Paying special attention to nutrients

Caribbean girl

Caribbean girl

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When eating or preparing your meals, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, do you pay special attention to the nutrients contained in what you are eating? Once before I never did this, but I believe it is a good habit to adopt as it is always good to eat a balanced meal. Most of the time we like to eat what appeals to the taste or what we have grown accustomed to eating over the years.

However, I have also found that when my body needs a certain type of food, like fruit, for instance, I tend to crave this. It seems that the body has an in-built mechanism letting us know when we should be eating certain foods.
 
Its quite a good idea to 'listen' to what your body tells you... but sadly, I think that all kinds of bad diets can affect what we think we need or crave. Craving sugary food can mean we are lacking in energy...but the answer probably isn't to eat sugary food! I've known people who have become obsessive about balancing nutrients... I'm not sure they are really any healthier as a result. I try not to worry about it too much. I don't eat a lot of fats or sugars as I don't like them. I rarely eat fruit. I do eat lots of vegetables. As a child a wasn't really given fruit but had lots of veg.

I've reached the age of 64 without serious illness (so far that is :eek:). This is despite a misspent youth! And then there are the 35 years of smoking 30 a day (not to mention the on-going alcohol problem)! Its a wonder I'm still alive. Its best not to worry too much about balancing things, I think. Just eat a good range of foods and not too much sugar or fat is my motto.
 
I do watch quite carefully how much protein we get in our diet because being vegan and currently on a diet I know we need to be carefully because we were not getting 1/4 of what we should have been! So when we have a meal that is just soup and bread, I tend to ensure that we have 2 eggs each with it, or some marinated tofu. When my OH is away from home, I'll have soya protein instead as a change (and it has much more protein in it) but my OH doesn't like soya protein much for some reason. He prefers quorn which I'm not that keen on because of the flavor.

Otherwise we don't watch it too much other than ensuring I get enough iron which I have always had issues with for some reason.

I do recall an article some time ago that told you what your body was missing according to what you were craving. The links are not what you would have expected. I'll try to find it, unless @Berties knows of it?
 
I don't really count calories or anything like that. I honestly just try and be mindful of what I'm eating and don't give into my cravings all the time. I also think portion size is a massive thing (if you pardon the pun!) and even if you're eating "healthy" foods, if you're overdoing it, it can be problematic! So I try and keep that in mind as well. I usually dish myself up a relatively small amount of whatever I've made for lunch or dinner, and then go back for more if I am still feeling hungry. I tend to be one of those people that ends up eating it all even if I didn't necessarily need to once it's on my plate!
 
Well I would have to say that it would be quite tedious trying to keep track of all the nutrients we are getting every time we eat. The idea is to eat everything in moderation and not to go overboard one way or the other. Iron may be good but can also be toxic at certain levels. This also goes for certain other minerals and vitamins. I recently found out that vitamin A can be harmful if taken over a long period of time. Vitamin C which is contained in almost every fruit is safe to take in large amounts as it is not stored in the body. Fiber is good, but I have found that too much of this can also cause bloating.

There are some people who are overly particular about what they eat. Some would not take any kind of fried food. There are others who refuse to have anything in their diet which contains flour. To each his own, but personally, I think this may be going a bit overboard.
 
I also quietly think I am unwell and truth be told I know I need to exercise and generally watch what I eat since I am hypertensive and borderline diabetic. I definitely don't count calories like some people do but I try most times to eat sensibly. I know there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to my eating habits.
 
cupcakechef said:
I don't really count calories or anything like that. I honestly just try and be mindful of what I'm eating and don't give into my cravings all the time. I also think portion size is a massive thing (if you pardon the pun!) and even if you're eating "healthy" foods, if you're overdoing it, it can be problematic! So I try and keep that in mind as well. I usually dish myself up a relatively small amount of whatever I've made for lunch or dinner, and then go back for more if I am still feeling hungry. I tend to be one of those people that ends up eating it all even if I didn't necessarily need to once it's on my plate!
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winterybella said:
I also quietly think I am unwell and truth be told I know I need to exercise and generally watch what I eat since I am hypertensive and borderline diabetic. I definitely don't count calories like some people do but I try most times to eat sensibly. I know there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to my eating habits.
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Counting calories and watching nutrients are two very different things.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Counting calories and watching nutrients are two very different things.
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If we're talking literally measuring how many carbs/fats/proteins/fiber I'm getting then nope not a chance...I do that less than I pay attention to caloric content! :laugh:

I'm not doing this adult thing well it seems!
 
I really just try to avoid foods that are bad for me and keep track of what I have throughout the day. Then, I simply see which food groups are lacking and I go for those. I figure that if I do that, I should be fine.
 
cupcakechef said:
If we're talking literally measuring how many carbs/fats/proteins/fiber I'm getting then nope not a chance...I do that less than I pay attention to caloric content! :laugh:

I'm not doing this adult thing well it seems!
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I have to watch certain nutrients and ensure I get sufficient of them. The result has been that I have gone from being diagnosed with full blown osteoporosis to actually having cured it without medical treatment inside 3 years. I took one look at the medical treatment and refused it due to the fact it was not tested on premenapausal women, causes acid reflux issues and a few other nasty side affects. This treatment was prescribed to someone with a damaged trachea, bronchiectasis and a severe asthmatic as well. No way. so watching nutrients is part of my life. How well I actually absorb them is another matter entirely but...
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I have to watch certain nutrients and ensure I get sufficient of them. The result has been that I have gone from being diagnosed with full blown osteoporosis to actually having cured it without medical treatment inside 3 years. I took one look at the medical treatment and refused it due to the fact it was not tested on premenapausal women, causes acid reflux issues and a few other nasty side affects. This treatment was prescribed to someone with a damaged trachea, bronchiectasis and a severe asthmatic as well. No way. so watching nutrients is part of my life. How well I actually absorb them is another matter entirely but...
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That would be that alendronic acid, then that was prescribed? I got prescribed that...
 
morning glory said:
That would be that alendronic acid, then that was prescribed? I got prescribed that...
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Yeh plus the Calcium tablets. Not interested and I took neither. I already have acid reflux issues and that (medication) was just not happening especially at the age of 40 (back then)! I've gone from full blown osteoporosis to cured without it by watching my nutrients using nettle, peppermint (flavour), horsetail, red clove and comfrey infusions daily, plus 1L of almond milk a day. It's worked even with me being bedbound for 8 months because of my bad back.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Yeh plus the Calcium tablets. Not interested and I took neither. I already have acid reflux issues and that (medication) was just not happening especially at the age of 40 (back then)! I've gone from full blown osteoporosis to cured without it by watching my nutrients using nettle, peppermint (flavour), horsetail, red clove and comfrey infusions daily, plus 1L of almond milk a day. It's worked even with me being bedbound for 8 months because of my bad back.
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I love almond milk....one thing that puzzles me though is why its so low in calories when nuts are so high in calories!
 
morning glory said:
I love almond milk....one thing that puzzles me though is why its so low in calories when nuts are so high in calories!
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That's easy. Just look at the percentage of almonds in it! Alpro original is 3% almonds! That's why some people make their own but they then miss out on the added nutrients because all but the organic stuff is fortified, which is what I rely on and actually had to stop having the organic stuff as a result.
 
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