Resolve to Succeed This Time
Most people make the same New Year’s resolutions year after year, so obviously making resolutions is not the same as keeping them. Since some of the oft-repeated vows have to do with food and health, we thought we’d offer information that might make it easier to stick with them.
Resolution: To eat a better diet.
According to a recent survey, 18- to 34-year-olds eat a maximum of one or two servings of fruits and vegetables a day. And many eat none at all. In the older-than-65 age group, more than 40% of those surveyed ate three or four servings of fruits and vegetables, but only 35% got all of the recommended five.
For those of you who think it’s too tough to get “five a day,” here’s a little serving size guide to help you along:
One serving of fruit: a whole medium apple, banana or orange; 1/2 grapefruit; a wedge of melon; 3/4 cup of juice; 1/2 cup of berries, 1/2 cup of cooked or canned fruit; 1/4 cup dried fruit.
One serving of vegetables: 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables; 1/2 cup of chopped raw vegetables; one cup of leafy raw vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach.
That’s not so tough, is it?
Resolution: To lose weight.
If you manage to follow the first resolution, you might be halfway there. The endless parade of fad diets and weight-loss supplements are unlikely to help you permanently lose anything but money, and some of the supplements (especially those containing ephedra) are downright dangerous. The only guaranteed safe and effective way to lose weight is to decrease the number of calories consumed and increase the amount of exercise performed.
But a couple of new studies this year could help you reach your goal. It turns out that eating 11/2 ounces of walnuts a day helped reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol that may damage coronary arteries. In the case of walnuts, the good news came in the form of a healthful polyunsaturated fat called alpha-linolenic acid. Even though the high fat content of walnuts (and all other nuts) causes them also to be high in calories, the subjects in the experiments did not gain weight because, as has been shown in other research with peanuts, eating the nuts produced a full feeling, which allowed people to consume fewer calories. We also got some confirmation that weight gain and insufficient exercise were risk factors for cancer of the colon, kidney, uterus and breast.
Resolution: To take better care of my overall health.
* Don’t smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke.
* Get regular exercise. Brisk walking for half an hour a day can be a big factor in weight control and staying healthy.
* Keep alcohol consumption moderate--no more than one drink daily for a woman, two drinks for a man.
* Do self-exams of your breasts or testes, as well as skin.
* Fasten seat belts, see that kids ride in proper restraints and obey the law.
Brush and floss to prevent dental disease.
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Dr. Sheldon Margen is a professor of public health at UC Berkeley; Dale A. Ogar is managing editor of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. Send questions to Dale Ogar, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, or e-mail to daogar@wellnessletter.com. Eating Smart appears occasionally in Health.
