W: Hello. Please take a seat. So, you'd like some advice about healthy eating?
M: Right. I've been reading books and looking on the internet. There's a lot of information available. But a lot of it is contradictory, so I feel confused.
W: I know. The trouble is, food's a subject that a lot of people feel they know something about. So even people who aren't experts are ready to give advice about it. And then there are a lot of fashions in diet too. People can make a lot of money out of things like new diet plans or new drug supplements. Food's big business these days.
M: Yes. That's right. Well I've had quite a few health problems recently, luckily only minor ones so far, but I thought I'd try and increase my general fitness level. So I decided to ask my doctor to refer me to a dietician, and then stick with the advice I get for at least a year, to see how I felt.
W: I think that's a very good strategy. So let's see — how much physical exercise do you normally do? Do you have a routine?
M: I try to, yes. I try to have a balance between heavy exercise and light exercise. I make sure that I do something every day, but I only do strenuous things once or twice a week.
W: OK. It's important because in planning your diet we have to take your level of activity into account. And we also have to make sure that you have a balanced diet. These are the two main principles. But I'll just explain things in a bit more detail, and then I'll ask you to complete a questionnaire about your lifestyle. That'll allow me to suggest a diet that's tailored to your needs. Is that OK?
M: That's fine. And if you don't mind, I'll make a few notes.
W: First of all, make the basis of your meals starchy foods like bread or rice or pasta. They're a really important part of a healthy diet. And try to choose wholegrain varieties whenever you can.
M: So what proportion of my food intake should be starchy foods?
W: Roughly a third.. .. Some people try to cut down on them because they think starchy foods will make them put on weight, but gram for gram they contain less than half the calories of fat. M: OK.
W: Then, make sure you eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Most people don't eat enough. It doesn't really matter whether they're fresh or frozen or canned or dried..
M: OK. And do potatoes count as vegetables? I nearly always have those with my dinner.
W: No, they don't. They're starchy food.
M: Right.
W: Fish is important too. Try to eat it at least twice a week.
M: Does it matter what kind of fish it is?
W: A variety's good. But make sure that once a week you have oily fish, like herring or eel or salmon. The oils in these fish are good for the heart. Then there's fat. You do need some fat in your diet, but not too much. You also need the right kind of fat. The fat that's contained in vegetable oils or in nuts is better for you than fat from dairy foods like butter and cream and hard cheese.
M: What if you're buying food that's already cooked?
W: Well you can usually find out how much fat it contains by looking at the label. Generally this will say how many grams of fat there are in every one hundred grams of the food. If it contains twenty per cent or more fat, that's too much.
M: And what about salt and sugar? I read that most people eat too much. Is that right?
W: Yes. If you.. |
