Are you eating for health?
Posted by Nicholas Dang onA healthy diet helps to prevent and manage health risk factors such as overweight and obesity.
The reality is that many people are not meeting the Australian Dietary Guidelines:
- 56% of adults did not meet the guideline of 2 serves of fruit daily in 2022, an increase from 49% in 2017–18.
- 94% of adults did not meet the guideline of 5 serves of vegetables daily in 2022, which has remained stable since 2007–08.1
While often overlooked, working on your nutrition is one way to become healthier and perhaps even help with chronic pain.2
For people experiencing chronic pain, some nutritional tips from Elma and colleagues (2022) included:
- Fruits and vegetables: Choose frozen fruits and vegetables to reduce preparation time and effort, food waste, and increase variety. Nutrients are retained through freezing.
- Breads, cereals and grains: Swap bread, pasta and rice for wholegrain options. Swap high GI foods for low GI options.
- Meat and meat alternatives: Swap processed meats for lean meats. Choose tinned fish and legumes to save time and effort with meal preparation.
- Dairy and dairy alternatives: Choose reduced fat options where possible. Pre-sliced or grated cheese will reduce energy and time needed to prepare meals. Individual tubs of natural or Greek yoghurt (no added sugar) are easy snacks.
- Healthy fats and oils: Swap cooking oil for olive or canola oil.2
As always, consult with a trusted health professional for advice specific to you.
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References
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024) Australia’s health 2024: in brief, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 04 September 2024.
- Elma et al. (2022) (PMID: 36233817)
- Image source: www.marketeeringgroup.com
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