For optimum health and fitness, these essential foods need to be part of your daily diet!

Eggs

Eggs are among the best proteins available.    They are filled with essential amino acids, vitamins A, some B, D and E, and minerals like calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc.    A low caloric food, 1 large egg has roughly 75 calories.    Eggs can be a part of a healthy breakfast or  snack!

Dairy Products

Dairy foods are dense, high-protein foods that can be high in fat.  Read your labels carefully!  Dairy is most important in the growth years, and during pregnancy and lactation. 

Yogurt is considered the healthiest member of the dairy group.  Food for thought! Yogurt promotes longevity, helps with digestion and reimplant normal colon bacteria. 

Cottage cheese, another useful dairy food, is high in protein and lower in calories and fats than most cheeses and makes for yummy snacks! 

Cheese in general is high in protein and calcium with good levels of vitamin A and an assortment of various vitamins and minerals.  It is much better to use natural cheeses than processed cheeses, as they are lower in vitamins/minerals and sodium levels are about 400 to 500 mg per ounce.   Be careful with portions when it comes to cheese, they can be very high in fat!

Water

Nothing compares to a cold glass of crystal clear water after a grueling workout!  Yet, according to Wirthlin World wide, a market research company, 20% of people drink no water at all and 42% consume a mere 2 glasses or fewer a day!  At the same time, we are consuming, on average 1.8 cups of coffee, 1.3 cups of soda, 1.2 cups of milk, and 1.1 cups of juice a day. 

Without enough water, we basically dry ourselves out (dehydration).  Water is essential for all life, and drinking the right amount is important for achieving optimum health.  Water is the main ingredient of all the beverages we drink, whether it's tea, coffee, sodas, juice or alcohol.  The amount of water we need is based on a number of factors - body size, activity level (which influences the amount of fluid we lose through sweat), the climate (higher temperatures increase our fluid losses), and diet.  We lose water daily through our skin, urine, bowels, and lungs (as water vapors in the air).  About half of the water we lose can be replaced through the water content in our food.  The remaining half requires specific fluid intake, primarily from drinking water.  Caffeine beverages, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, or colas, and alcoholic beverages do not provide adequate volumes of water because they act as diuretics in the body by increasing fluid losses from the kidneys. 

The average water requirement is about 12 cups of water per day (including water derived from food and beverages).  An inactive person in a cool climate may need less, while an athlete training will need much more.  People who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (which are high in water content) will require less drinking water than people who consume proportionally more meats and fats (which are more concentrated and require additional water to help the body utilize them). 

Water is best consumed at several intervals throughout the day, 1 or 2 glasses upon awakening and also about an hour before each meal.  Water should not be drunk with or just after meals, as it can dilute digestive juices and reduce food digestion and nutrient assimilation.  It is important to drink water to avoid problems such as constipation and dry skin.  Drinking enough contaminant-free water is likely our most significant nutritional health factor.  

All water needs to get where it was originally designed to go, and in the case of humans, that means directly into our bodies and not detoured as a result of drinking soda pop or coffee.  Most people don't realize it, but coffee typically upsets our water balance, even though it consists mostly of water.  Coffee is a diuretic and can actually cause us to excrete more water than it contains.  Pop, with so much concentrated sugar, can also upset our water balance.  Cutting back on coffee and pop is a start in improving our water status. 

Medical research tells us that people who do not drink enough water  are linked to a long list of chronic health problems, including adult-onset diabetes, arthritis, asthma, back pain, cataracts, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, depression, heartburn, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney stones, lupus, migraine, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy.  Even 3 to 4 cups a day is not enough to lower the risk for these problems.  We need to increase our water intake!

Fruit

Fruits are nature's perfect foods.  They are natural, healthy and so juicy!   Fruits contain a high water content, much like the human body.  Fruits are also well stocked in nutrients, such as vitamins A and C, a little of the Bs, and E.  Many minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and other trace minerals are present in fruits.  Fruits are low in fat and high in fiber, both helpful attributes lacking in our present high fat, low fiber culture.  They are also relatively low in calories and sodium.  Most are sweet, colorful and crunchy.  Fruits are high in natural sugars, thus making them a good substitute for high calorie sugar treats. 

So, next time you feel a sugar craving creeping up, pick up a scrumptious pear or sweet strawberry or juicy peach!

Vegetables

Vegetables should be the primary agents of everyone's diet!  Interestingly, the Latin word for vegetable, vegetare, means to enliven or animate.  Most vegetables are high in water and contain necessary vitamins and minerals, and are low in fat.  Thus, they are a perfect complement to animal protein foods to help supply the needed nutrients that aid the digestion an utilization of those concentrated foods. Most vegetables are predominantly carbohydrate, with important fiber bulk.  Vitamins C and A, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron are the most commonly rich nutrients, along with some B vitamins and other trace minerals.  The dark leafy greens, yellow or orange vegetables (such as squash and carrots), and red ones (peppers) are all high in beta-carotene, which produces vitamin A in the body.  Many of the nutrients may be partially lost when cooking vegetables.  Vitamin C and some minerals may dissolve in the water, and the B vitamins may be destroyed by heat and also lost in the water, but overall the basic nutrition and fiber remains.

Grains

Grains are the most commonly consumed foods worldwide. Wheat, rice, and corn, in that order, are the three largest crops.  They are also some of the oldest foods.  Knowledge of their use goes back 10,000 years.  Grains are a key human fuel and are a good source of complex carbohydrates, which are slower burning and provide more sustained energy than the simple sugars.  These rich sources of starch and fiber are also the cheapest caloric supply for the world masses.  The whole (unprocessed) grains provide a healthy amount of B vitamins, vitamin E, and many minerals. 

Grains are the earth's most basic whole foods.  The seeds of these grasses, or cereal grains, are a good source of complex carbohydrates, calories, energy, and fiber, as well as being a light source of protein.  Vitamins B1, B2 and B3 are the B vitamins most plentifully found in grains.  Most grains are relatively low in vitamins A and C; however, these are prevalent in many vegetables, which go well with grains at meals.  Vitamin E is found in the germ of the grain.  The wild grains are rich in many minerals, especially magnesium, zinc, iron, and potassium, though calcium, phosphorus, and copper are often present.  Rich and wheat are usually good sources of hard-to-find selenium.  The fiber content of the whole grains is probably the biggest difference between the natural or primitive diet in the industrial or Westernized diet.  This is likely the difference between poor health and good health.  The lack of fiber may likely be the most significant cause in the advance of chronic, serious, deadly diseases.  Medical research has shown that a low-fiber diet correlates with many diseases, and conversely, an increase in fiber can reduce the risk of those same diseases.

Make grains a part of your daily diet, as they provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals and plentiful of fiber, plus they taste good too!  Chose from Amaranth, Barley, Buckwheat, Corn, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Rice, Rye, and Wheat.

Healthy Oils

Oils are an essential part of our daily cooking.  There are many benefits in using oils, though one does need to be careful as 1 TBS of oil can be very high in calories!  Edible oils are all liquid fats extracted from vegetable sources, with the exceptions of coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils.  They are virtually 100% lipid, or fat, and most are high in unsaturated fat and low in the saturated component (10% to 20%).  Commonly used oils include almond, avocado, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.  Olive oil, a monounsaturated oil, is the main vegetable oil, along with canola oil, that should be used for cooking; most of the other oils contain more polyunsaturated fats and should not be heated.  These oils should be used on salads and other dishes in their cold-pressed form or consumed with extra vitamin E to prevent oxidation.  The polyunsaturated fats can help reduce blood cholesterol rather than raise it, and more important, they can improve our ratios of LDL to HDL cholesterol to help reduce cardiovascular disease risk.  These vegetable oils do not contain cholesterol because they are derived from plants. 

Nuts

Nuts are one of nature's richest foods!  They have good-quality protein and are even higher in fats (as oils) than the seeds.  Because of that, however, they are more caloric than other vegetable foods (remember, each gram of fat has 9 calories, more than twice that of protein or carbohydrate), so they are not a food that should be eaten in abundance unless a person is trying to gain weight.  Roasted, salted nuts are best avoided.  Most of us do not need the extra salt, and roasting affects the oils and decreases the B vitamin and mineral content.  In terms of nutrient content, nuts are among the best of the vegetable foods.  Their fat content is fairly high, of course, but it is mostly unsaturated fats, which are better than the saturated.  The protein content of nuts is very good, with a fairly balanced amino acid distribution, which may be why the edible part of nuts is termed the "meat". 

Most nuts have a general cross section of the B vitamins, but they are not high in any particular one.  They are, however, well endowed with the minerals, particularly calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and other trace minerals.  Nuts are low in sodium when unsalted and some nuts (such as almonds, Brazil nuts and pecans) even have some selenium (helps in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease). 

In general, nuts can be used as a protein and energy rich snack food as a midmorning or mid-afternoon treat.  Eaten alone in their raw state, and not much more then a handful (roughly 1oz), they should be fairly easily digested and assimilated by our bodies.

Sea Food

Fish are among the most ideal foods.  Seafood offers a good protein balance to a primarily vegetarian diet.  Fish is a good-quality protein, easily usable by the body, and a complete protein as it contains all of the essential amino acids.  It is also low in fats, and the fat that is present in fish is very helpful.  Evidence suggests that the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docasahexaenoic acid (DHA) that are contained in many fish help to lower blood cholesterol and protect us from hardening of the arteries.  EPA and DHA also seem to reduce platelet stickiness, which then reduces clotting potential and increase clotting time.  This effect then decreases the likelihood of arterial thrombosis, heart attacks, and strokes.  Fish that are high in these special lipid-lowering fats are salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, cod, and haddock.  Having these fish 2 or t3 times a week can help protect us from cardiovascular disease. 

Shellfish refers to a variety of small, meaty, and mineral-rich fish that come from two families, the mollusks and the crustaceans.  The mollusks are the sea filterers or "garbage eaters."  these include clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops.  It's best if people avoid eating much of these foods because these shellfish eat by pumping water through their bodies, they can easily concentrate pollutants from the ocean.  Whenever there is water contamination, these seafood's specifically should be avoided.  They can pick up chemicals, such as heavy metals as mercury, and germs from sewage, for example.  The mollusks can be delicious and high in nutrients, but unless they come from waters known to be clear, they are risky foods to eat and can be toxic.   

The crustaceans are of less concern.  They are not sea filterers and live in deeper and usually cleaner waters then the mollusks.  The major crustaceans, or soft-shelled sea creatures, are crabs, lobsters, and shrimp.  These shellfish had been avoided because they were thought to be too high in cholesterol, but it turns out that what they contain is not all cholesterol but a mixture of lipids.  Crustaceans are also fairly low in calories and high in protein and are used commonly by people who are trying to lose or maintain weight. 

The most nutritious fish overall are halibut, swordfish, tuna, flounder, snapper, sear bass, salmon, mackerel and cod from the sea, as well as freshwater trout, whitefish, and perch.  Most of these fish are high in protein low in carbohydrates.

Meats & Poultry

Chicken is the most common consumed food in the whole world, second being turkey which has been associated with holiday celebrations and feats.  Chicken  is fairly low-calorie, high protein, moderate-fat meat.  Ducks and geese are also eaten, but these birds have much more fat in their skins and tissues (meat) and are therefore  much higher in calories.  Pheasant and quail are also eaten, and these birds are high in protein.   In general, chicken can be a high-protein (complete protein) food that is fairly low in fat.  It contains about 11% fat, whereas beef may be more like 30% to 40% fat; and more of the chicken fat, about two-thirds, is polyunsaturated.  Also, most of the fat in chicken is in the skin.  Chicken eaten without skin is only about 4% to 5% fat, a better choice for a low-fat diet. The light meat is lower in fat then the dark by about half.  The backs and legs have the highest fat content, followed by the thigh and breast, but the breast also has the most protein.  Eating just the meat, not the skin, of the chicken (and especially avoiding any friend chicken) is a way to reduce the fat and calorie content.  Chicken also contain good levels of other nutrients.  The dark meat of chicken is a little higher in vitamins and minerals. 

Overall, chickens have some vitamin A and a bit of the B vitamins, with niacin and pantothenic acid being the best.  Some B6 and B12 are present as well, along with potassium, sodium, phosphorus, zinc, and iron.  Levels of other trace minerals such as calcium and magnesium are fairly low.  Turkey, the light meat is richer in protein then dark meat with about the same amount of fat and the vitamin and mineral makeup is similar to that of chicken.  Turkey has a little more zinc, iron, potassium, and phosphors, with less vitamins A and some of the B vitamins. There are so many different recipes for cooking and eating chicken, that you could never have a dull moment with this yummy and nutritious bird.  

"Red meat" is probably the most controversial food category.  It is clear that an excess of meat in the diet can cause all kinds of problems from its high amounts of fat and sodium, and likely from excess protein as well.  The saturated fat concentration is probably the worst aspect of meat.  Eating meat does make it a little easier to obtain nutrients, but it shouldn't be eaten on a regular basis.

  Beef meat is basically the muscles of cattle.  Such organs as the liver and the heart are usually referred to by their specific names or as "organ meats."  Meats do supply the best mixture of the amino acids to build human tissue, but the different cuts of meat may very greatly in their fat content, and this is, again, the greatest concern with meat.  When eating meat, it is wise to eat more of the leaner cuts, which almost always comes from the back leg muscles. (Because the cow makes extensive use of these back legs for movement, the tissue around the back leg bones-called the round bones-is relatively high muscle and low fat.)  Beef from the underbelly-including rib, rib eye and rib roast-is typically high in fat, as are the brisket, porterhouse, loin, stew beef, rump roast, filet mignon, and t-bone cuts.  The richer and fattier meats also tend to have the richer flavor, as it is the fats, especially the saturated ones, that tend to add flavor to these foods.  T-bone and porterhouse steaks, ribs, rib roast, brisket, pork chops, and ham are higher in fats, about 35% to 45%; this may vary somewhat depending on the grade of meat-choice, prime, or good.  The good grades usually contain less fat, which make these meats a little less tender.  The higher-grade meats are usually fattened on special foods just before they are slaughtered to make them more flavorful and tender, as well as higher prices.  The highest-fat meats are the processed ones, such as bacon, lunch meat, canned hams, and salami.  These "foods" also usually have high sodium levels and chemical additives, such as nitrates, which may add further dangers.  Besides the protein, fat, and calories in the meats, there are many other nutrients.  The iron content is good and more usable by the body than iron from any other source.  Zinc and selenium are found in some meats, particularly in beef.  The B vitamins are there in fairly good levels, especially hard-to-get vitamin B12.  Niacin, folic acid, thiamin, and pantothenic acid are also found in most means.  Vitamin A levels are only moderate, although they are very high in liver.  Levels of vitamins E and D are minimal.  Potassium and phosphorus are the highest of the other minerals.  Sodium is also found in larger amounts in meats than in other foods, but if the meat is unsalted, it is not very high. 

Beef or calf liver is known to be one of the most concentrated sources of nutrition available.  The liver, however, may concentrate chemicals and other pollutants as well, because it handles much of the body's detoxification in humans and animals.  Liver is fairly low in fat,  high in protein vitamin A and B12.  Liver is often suggested as a medicinal food for anemia or fatigue because of its high iron and blood building nutrients.

Lamb, another red meat consumed fairly commonly, especially in the Middle Eastern countries, lamb is similar to beef in its nutrient makeup and high-protein content.  It's fat content is about midway between that of the richer and leaner cuts of beef, although the percentage of fat varies with the specific cut from the young sheep, just like it does with the cow.

Pork comes from pigs and has been eaten by many cultures.  Pork meat is considered to be very similar to the "other white meat" and has nutrition close to chicken.  Definitely, the cured pork products, such as ham and bacon, have high sodium levels and contain other additives, making them foods to be avoided.  Also, pork may at times become more easily infected with bacteria and parasites. 

Overall, the best way to use meat in the diet is to apply the following 10 principles:

1. Eat meat only in moderation.  This means less meat than the average Canadian now eats.  Try more vegetarian dishes.

2. When eating meats, try the learner cuts.  For most cuts, trim the excess fat.

3. Especially avoid all of the cured meats, such as bacon, ham, lunch meat, sausage, and franks, because of their higher fat content, high amounts of sodium, and cancer-causing chemicals such as nitrates.  Chemical-free turkey franks and soy franks are now available as substitutes. 

4. When using meats, try them as smaller parts of other dishes, such as casseroles and big salads, or cooked with such vegetables as onions, garlic, carrots, or grains.  This helps the meat go a long way in both cost and health.

5. Add more fish to the diet in place of red meat dishes.  This will help cut cholesterol and fats and protect us from cardiovascular diseases.

6. Increase intake of some of the anticancer and disease-protecting nutrients, such as zinc, vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and selenium.

7. Eat more fiber foods, such as whole grains and vegetables.  This also balances our diet and is protective against the degeneration diseases. 

8. Exercise regularly.

9. Do not use meat as a dietary staple.  If it is consumed, use it as a special treat or celebration.

10. It is not necessary to eat meat at all.  Try going without it for a month and see how you feel.

Last Updated October 16, 2009