoodscomefromanimals.Manyvegansfeelthateatingfoodderivedfromanimalsorusinganythingproducedfromanimalsisaformofanimalabuse.Vegansrefusetobuyorwearanimalproducts, suchaswool, leather, orsilk.Whatismore, vegansdonotusehealthcareproductssuchassoap, shampooorcosmeticsthathavebeentestedonanimals.Vegansstrivetoleada \”crueltyfree\” lifestyle, andareoftenveryawareofanimalrightsissues.
Seeingotherpeopleusingoreatinganimalproductscanupsetsomeveganssomuchthattheychoosetolivetogetherin \”veganhouses.\” Veganhousesaregenerallysmall, informalcommunitiesofveganswhosharecookingandcleaningresponsibilities.Nooneinthehouseeats, uses, orwearsanimalproducts, andtheydonotbuythingsfromcompaniesthattestproductsonanimals.Everyonetriestohelpeducatethemselves, andothersinthehouse, aboutveganissues.
Youdon''thavetoliveinaveganhousetoleadaveganlifestyle. Numbersofvegansandvegetariansaregrowing, andmanycollegesanduniversitieshavehadtoadjusttheirmenustoaccommodatetheirdifferenteatinghabits.BttheUniversityofDalifornia, Berkeley, forexample, studentssignedpetitionsandmetwiththeadministrationtochangethecampusmenu.Theireffortsweresuccessful, andsince1995theUniversityhasbeenofferingatleastoneveganentreeateverylunchanddinner.