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Combine pleasure and health
You are convinced that your diet plays a major role in your well-being and your health...
But between minor variations, laziness and busy lifestyles, it is not always easy to follow the golden rule of "eat well"!
How to reconcile pleasure and health? We will provide you with all our advices according to your profile...
4 meals a day!
Each meal has its benefits profits…
You can switch, without any worry, a large meal and a light meal based on your lifestyle!
Breakfast: the starter of the day
Its beneficial effects on our physical and mental performance during the day are no longer in doubt.
If you are unable to eat anything once out of bed, space out your intakes during the morning depending on your appetite.
Bread or cereal + drink (tea, coffee, milk, juice) + fruit + dairy products
Be aware of industrial cereals rich in oil!
Lunch and dinner: adapt them
Build these two meals according to your day.
If you have lunch on the go, dinner will be more consistent and vice versa.
Full menu or single hot dish or mixed salad or crepe / green salad or pizza / raw vegetables.
Taste: not just for kids!
If your lunch is light, or if you are tempted to have a snack before dinner, do not hesitate to have one in the afternoon!
Children / adolescents: Milk + sandwiches or fruit
Industrial biscuits and other snacks "seen on TV" are often traps for vegetable oil.
For school, replace with the everlasting bread / chocolate and fruit or dried fruits.
Adult / Senior: Fruit or dairy product or compote or small grain-bread
The basis of a healthy diet
Each food category has its place in your plate...
All are essential to a balanced diet, but some should be eaten in moderation, while others are to be preferred...
Fruits and vegetables: five a day
Fruits and vegetables are rich in minerals and vitamins excellent for our health!
For vegetables, the ideal is to rotate between cooked and raw (some vitamins are destroyed by the action of cooking).
Fruits can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack or dessert as a part of a full meal. They are also perfect snacks during the day.
Bread and starchy foods: at every meal
Consume without hesitation bread, dry vegetables, potatoes and other starches at each meal.
It is even advisable to mix vegetables and starchy foods because they are complementary.
Contrary to what is often believed, they do not contribute to weight gain if you do not add any fat.
Dairy products: three per day
The role of calcium is recognized for the health of our bones, especially during childhood, adolescence and aging.
You can rotate, according to your taste, between milk, dairy products, fresh cheeses.
Caution! Dairy desserts are not equivalent in terms of nutrition (less rich in calcium, richer in fat and sugar).
Between 30 and 50 years old, limit your consumption of cheese and dairy products.
Always consume half skimmed milk and white cheeses with 20 or 30 % of fat. These animal fats can lead to elevate cholesterol level in susceptible individuals.
Meat, poultry, fish and eggs: at least once a day
These foods are sources of protein, but also vitamins and minerals.
These foods should be a component of the main dish, but not the dominant element.
Vegetables are necessary compliments to meet the nutritional balance. Also, choose the leanest meat. Fish is interesting as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (called omega-3) which have a beneficial effect against cardiovascular diseases.
Rotate during the week between whitefish (leaner) and fatty fish, such as tuna (canned, fresh), mackerel, sardines and salmon.
Fat: consume wisely
We need to consume it, but in moderate quantities!
Replace with fats of vegetable origin. Vary them with different oils (olive, canola, peanut, nuts...) and avoid systematically cooking in butter.
Salt: limit consumption
Prefer iodized salt and taste your food before adding salt. Excessive salt is also as bad for the body as excessive sugar. Fluoridated salt is not useful if you already use fluoride toothpaste.
Beware of marketing traps that offer products enriched in everything twice as expensive and not necessarily better. Normally, a balanced diet will give you everything you need.
However, in case of fatigue, specific disease (cholesterol, diabetes...) or pregnancy, additional contributions may be interesting.
Profile 1: I like to receive guests and party
Friendliness is not a defect!
It is possible to compensate these excesses with lighter meals the next day...
The buffet
Limit intake of peanuts and other crackers which are very fatty and salty.
Consider vegetables with low fat cheese dip, canapés made ??with specialty breads (whole grain, with sesame...), mini- skewers (cucumber / smoked salmon, prune / ham, celery / roquefort...).
If you offer quiches or tarts, replace them with mixed salads.
If you crave for cured meats, do not eat cold meat then and prefer crunchy vegetables on the side.
Do you love cheese? Know that hard cheeses provide more calcium, while cheese spreads are fatter and less rich in calcium.
Beverages
Beware of soft drinks and juices, real sugar traps.
Profile 2: I eat a sandwich for lunch every day
By taste or by need, you are likely to choose this option.
Nothing serious, the key is to follow some recommendations.
Vary the pleasures!
What to drink?
Water!
Fruit juices are full of sugar, and are yet sodas worst.
For dessert?
Fruit or compote.
Rebalance at dinner...
By emphasizing on vegetables and dairy products.
Profile 3: I often go to fast food
Convenient and fast: why not?
But in case of regular intake, have good reflexes.
Hamburger
It is a complete meal in itself (starch + protein + vegetables)!
To limit fat intake, choose the basic hamburger without cheese or chicken breast or fish hamburger or take fish cakes.
Appetizers
Fries do not pose a problem if it is not systematic (take the small portion).
Salads are generally varied and can be an alternative.
Prefer mustard or ketchup instead of mayonnaise.
Beverage
If you stick to your soda, choose the "light".
But beware: the sweeteners do not provide calories from sugar, but similar to sugar, they make you crave for sweet, and promote hunger.
Better to be limited to a can a day. If it is a mineral water, choose one that contains calcium. The milkshakes are a good source of calcium, however they are very sweet.
Profile 4: I do not do sports
You are inactive and do not feel the desire to engage in physical activity.
Balance your calorie intake according to your low energy expenditures!
Beware of both fatty and sugary foodstuffs.
Without physical exercise, excessive sugar intake incites the body to turn it into fat which is then stored in the fat cells responsible for the weight gain!
Avoid: confectionery, pastries, cakes, sugary drinks, chocolate bars...
Malignant reflexes
Profile 5: I 'm a vegetarian
By conviction or taste, you do not eat fish or meat products...
Think of the good associations to maintain your nutritional balance.
How to replace these proteins?
Example: a cereal product: pasta + cheese or vegetable pizza + egg.
Example: lentil salad and yogurt.
Moreover…
In addition to cereal foods, potato or dried legumes, consider fruit and vegetables as well as dairy products.
Beware of iron deficiency!
By excluding meat and fish from your diet, you deprive yourself of essential iron intake.
Some vegetables such as lentils (more than spinach, no offense to Popeye!) are rich in iron, but you can also choose a specific supplement.
Ask your doctor for advice.
Profile 6: I work in staggered hours
This is not a reason to eat no matter how!
Divide the intakes along the day
It is normal not to feel hungry when we go to work at 4 am in the morning...
Consider dried fruits, rich in carbohydrates for a small amount, they help to "hold" without filling the stomach. When you return, do not throw yourself on food, balance carbohydrates , proteins and vegetables.
Bet on snacks
Apple, banana, a piece of bread with cheese, can charge the batteries while waiting for a meal. Never chocolate bars and beware of pastries, they are too fatty!
At least one meal a day sitting
Even if you do not have the time or opportunity to sit down at each meal, oblige yourself to sit down for at least one of them: dinner, before bed, maybe a good way to decompress, even at midnight.
Or a solid food at around 17 h 00, with bread, ham and fruit is often the solution to those who are preparing to take their night shift.
Profile 7: "I am wary of pesticides and GMOs"
You care about the environment and the quality of your diet and your loved ones. This is good! You are tempted by the "all organic", why not, if you have the means, because organic products are at least 10-15 % more expensive than conventional products.
You fear that genetically modified products, GMOs, have risk on your health.
Do not panic!
Hold up a varied diet.
Organic or not, the nutritional balance requires the same basic rules: 5 fruits and vegetables per day, 3 dairy products daily, limit sugars and alcohol... It is best to eat everything, even non-organic, than depriving ourselves of some more expensive products but organic.
Key Vitamins and Trace Elements
Colds, flu symptoms, cold snaps or the blues...
When the temperature drops and the sun is scarce, our body is weakened.
To fight against small winter ailments, and optimize your immune system, nothing is better than a well planned diet that emphasizes vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
Detailed review of the "allied health."
Vitamin C
It is the undisputed "star" of vitamins...
It gives tone and stimulates the body's defenses. Its regular intake at the onset of the first symptoms of a cold or flu can stop the infection or at least reduce the duration and severity. This vitamin is also known for its action against free radicals.
Of all the antioxidants, it is that which intervene most rapidly.
The recommended intake is 120 mg per day (2 oranges), 1 gram for smokers who "fix the calcium" less.
Caution! Vitamin C added to hot water (lemon tea) loses all its virtues!
It is found in fruits such as kiwis, citrus, lychees, strawberries.
As for vegetables, it is found in peppers, broccoli, cabbage, sorrel and spinach.
Vitamin A
It is vital to the body that draws it in some foods but is also capable to produce it from carotene.
It is essential for good vision, good skin and bone growth. And it helps to strengthen our immune system.
It is present only in foods of animal origin, especially the liver. However, certain plants contain pro-vitamin A (carotene), namely, substances that the body is able to convert into vitamin A.
It is found in the lamb liver, butter, egg yolk, but also in tuna and roquefort.
The carotene is found in carrots, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, apricots and melons.
Zinc
This Oligo-element is essential for our good health and plays a role on multiple levels...
It acts on growth, respiration, endocrine system (glands which secrete hormones) but also immunity, inflammation, wound healing...
The main sources of zinc include fish, meats and whole grains. Oysters are rich in zinc.
Selenium
This Oligo-element has an action against free radicals, real enemies involved in the phenomena of our cells aging. But it also strengthens the immune system against the virulence of virus that beset us.
You find it in the fresh tuna, veal liver, kidney, mussels, mackerel, but also in the whole eggs, egg pasta and “Petit Beurre” cookies.
Magnesium
This "multifunction" mineral is present in almost all cells of the body ... It acts as a relaxing factor, contributes to muscle relaxation, affects the regulation of heart rate and facilitates intestinal transit. In case of intense physical activity, magnesium needs are higher, because the sweat causes a significant removal of magnesium.
It is present in cocoa powder without sugar, sesame oil, table salt, wheat germ, almonds, pistachios and walnuts. You will also find it in some mineral waters that may contain up to 50 mg of magnesium per liter...
Nutraceuticals
Food health or marketing traps, nutraceuticals (functional foods) invade our supermarket shelves... Should we believe them?
What is a nutraceutical?
The word nutraceutical is a neologism, the result of the contraction of two words "food" and "drug". It is artificially enriched foods with various nutrients to which we accord health benefits.
Caution! We should not mix nutraceuticals and dietary supplements that offer courses of vitamins or Oligo-elements...
What are the main categories of functional foods?
How effective?
The pioneers nutraceuticals are yogurt enriched with lactobacillus, which facilitate intestinal transit by enriching the flora...
However today, it is the stanol-enriched functional foods that are the trend because they are supposed to reduce bad cholesterol. Medical studies have shown that daily intake of 2 to 3 g of stanol can effectively reduce cholesterol. Then it is to imagine that regular consumption of such a product will be sufficient to address this medical problem, there is only one step, it would be misleading to take.
Whatever your choice, talk with your doctor.
Children and Teens Nutrition
Parents have a vital role to play in nutrition education of their child.
A big child is a child who suffers, uncomfortable in his body and wounded by the gaze of others.
In terms of overweight, we say that everything happens before 6 years ...
If your child is more than plump, talk to your doctor who will advise you on appropriate behavior for his age and measurements.
Teach your child to adopt good eating habits: the best way to prevent childhood obesity.
Too fat for fashion
In adolescence, many girls are too fat, fascinated by the filamentary modeling magazines.
Make your daughter calculate their BMI.
If there are overweight, a "real" diet may be considered with a doctor.
But most of the time it comes back to good eating habits and the fact of being physically active.
If your daughter is always too fat while her BMI is quite normal, if she sulks her food, visibly lose weight and refuses to eat with the family, or at the contrary, if she craves for food, think about anorexia and bulimia and suggest to her talking to a doctor.
He eats anything!
Do not expect that your 15 year old son will offer himself an asparagus soup after leaving the cinema with his friends...
Teens like fast food, pizza, and all those candy bars loaded with sugar and fat mostly hidden.
They have big energy needs, and as long as they do sports, these calories are burned faster.
But you can still balance your meals on time when you take lunch or dinner at home.
Moreover prefer vegetables and fruits, more than ever, and do not give up: growing up, he will remember the taste of your three vegetables gratin!
Calculate Your Body Mass Index
Too fat? Too skinny?
Between actual extra pounds and the image you have of yourself, the limit is sometimes blurred…
Make your calculation!
BMI is measured by dividing the weight by the height squared.
Mass (kg)
BMI = ________ = 24.74
(height(m))2
Example: 77.5 Kgs to 1.77 m.
calculation:
77 , 5
________ = 24.74
1.77x 1.77
Use our calculator to quickly calculate your BMI
Shopping List
To spend a serene winter and prevent minor illnesses, keep some foods stored in your closet!
Proteins:
Cereals:
Vegetables / Fruits:
Dried fruits:
Dessert:
