William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-05-01 / 5. szám
necessary, but always with an abundance of water to make up for sweat losses. What’s All This About Fiber? Whole-grain breads and cereals, dried beans and peas, vegetables, and fruits contain various types of dietary fiber essential for proper bowel function. Eating plenty of these fiber-rich foods may reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease. The benefits from a high-fiber diet may be related to the foods themselves and not to fiber alone. For this reason, it's best to get fiber from foods rather than from the fiber supplements you can purchase in a store. Iron and Calcium The need for iron for both boys and girls increases between the ages of 11 and 18. The National Academy of Sciences recommends teenage boys get 12 milligrams of iron a day, mostly to sustain their rapidly enlarging body mass. For girls, the recommended daily requirement is 15 milligrams to offset menstrual losses that begin during this time. It's important to plan how to get adequate iron in your diet. Iron from meat, poultry and fish is better absorbed by your body than the iron from plant sources. Fiowever, the absorption of iron from plants is improved by eating fruit or drinking juice that contains vitamin C with the iron-rich food. Teens need extra calcium to store up an optimal amount of bone (called "peak" bone mass). The richest sources of calcium are milk and other dairy products. Building optimal bone mass through a balanced diet, including adequate calcium, may help delay the onset or limit your chances of developing osteoporosis later in life. Osteoporosis is a disease in which reduced bone mass causes bones to break easily. What’s a Healthy Weight? Some teens have a difficult time projecting a healthy weight for themselves. Girls especially may think they need to be thinner than they are, or should be. Extraordinary concern or obsession for thinness leads some teens to the eating disorders of anorexia nervosa (dieting to starvation) or bulimia (overeating and then vomiting). If you're concerned about your weight, it's important to talk to a health professional such as your family doctor or the school nurse. That person can help you decide whether you do need to lose weight and, if so, the best way to achieve and maintain a weight that is healthy. If health professionals recommend that you need to lose weight, most experts say it's best to increase your exercise as the first step. Often that's all teens need to do for weight control because they're rapidly growing. If you need to eat less, it's best to eat a variety of foods while cutting down on fats and sugars. Losing weight quickly on a verylow-calorie diet is never a good idea for anyone. And if you're into sports, you should be aware that it could affect your athletic performance. Under no circumstances should you drink less fluid to lose weight. A steady loss of a pound or so a week until you reach your goal is generally safe, and you're more likely to be able to maintain your weight loss. Skipping meals to lose weight is another poor idea. You're likely to overeat at the next meal just because you're so hungry. And surveys show that people who skip breakfast or other meals tend to have poorer nutrition than those who don't. Help for Healthy Eating Thefood label can help nutritionconscious people make wise food choices. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, enforced by FDA, requires almost all food products to be labeled with the nutritive values they contain per serving. Serving sizes now are more uniform across all product lines, so that you can more easily compare the nutritional values of similar foods; for example, ice cream and frozen yogurt. And the serving sizes are closer to amounts people really eat. Also, the government has set strict definitions for claims like "low fat" and "light," so when you see them, you can believe them. Thanks to the growing scientific knowledge about diet and health relationships, healthy eating is more socially "in" than ever before. Eating a healthy diet is not difficult with knowledge of a few-of the basics and can help you excel on the playing field, in school and in your social life. So, to review... For your good health today and in the future, you should:- Eat a variety of foods.- Balance the food you eat with physical activity--maintain a healthy weight.- Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits.- Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.- Choose a diet moderate in sugars.- Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium. Health Links For more information on nutrition, diet, exercise and leading a healthy lifestyle, log onto the website of the Food and Drug Administration at: O wvnv.fda.gov/odopacomlkids Williu Pen Life, May 2003 7
