How To Break Health Rules
"Health" magazine asked the experts which health rules we have to stick to rigidly and which we can ease up on, when short on time.
Robin Vitetta-Miller, contributing editor of the magazine and a nutritionist, visited The Early Show to talk about the findin.gs
Here are the results:
Eat Three Square Meals a Day: For many, three square isn't appropriate, let alone doable. Many people need to graze. If people are hungry at 3 p.m. and don't snack, they might overeat at the set meal. For some people, having a big meal twice a day may be enough, while for others, six small meals work better.
Why not follow the hunger cues? Eat when hungry and stop when sated. If the body needs fuel and does not have it, it can start to burn muscle for fuel, and can impact work performance because the brain won't have what it needs.
Take A Daily Multivitamin: You shouldn't need a daily multi-vitamin if you eat a balanced diet. If you eat a fortified cereal for breakfast, like Total, it has 100 percent of the vitamins you need. The body doesn't store water-soluble vitamins, all the B's, C's, and Niacin, so they need constant replenishment. So eat healthy every day or cover deficiencies with a good well-rounded vitamin. Cereal great, fruits, vegetables and whole grains carry the rest.
If you take a multi-vitamin, make sure it has minerals, too.
Eight Glasses Of Water A Day: Unless you live in a warm climate or do heavy exercise, you can get by with fewer than eight. And those eight glasses can include juices. We get water in a lot of other ways. Just use common sense.
Eat Five Servings Of Fruits & Vegetables Daily: It is important, but people need to know what a serving means. A large banana can actually be three servings. A vegetable serving is 1 cup raw, half cup cooked, so a salad at lunch can take out three servings easily. You might actually be getting the recommended amount without realizing it. Ways to sneak it in: put baby carrots, cut-up zucchini, and grape tomatoes in your bag and eat all day.
Non-Negotiable: Quit smoking and wear sunscreen and a bicycle helmet.