Eating Better: Part One
Getting Started

By Stephanie Hembree

This article is about better health, starting small and working towards the best health you can achieve. Start the millennium with a nutrition resolution to do something everyday to improve your health.

For some help with your resolutions take Dr. C. Everett Koop's advice. I realize that there is abundant health information out there, maybe too much. Some is confusing, but most of it is a little piece of the pie. This series of articles will give you some tips on how to improve your eating too improve your health. The basic pieces to the nutrition puzzle will be laid out. Some of these ideas may be covered in future or past articles in detail, but I think it is important to see the overall goals to reach for. Be patient with yourself this is not a diet to loose a few pounds and then quit. It is a process that will continue for the rest of your life and will need to be modified as more current information is available. The more slowly you incorporate change into your life the longer it will last.

The stages of change and the learning process are different for everyone. Try to find out where you are and work from that point forward.

The Stages of Change

• Becoming aware of a new idea or practice
• Developing an interest and seeking more information
• Evaluating advantages and disadvantages of the practice
• Trying the practice to test its usefulness
• Accepting or rejecting the practice for further use

Maybe you might not change your eating habits at all maybe all you are ready for is to read a little bit about nutrition. Once you start you will develop an interest and read a little more, try a few things and once you feel better you may try a few more. Remember in accepting or rejecting the practice that nutrition changes occur more slowly than taking drugs. It may take more time to see a change with nutrition, but it is worth the wait.

The basics to eating can be broken down into two categories. The first category is macronutrients. You need these in large amounts they are carbohydrate, protein, fat and water. The second is the micronutrients. You need these in small amounts and they are vitamins and minerals. The best way to get the micronutrients your vitamins and minerals is through eating the macronutrients your food. Some times because of the way we eat and the way our food is processed it is hard to get the vitamins and minerals you need. In this case you need to add certain foods to your diet or take a supplement. However, just downing supplements is not the answer. There is a lot we still do not know and many of these substances in food work together to get the desired effect. To find out where you need improvement you need to know where you are. Why jump out and take calcium if you drink 2-3 glasses off milk a day, for example.

A dietary record is the best and the hardest way to accomplish this. I promise you this will be the hardest part if improving your health. You can make your own form for this on paper, on a spreadsheet program or e-mail me and I will send you one. The basic information you need is the time, what you are eating and how much. Information that could be more helpful, why are you eating, are you hungry board, angry, is it a party? Some other information that could be helpful is how you feel or your blood sugar level if you are diabetic. Then look at the information and see if you see any patterns. For example, I never get calcium, vitamin C or iron. Or, I eat junk when I get home from work because I skipped lunch and I am starving. Once you recognize the pitfalls see how you can improve them. Maybe you could drink orange juice with calcium added each day to add both calcium and vitamin C. Or maybe you just can't get these nutrients any other way then to take a supplement.

Planning is the key to some of the problems with diet. Just having the correct food in the house is a step in the right direction. To help you have the right food in the house the next few articles will deal with these nutrients in more detail and some tips on how to get more healthful foods into your diet. You will discover the best diet for you and learn how to incorporate it into your lifestyle. While you are waiting for the next article try and keep track of what you are eating and how it makes you feel.

About the Author:

I currently spend my time doing nutritional consulting and freelance writing. My degree is in nutrition and dietetics from the University of California at Davis. My hobbies are cooking, gardening, reading, sewing and trying to simplify my life. I love helping people to evaluate their eating and lifestyle choices.

Article courtesy of Suite101.com.