Road Map For Longevity

NUTRITION

You must give serious thought to nutrition if you wish to attain any success in achieving your goal of longevity. The government passed a law taking effect on January 1, 2006 that all food labels must display the amount of trans fat in their food. Many food manufacturers are finally getting the message and reducing or eliminating entirely trans fats in their foods. There are various factors that you should explore. These are:

1. Knowing how to choose the foods that are healthy, and to not choose the unhealthy foods.
2. Becoming familiar with the “Nutrition Facts” label found on each food, and how to read them.
3. How to determine what your calorie requirements should be. Staying within these requirements can prevent gaining weight and help in the loss of excess weight.
4. Weight loss must be a consideration if the individual is overweight. Being obese places your health at risk. Obesity is definitely a negative for any hope of attaining your longevity goal. Obesity has become a growing problem, not only in seniors, but in our very young as well.
5. Having an extensive list of foods that are healthy so that when planning meals, you can draw from this list for variety. By doing this, you won’t become disenchanted by having the same foods all the time just because they are considered healthy. This is what I call, “The Common Sense Diet”.

Nutrition begins with knowing how to read the nutrition labels found on all foods. Below is an example of such a label:

Serving Size: Shows what one serving is.

Servings Per Container: …..Indicates how many are in package.

Amount Per Serving

Calories…..Indicates amount of calories…..and the Calories from Fat.

% Daily Value*

Total Fat…..Indicates amount per serving.

Saturated Fat…..

Trans Fat….These are the bad fats that will raise your cholesterol and clog your arteries.

Polyunsaturated Fat…..These are the good fats that will lower bad cholesterol and raise the good cholesterol.

Monounsaturated Fat….These are also the good fats being just one step below the polyunsaturated fats.

Cholesterol…..The amount of cholesterol found in the food or drink.

Sodium…..Shows the amount of sodium (salt) contained in one serving of the food or drink. This should be kept at a minimum on a daily basis, and has a tendency to raise the blood pressure. Can also cause the body to build up fluids in the tissues.

Potassium…..Needed to work in conjunction with sodium and for nerve conduction.

Total Carbohydrate…..These are one of a group of organic compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They give the body a source of energy, but should be kept at a minimum as they will add sugar to the body.

Dietary Fiber…..An important ingredient that adds bulk and is necessary for the proper transportation of food through the digestive tract.

Sugars…..The amount of sugar in the serving and should be kept at a minimum.

Protein….The amount of protein in a serving. Important for energy and maintaining and the rebuilding of tissues.

Below are the vitamins that have been added and found in each serving. These will be discussed at depth later in this chapter.

The second column starts with the percent of each ingredient on a daily basis on a 2000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Below this are the ingredients…..These are the ingredients that make up the food or drink. The percentage of each ingredient is higher as you read down the list. More at the top and less as you go along.

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