Characteristics of a healthy diet and the challenges associated with choosing the right foods

     After my last blog post I made a personal challenge for myself and that was to incorporate some form of exercise into my weekly regime.   I am proud to say that I met my first challenge for myself and I am looking forward to issuing a new one at the end of this post.  Last time I talked a lot about nutrition and the different types of diseases that can either be prevented or caused by using proper nutrition.  This time I want to talk about what makes a diet healthy and challenged that come with finding the right foods to eat.

source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Austin-leslie-fried-chicken.jpg

     Let me begin by saying that I am a true southerner.  I love food, I will eat it fried, sautéed and any other way you want to fix it.  It is because of my upbringings that I grew up on a diet of typical southern cuisine. 

 Unfortunately, this is not a characteristic of a healthy diet.  As a child I was what you could call “chunky” or as my aunts used to say I just had not lost my baby fat.  Baby fat or not, the truth is that my diet was not all that healthy and that contributed to the extra weight I had in my midsection as you can see in this blast from the past photo I have included. 

Source: Candice Hudson

  The characteristics of a healthy diet can vary depending on who you ask.  According to the USDA Food patterns, Americans should consume a variety of fruits, and choose whole or cut-up fruits more often than fruit juice (Sizer & Whitney, 2013, p. 40).  Americans also need to consume a variety of vegetables every day and to make at least half of their grain selections whole grains (Sizer & Whitney, 2013, pg. 40).  We also need to eat a variety of protein foods from the three subgroup, including seafood in place of meat or poultry twice a week (Sizer & Whitney, 2013, pg. 41).  When it comes to milk they encourage you to make fat-free or low-fat choices and if you do not drink milk, you should eat foods that are rich in calcium (Sizer & Whitney, 2013, pg. 41).  The USDA’s last recommendation for a healthy diet is to use healthy oils in place of solid fats like butter whenever you get the chance (Sizer & Whitney, 2013, pg. 41).  If you look at websites like Livestrong, you will read that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults eat 2 cups fruit and 2 1/2 cups vegetables each day and, that adults eat 6 to 8 oz. of grains each day, and most of the sources should be whole grains not to mention the fact that adults should consume 5 to 6 oz. of protein a day (Rice, 2013).  If you want to read more about the guidelines from the USDA, you can check it out by clicking on this link http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines

Source: http://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/images/ced/vegetable-basket.jpg

     These guidelines are great and all but they can leave a lot open to interpretation.  A person that has not had any type of nutrition guidance might think that they can buy a can of peaches and have that count towards their daily recommendations for fruit intake not knowing that eating that can of peaches will actually set them back.  Going back to my roots, I know for a fact that some of my family members might tell you that they get their recommended serving of vegetables because they are including them in the wrong context.  Sure we grew our own corn, green beans, potatoes, okra and other vegetables but the way that they were cooked was not always healthy.  Take for instance fried okra.  If you have never tried it, you have to.  It really does taste amazing even though it is not very good for you.  Potato salad is another example because even though potatoes are vegetables, throwing in all of the mayonnaise and other ingredients takes away from their healthiness.

Its factors like these that make eating and choosing a healthy diet challenging.  

     Other factors that can make healthy eating a challenge are the people that you are around or the social situations that you are in.  If you are out having a good time with friends and they are all eating what would be considered junk food you may find it harder to eat something lighter and healthier while in their presence.

source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6efumvTmYPs/UzIbrS48iFI/AAAAAAAAAKE/mwRnsccP0js/s1600/social-eating.jpg

Certain social settings like weddings or parties may also make it harder to eat healthier choices because there may not be healthy options for you to choose from.  One situation I find it particularly hard to eat healthy in is when I go to the break room at work.  There are always fresh donuts, chocolate, candies and the smells from other peoples lunch usually makes my stomach growl.  It also makes it extremely difficult for me to want to eat the healthy salad I have brought for lunch when my co-workers mouthwatering fried chicken smells so good.  

     It is true that by reading my blog you may not have learned what you need to know about eating a healthy diet but I can tell you what I have learned about changing my own eating habits.  I have learned that indulging in fried chicken every once in a blue moon is not the end of the world.  Green beans may taste good when cooked with fatback however, that fatback takes away from the healthiness of the green bean itself.  I have also become more aware of using butter and trying to replace butter with healthier alternatives like olive oil.

source: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSQtBUu_uoO2w093BU1bmDPdwbpC5QmMSJQYksxu2agsX4odgxI3A

     For my personal challenge this week, I plan to modify my diet by eating the

recommended daily amount of fruits.  This is going to be a challenge because I know for a fact that I do not meet this requirement or even come close to it now.  As a matter of fact, the last time I had fruit was almost a week ago.  This challenge may prove to be tougher than the physical activity challenge I made last time.  Stay tuned to see if I can handle my new challenge.

Rice, Lori. (2013, October 26).  What Are the Characteristics of a Healthy Diet?  Retrieved

     from http://www.livestrong.com/article/17761-characteristics-diet/

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, 

     OH:Cengage Learning.