Restrict Fats and Oils
oils: yahoo
An obvious dietary habit you want to develop is to slash fats and oils as much as possible. Cooking oils are believed to be harmful to your health since they are potential carcinogens. However, extra virgin coconut oil and pure olive oil are beneficial for your heart.
Too much fat contributes to heart disease and high levels of cholesterol. If you follow the DASH diet, you will be strict about keeping your limit on fats and oils to three servings per day. Do your best to use vegetable oils such as olive, canola and try not to use butter. If you don’t know how much one serving is, stick to 1 teaspoon for measuring vegetable oil or margarine. Two table spoons of low fat dressing for salads would be considered a serving, while a tablespoon of mayonnaise is also a serving.
Cut Down on Sugar Snacks, Sweets, Cakes & Ice Cream
A lot of people can’t turn down a piece of cake or candy because of their affinity to for sweet things. While you don’t have to give up all kinds of sweets to none at all, you do have to keep track of your calories. At the end of the day, you still want to end up with about 2,000 calories or less.
Taking a conservative position, you can allow yourself to have no more than five servings of sweets a week. Yes, that would include ice cream, although some ice creams also have real milk in them. So, the quality of ice cream is also important. Read your labels carefully to take a quick look at the ingredients before buying ice cream, since some companies also make them from preservatives and artificial flavors.
You also need to include things like jam – a tablespoon of sugar is equivalent to a tablespoon of jam, a cup of lemonade or about a half cup of sorbet, that’s the ice without the cream. By opting for sweets low in fat such as hard candy, gelatin, or maple syrup, you’re making better decisions about cutting down calories. You can also try alternatives like making a fruit salad and pouring it over low-fat ice cream. This would only give you half the calories from the ice cream and more from fruits.
youtube: candymommy
Get your Potassium Through Food
Ensure adequate potassium for your diet, if you’re practicing the DASH diet, which primarily reduces your blood pressure but has other weight loss properties as well. Potassium is believed to work through the sodium channel to lower blood pressure. It is recommended that you get most of your potassium from natural foods like bananas rather than in the pill form.
A good potassium target to aim for is 4,700 milligrams (mg) a day. You can also try consuming potassium rich foods like
• Potato: 926 mg
• Sweet potato: 540 mg
• Banana: 420 mg
• Avocado (1/2): 345 mg
• Cooked spinach (1/2 cup): 290 mg
Share the News