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Low salt diet will help women who are concerned about the foods they eat and want to adopt a low salt, healthy eating pattern. It will also help those following a diabetic weight reduction, cholesterol lowering or high fibre-eating plan. The recipes given are low in both salt and fat content and are generally low in cholesterol. At the same time they are high in fibre and potassium. If you follow the guidelines properly, you will find that all foods have a natural flavor of their own and that a low salt, balanced eating pattern is quite enjoyable. The recipes that are quick and easy to prepare have been chosen keeping in mind the busy schedule you have. Women often ask. "What is a healthy diet and do I have to give up all my favorite foods?" You can’t blame them with so much conflicting advice about nutrition confusing them. The Healthy Diet Pyramid provides simple guidelines to follow in planning everyday eating pattern. The pyramid is based on cereals, grains, fruits and vegetables and these foods should provide the main source of energy. When selecting cereals, rice or bread, it is important to give preference to those high in fibre and low in added salt. Our eating plan should include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables – at least one serve of fresh fruit per day and at least three serves of vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are very rich sources of potassium, and fibre and together with the fibre contained in whole meal cereals help to prevent constipation. The next group up the scale on the pyramid is one comprising milk and milk products together with meat, fish and nuts. These foods are high in protein but we need only relatively small amounts of them to meet our protein requirements. As whole milk and cheese contain significant amounts of saturated fats, we should limit our intake of these foods. Meat is a rich source of saturated fats, so you should switch from large servings of fatty meat to small serving of lean meat. For those with primarily non vegetarian diet, it will be good to substitute some plant protein foods for animal products for at least a couple of the main meals each week. For example lentils, peas, beans and soya can be used for meatless main dishes. At the top of the pyramid are the foods you should use only in very small amounts. They are fats, oils and sugar. We need only a very small amount of fats or oils each day. The amount of fat or oil used in cooking should be kept to a minimum and fat free cooking methods adopted. We do not require sugar but many sweet foods are enjoyable to eat. If these foods are used occasionally in moderation they should not cause a major nutritional problem. In many recipes for cakes and desserts the amount of sugar specified could be successfully reduced or fortified sugar used. |
