New approaches to healthy eating

With some golden rules of proper nutrition, modern nutritionists cleanse the shine, questioning and revising what we previously unreservedly believed. So what are the old rules of healthy eating to date have lost their relevance and what does it mean to eat right today? The old rule: "You need to eat a little bit: often and gradually."

In a new way
Let's start with the conclusions that scientists from the University of Missouri came to. More recently, they found that people with excess body weight are more healthy than three times a day. This approach, according to nutritionists, normalizes metabolism and reduces the level of fats in the blood, benefiting the heart (and besides, many of us overeat because of uncontrolled snacks!). They are supported by Canadian colleagues, assuring that those who eat three times a day lose weight in the same way as those who prefer the "three basic and three intermediate methods" scheme.

However, experts from the National Institutes of Health of the United States adhere to traditional views: according to their observations, those who eat less often feel hunger more often. If two of the three meals are combined into one and moved to the evening, then the metabolism will suffer completely.

And one of the experiments, conducted in 2012, proved that before the onset of menopause in women, the frequency factor does not play a big role, but after - fractional nutrition is welcomed.

The old rule: "In the diet of modern man, meat is simply necessary."

In a new way
Evolutionary biologists declare: at one time the appearance in our diet of meat affected the anatomy of a person, contributing to the formation of the brain and small intestine as they are now.

But the inhabitants of industrial countries today are incomparably less mobile than their distant ancestors. Therefore, this product is increasingly associated with increased cholesterol and risk for the cardiovascular system. Epidemiologists from Harvard University found that with regular consumption of meat, every extra portion of it reduces life expectancy by 13%. Scientists from Cambridge translated the dry figure into a language understandable to everyone: it turned out that this is the order of the year of life of the average person.

However, the team from Harvard studied the data of 20 studies and found that it is much more dangerous than meat itself - industrial products made from it. Each serving (50 g) of bacon, salami or sausages increases the risk of heart disease by 42% and the risk of developing diabetes by 19%. Of course, salt, nitrates and nitrites are harmful to the "piggy bank".

The old rule: "There are as many raw vegetables and fruits as possible."

In a new way
Nutritionists at the National Swiss Clinic in Zug have found out that many of their patients can not lose weight, because they regularly overeat ... vegetables and fruits! Juicy vegetables are almost harmless, of course, provided they are not mixed with fatty sauces, mayonnaise, cheeses, butter ... But in potatoes, corn, legumes there is quite a lot of starch - be careful with them. One can argue with the statement that raw fruits are more useful than steamed or baked. After all, the heat treatment splits the dietary fibers and the walls of plant cells, releasing some nutrients that otherwise would simply be inaccessible. It also promotes the assimilation of minerals. Thus, steamed spinach gives the body more iron and calcium than fresh.

The old rule: "Dairy products are the best source of calcium."

In a new way
This opinion is refuted by specialists of the Harvard School of Public Health. They doubt that the recommended norms of consumption are really correct. Dairy products, according to them, reduce the risk of osteoporosis and bowel cancer, but their excess can lead to neoplasm of the prostate and, possibly, the ovaries. Guilty of high levels of galactose - sugar, which is released when lactose is digested. Sometimes dairy products contain too much saturated fat and retinol (vitamin A), the excessive amount of which weakens the bone tissue. Stocks of calcium will successfully replenish leafy vegetables, lettuce, broccoli, legumes. Green vegetables, in addition, contain vitamin K, preventing the leakage of this valuable mineral from bone tissue.

The old rule: "Oily marine fish is changing life for the better."

In a new way
Traditional experts recommend eating at least two servings of this product per week. But even this can be argued, since, according to the latest data, in 84% of fish samples from around the world the mercury content exceeds the norm. The level of this toxic element in the body of many people is already exceeding the permissible limits, which negatively affects the state of the nervous system, brain function, hearing and vision. Especially dangerous is the excess of mercury in the body of a pregnant woman: this can have a very negative impact on the future child, up to a miscarriage or all sorts of ugly fetuses. Among the disgraced species of fish appear shark, royal mackerel, tile and very common in American cuisine tuna. Among the permitted seafood - shrimp, salmon, saury, catfish. Limit yourself two servings a week, so as not to risk.

An alternative source of fatty acids is represented by algae - actually, it is from them that the fish gets its omega-3 (it does not produce them themselves). But that's bad luck, ocean storage is also contaminated with mercury!

It would seem that there is another way out: walnuts and flax seeds. Contained in them, plant polyunsaturated fats in the body are transformed to the same shape as those obtained from fish. However, it turns out that such a replacement is unequal, between "terrestrial" and "water" omega-3, the equality sign can not be placed. They have different effects on the human body and what fish oil can do, can not provide nuts or flax, with all due respect to them.

What is left for us? To eat fish. Moderately and better not farmer, the content of valuable fats in which directly depends on the feed, and freshly caught in the sea. Scientists at Harvard University are reassuring: the benefits of oceanic seafood are greater than all possible risks.

The old rule: "Fiber is the guarantee of harmony."

In a new way
According to the American Society for Healthy Eating, those who prefer a whole-grain product really weigh less. However, the difference with lovers of first-class, polished and refined is ... less than one kilogram! So in the grain is it the case? Perhaps it's because these people just take care of themselves. After all, the choice of cereals is just one of the factors that affect weight. Nobody will deny: complex carbohydrates are better saturated, they are more useful for the heart and blood vessels. But as for the waist - their influence is very insignificant.