The path to a healthy diet can be paved with
problems - not least that the foods that are good for us are often
less appealing than the ones that are ´naughty´. If
eating well is sometimes an effort, don´t worry -
here´s some simple ideas for tackling those diet
dislikes...
Oily fish turns my stomach
Problem: Mackerel, herrings and sardines have a strong
taste that some people find unpleasant. But not eating oily fish
means you miss out on omega 3 oils that ease inflammation, boost
the brain and improve cardiovascular health.
Solution: Try disguising salmon - a milder oily fish -
in fish cakes or pie. Meaty fresh tuna can also tickle the taste
buds where other oily fish fails, especially served with something
robust like a sweet chilli marinade. Alternatively, take fish oil
capsules (ideally a minimum of 300mg combined EPA and DHA daily) -
or 1tsp daily of a citrus-flavoured cod liver oil. Vegetarians can
get the EPA element of omega 3 from flaxseeds or flaxseed oil,
rapeseed (canola) oil, walnuts and leafy green vegetables.
Soya milk just isn´t as nice as dairy
Problem: You´d like to get the benefits of soya
but can´t stomach soya milk on your cereal or in your tea.
Isoflavones in soya may afford some protection against breast and
prostate cancers and ease a woman´s passage through the
menopause.
Solution: Soya comes in other forms you may find more
tasty - try soya ´nuts´ or snacks from your health food
store, marinated tofu (ideal in stir-fries) or soya mince.
Chocolate lovers will be delighted to know you can also get
chocolate soya milk! If none of these ideas appeals, soya
isoflavones can also be taken in supplement form - a suitable
intake that reflects the traditional diet of Asian populations is
around 30-50mg isoflavones a day.
Pulses are boring and give me wind
Problem: Beans can be a tad on the bland side and may
have unpleasant digestive side effects. But they´re a great
source of antioxidants and cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre and
have a very low GI (glycaemic index), which means they´ll
help fill you up and keep your blood sugar stable.
Solution: To avoid flatulence, start with just a
handful of beans or lentils at first and build up slowly to allow
your gut time to adapt. To add a bit of interest, try stir-frying
pulses with tiny strips of lean, lower-salt bacon. Or add beans to
casseroles where they soak up the tasty flavours and use frozen
broad beans (peeled to reveal their vibrant green colour) to
provide a crunchy texture in salads. If all else fails, baked beans
and hummus count as healthy pulses too, as do frozen peas.
Spinach is soggy and bitter
Problem: It may be Popeye´s favourite veg, but a
lot of us are less convinced. Spinach is rich in folic acid, beta
carotene and iron and may help look after your sight. Key eye
protective ingredients are lutein and zeaxanthin which protect the
retina against UV damage. High dietary intakes are associated with
lower risk of macular degeneration - the leading cause of
age-related blindness in the West.
Solution: Try wilting a little fresh spinach into
stir-fries and disguising with a sauce. Or use crisp raw spinach
leaves in a salad. Kale is a lutein-rich alternative to spinach,
but if you can´t mange two to four good servings of either a
week, a lutein supplement is useful to make up the shortfall.
Garlic repeats on me
Problem: You either love or loathe it - and even if you
love it, there´s still the problem of antisocial breath. To
get the full benefits of garlic, which include those to the immune
system and heart, you need to eat around a clove every day.
Solution: Chewing parsley can help reduce the smell of
garlic on your breath. But for consistent health benefits without
antisocial effects, choose an odourless supplement and take it with
food.
Low fat is dull
Problem: Not being able to indulge your taste buds with
fattier foods can make healthy eating seem like a chore.
Solution: Swap to a moderate-fat diet, but make sure
the fats you do eat are largely the ´good´ types - eg
monounsaturates in nuts, seeds, avocados and olive oils, along with
omega 3 polyunsaturates in fish oils, flaxseeds, rapeseed oil and
walnuts. It´s okay to get up to 40 per cent of your calories
from fat (that´s up to 90g on a 2,000-calorie diet), as long
as most of it comes from these healthier sources (not animal fats
and hydrogenated fats). Eat as close as you can to the
Mediterranean model and you can´t go too far wrong.
Green tea is no match for my cuppa
Problem: Green tea is an acquired taste, but of the
various ones available, it appears to have the best antioxidant and
therefore disease-protective properties.
Solution: Don´t worry if you can´t stomach
it: black tea still has some antioxidant benefits and if you feel
you could benefit from the specific properties of green tea, there
is always the option of taking a standardised extract in supplement
form. The most important thing, however, is getting your daily
intake of fruit and vegetables (at least five portions). Any extra
antioxidants from tea are a bonus.
High fibre is dull
Problem: However hard you try, you can´t bring
yourself to like whole grains as much as white. But the high-fibre
versions are better for your digestive system and richer in B
vitamin, fibre and zinc.
Solution: Wholemeal bread might be bland, but how about
granary (malted brown), multigrain or seeded ones? The key is to
experiment until you find a high-fibre taste you like. With rice
and pasta, try mixing half whole-grain with half white and building
up from there. And don´t forget the impact that one bowl of
healthy high-fibre cereal like All Bran or muesli can make at
breakfast time either.
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