Food & Health ~ Tuesday 4

Food and Health

 Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

How we eat, drink and exercise are important to our health. Let's talk about it.

1. Do you believe you eat a healthy diet and what makes it healthy?

I try very hard to eat a healthy and varied diet but I'm not very disciplined about doing it every single day and some days and weeks are better than others.  I don't actually enjoy eating a lot of protein so that is probably a weakness in my diet. I do try to get a variety of proteins (meats, fish, chicken, dairy, eggs, nuts, beans and legumes). When I don't eat enough protein it means I eat too many carbs and that is another weak spot in my diet.  I've been working on a varied diet now for many years and health issues, especially chronic fatigue make it difficult for me to be as consistent as I'd like to be.  I've purchased an Instant Pot, and more recently an air fryer/oven combo to help me make healthier meals when I haven't had time or energy to do meal planning and preparation.

2. What sort of drinks do you have with meals or between meals. Does it include enough water?

I always drink water between meals. Early in the day I have coffee and late at night I drink decaf tea.  Sometimes I have watered down juice or occasionally a soda, carbonated water or flavoured carbonated water (San Pellegrino or something like it). I always check the carbohydrate count and try to avoid a higher carb drink on days when I've had a higher carb load.

3. Do you enjoy snacks throughout the day and what kind do you enjoy?

I do enjoy snacks.  I love all kinds. Sometimes fruits like orange, apple, berries and less often watermelon, pineapple, mango or papaya. I also like cakes or pastries but my real weakness is ice cream.  On a lesser occasion, I might have chips and chocolate bars though this only happens when I haven't been eating a varied diet and making sure I get adequate food intake during the day. I usually only have one meal a day and it isn't enough to get adequate nutrition. From time to time, I try to substitute dark chocolate for the chips and chocolate bars but I find the taste very strong.  These days I wear a continuous glucose monitor and since I've been using it it  has really helped me to make better eating decisions.  If my blood glucose level is too high, I know I have to postpone eating something with higher carb content. The monitor is a wonderful tool and since I've been using it, my blood glucose levels are improving.

4. How do you make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet? 

I'm never sure if I'm getting enough vitamins and minerals but chances are I am not. I don't think most people do from food alone.  I aim for a large variety of vegetables and also a large variety of fruits so I can get as many vitamins and minerals as naturally as possible. I tend to eat more berries because they have a lower glycemic index than most other fruits.  From time to time,  I take multi-vitamins or specific individual supplements like Vit. C, A, B Complex,D3, CoQ-10 etc.