 It is a well known fact that nutrition is a significant part of our lives and making good food choices is necessary to maintain a healthy life style. In today's busy world, it is hard for us to always maintain healthy eating habits, but knowing what to eat can help us in many ways such as in preventing disease,reinforcing the immune system, losing weight if necessary, having healthy skin and getting the energy for daily activities. As spring approaches, the value in what we eat, drink and take as diet supplements may change. Here is some information about why nutrition is so important for us and some practical advice from Ayhan Dağ Manager of Cafeterias Management, to help you develop a healthy diet!
What is nourishment?
Nutrition is an important issue for many people. Nowadays, it is a very popular subject in the media. Healthy eating does not mean eating to fill your stomach or consuming whatever you want. It means getting all of the vital nutritients that your body needs to feed physical development, and achieve a long and healthy life.
What role does nutrition play in our lives?
From birth until death, nutrition plays a crucial role in everybody's life not only to supply the physical needs of our bodies, but also to fill the social and psychological needs in our lives. In addition, the direct interaction between nutrition and health should not be ignored. Because of nutrient deficiency, children may not develop to their full physical and mental potential. Therefore, healthy eating is very important for full physical functionality.
What do you recommend to help someone maintain a healthy diet?
The golden rule for maintaining a healthy diet is to mentally prepare yourself for it, because dieting is a long-term process rather than an immediate solution for losing weight or being fit. It should be accepted as a lifestyle.
Do you advise any food that you think must absolutely be in everyone's diet?
I do not have any suggestion for such a magic food. But, I can say that when choosing what food to eat, people should encourage themselves to go for a variety. Every person has unique requirements for different amounts of different nutritients. Variety is the taste of life, and it is the key to experiencing various tastes in the world. It is also the essence of nourishment and wellness.
What are the biggest mistakes you see in people's diets?
Snacking in front of the TV until sleeping after dinner, skipping meals, not having breakfast, eating too fast and chewing little, waking up at night and eating, staying too long at the dinner table and eating too much. Depressive and heated times are the most important problems that we encounter.
If someone wants to change their diet to lose fat, where should they start?
If someone decides to lose weight in a healthy way, s/he should know one thing: Fat loss requires a willing to make some changes to your old habits. It should become a life style. It is not something about starting and giving up a diet constantly. The ones who want to start a program for losing weight should know that these programs should be prepared by professional dieticians according to the patient's special needs. They should ignore shock diets that promise fast fat loss in a short time. People must know that a healthy diet program does not make someone lose more than four kilograms in a month. There is no such thing as shock diet or magic diet. Such diets cannot meet our needs and they often result in very serious health problems. What more, the weight lost is rapidly regained.
What are the most important tips for fat loss?
It should not be forgotten that instead of short term results, people should seek long term, lasting solutions. Before starting a program, you should ask these questions to your dietician:
What is the aim of this program?
- How many kilograms will I lose in this process? (0,5 or 1 kg per week is reasonable) - - - What are the health risks?
- Will the program help me adopt healthy eating habits?
- How?
In addition, you should pay attention to the points below:
Drink two liters of water per day.
Eat often during the day. Do not forget that having frequent meals rather than big ones prevents overeating, postpones hunger and reduces the size of the next meal.
Do you think dietary supplements or vitamins that we take for extra energy are safe?
We all know that there are many types of supplements on the market. The important thing to consider is whether they are necessary. If we do eat healthily, then there is no need for such vitamins or supplements. Supplying our needs by natural means should be our priority. There may be times when we need them, but they should be recommended by a doctor.
What food do you recommend for ensuring clean skin and healthy teeth and bones ?
A, C, D, E vitamins are very significant for healthy skin, and in order to provide them fruit and vegetables should be eaten.
For bone and dental health, we should drink milk and eat dairy products as well as fish, dried fruit, cereals and magnesium providers such as hazelnut, walnut and almond.
What is the awareness level about nutrition among Bilkenters?
We have observed that awareness grows day by day among Bilkenters. The number of students and staff who seek consultation on nutrition has grown immensely over the years.
Do you conduct any projects in order to inform Bilkenters about healthy nutrition?
We continue to inform Bilkenters about healthy nutrition through our frequently updated website and our consulting services with professional dieticians.
As students, getting control of our eating during mid-terms can be hard. What do you suggest to overcome these nutrition difficulties? Are there any nutrition tips to keep students alert at exam times?
The key to success will come as a result of an adequate and balanced amount of eating. Healthy foods will also prevent diseases and stress during this time. Here are some tips for you:
- Deserts, chocolates and juices cause our blood sugar to rise or fall too rapidly, therefore we should avoid them. We should drink milk and eat fruit as they help to balance blood sugar.
- You should eat egg, cheese and drink milk for breakfast, as they will help you stay full during the day.
- Make sure you get all of the vital nutrients. You should eat food that contains carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Nagihan Aydın (ELIT/IV)
Bilkent News
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