Southwest Myofascial Release’s Tips for a Healthy Diet
It is always very important to eat a healthy diet, but even more so during pandemic times when our health and immune system must be primed for war/anything goes. That’s because our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from diseases and infections is affected by what we drink and eat.
A healthy diet is important for the support of the immune system even if a COVID-19 infection cannot be prevented or cured by any dietary supplement or food. The likelihood of developing other health problems can also be reduced with good nutrition, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and some types of cancer.
For toddlers, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is all a healthy diet entails; thereafter, from age 6 months to 2 years and beyond, safe and nutritious foods can be introduced as a complement to breastmilk. For development and growth in young children, it is essential to give them a balanced, healthy diet. It helps ensure more active, healthier lives in older people as well.
Keep your diet healthy with these Tips:
1. Eat a variety of food, including veggies and fruits
On a daily basis,
- eat a mix of whole grains like maize and wheat and rice,
- legumes like beans and lentils,
- plenty of fresh veggies and fruit,
- sprinkled with some animal-sourced foods such as milk, eggs, fish, and lean, choice-cut meat – preferably like skinless poultry breast.
• Whenever you can, choose whole grain foods like unprocessed wheat, oats, millet, maize and brown rice; you can feel full for longer with their help and they are also rich in precious fiber.
• Choose unsalted nuts, fresh fruit, and raw veggies for snacks. Show less Show more
2. Reduce your intake of salt
• Limit your daily salt intake to a teaspoon (5 grams).
• Reduce your use of condiments and salty sauces (like fish sauce, stock or soy sauce), and use salt sparingly when you’re preparing and cooking foods.
• Choose different varieties of fruit, nuts and vegetables, without added sugars and salt, when you’re using dried or canned food.
• For added flavor, leave the table devoid of a salt shaker and instead experiment with dried or fresh spices and herbs.
• From the food labels, always select the products with a lower sodium content.
3. The amounts of oils and fats you eat should be moderate
• Healthier fats like corn, sunflower, soy or olive oil should replace lard, ghee and butter when you’re cooking.
• Instead of red meat that is generally higher in fats, select fish and white meats like poultry; your consumption of processed meats should be limited, and any visible fat should be trimmed off the meat.
• Always choose reduced-fat or low-fat versions of dairy products and milk.
• All fried, baked and processed foods with industrially produced trans-fat should always be avoided.
• Instead of frying food, try boiling or steaming it.
4. Sugar intake must be limited
• Limit your consumption of all sweets and sugary beverages like fizzy drinks, fruit juices and juice drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavored water, energy and sports drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee and tea and flavored milk drinks.
• Instead of sweet snacks like chocolate, cakes and cookies, go for fresh fruits. For all other dessert options, be sure to eat only small portions of them and that they’re very low in sugar.
• Children shouldn’t be given sugary foods, either. Complementary foods for children under 2 years old should not be given with added sugars and salt; and should be given with strict limits to those beyond that age.
5. Drink enough water to stay hydrated
To have optimal health it is crucial to have good hydration. Clean tap water is both the cheapest and healthiest drink, when it’s available and safe for consumption. A simple way to limit your intake of excess calories and sugar is to substitute sugar-sweetened beverages with drinking water.
6. Harmful and hazardous alcohol use must be avoided
A healthy diet never includes alcohol. Drinking alcohol can be dangerous and does not offer protection against COVID-19. Your immediate risk of injury increases with the excessive and frequent use of alcohol, and can also cause longer-term adverse effects such as mental illness, heart disease, cancer and liver damage. The thing is, there is absolutely NO safe level of alcohol consumption. Period.
7. Breastfeed both young children and babies
The ideal food for infants is breast milk. It is both a food and a medicine to them that is clean and safe. Infants are protected against many common childhood illnesses with the help of the antibodies found in breast milk. Since breast milk provides all the fluids and nutrients that babies need, it has always been recommended they be breastfed exclusively during the first 6 months of their life.
• Beyond 6 months of age, breast milk should be complemented with a variety of nutrient-dense, safe and adequate foods. Breastfeeding should continue in toddlers 2 years of age and a bit beyond.
Babies can receive breast milk from COVID-19-infected mothers who take infection control and prevention measures.
Tips for Food Safety during COVID-19
Contact with food or food packaging have not been proven to spread COVID-19. It is generally known that the culprit of this pandemic spreads from person to person. So that any food-borne illnesses may be prevented when food is handled, good hygiene must always be practiced.
The World Health Organization has confirmed the following 5 keys to safer food:
- Use safe raw materials and water
- Use safe temperatures to keep food
- Foods must be thoroughly cooked
- Separate cooked food from raw
- Keep clean
Southwest Myofascial Release provides you all these health tips because we care about you and your health on an ongoing basis. If you follow a healthy diet and lifestyle, and you treat your body to a tune-up of myofascial release therapy, your body will reward you handsomely; you’d save a priceless sum in stress, suffering, years of life, and medical money on medication and doctors, etc.
We specialize in healing folks of chronic pain all over their body, such as back pain and joint pain, and limited range of motion, through myofascial release. Myofascial release therapy is good for joint pain because it helps reduce joint pain and osteoarthritis knee pain. In physical therapy, we always stress a good healthy diet and lifestyle because it keeps health ailments at bay and even reduces some pain, such as joint pain like osteoarthritis knee pain.
You can arrange your FREE phone consultation with us or make an appointment for myofascial release treatment online or by phone. Call TODAY!
