Prime Time - Jane Fonda [45]
Good fats should account for about 20 or 25 percent of our daily calories, so getting those calories from an oil-and-vinegar salad dressing is a whole lot better than getting calories from 2 percent milk, cheese, or meat.
SALT
Too much sodium is a major cause of high blood pressure and water retention. High blood pressure, of course, is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes. As a nation, if we cut our sodium intake in half, it would likely save at least 100,000 lives per year. Enough said?
Most of the sodium we consume comes from packaged and restaurant foods, so check the “Nutrition Facts” labels carefully and either avoid high-sodium foods entirely or choose lower-sodium versions. The government classifies a food as “low sodium” if it contains less than 140 milligrams of sodium per serving. Eating out can be treacherous. Restaurant meals are generally huge, and often very high in sodium—a meal at a place like IHOP or Denny’s may contain three or four times as much as you should eat in an entire day! Try to make your daily intake of sodium less than 2,300 milligrams—ideally, under 1,500 milligrams—and do not add salt to your food.
ALCOHOL
Excess alcohol interferes with healthy nutrition for several reasons. It reduces the intake of nutrient-dense foods, and it affects the metabolism and absorption of several key nutrients. In fact, malnutrition—otherwise rare in the United States—is common among alcoholics. Alcohol depletes our levels of vitamin C, vitamin A, the B vitamins folate and thiamine, and such essential minerals as iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. I write elsewhere about the damage oxidation does to our cells. Well, too much alcohol is a potent oxidant, and it stresses the digestive and hormonal systems, the kidneys, and the liver. As a result, alcoholics can suffer gastrointestinal distress, immune system disorders, nerve and brain damage, heart inflammation, osteoporosis, and fat malabsorption, contributing to deficiencies of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). Moreover, one drink adds 100 to 400 nutritionless calories.
However, in moderate amounts (one serving a day for women, two for men) alcohol relaxes the blood vessels and raises the level of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood by about 5 percent, which helps protect the heart. This is especially true in people who exercise, perhaps because exercise also raises the HDL level. Moderation and drinking with meals is the key! One serving is five ounces of wine, twelve ounces of beer, or one and a half ounces of spirits.
AND NO SMOKING
Smoking is the major cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Smoking—even exposure to secondhand smoke—harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other cancers and health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems and of having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Your smoke is also bad for other people; those who breathe in your smoke secondhand can suffer from many of the same problems that smokers do. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of these problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the health benefit.
Additionally, smoking depletes us of important nutrients. It is also a potent oxidant, accelerating the aging process, causing the cross-linking that can mean wrinkles and the stiffening of blood vessels and other connective tissues. Every study I have read cites smoking as one of the