Know what your body lacks

SOMEONE asked me this week, “what’s the best thing I could eat for my health?”

It’s not the first time I’ve been asked this question, but it did get me thinking about my “dream team” of healthy foods and nutrients. As you’d expect, there are lots and lots of contenders, just as there are many strong contenders for the “hall of shame”, that ignominious list of “worst offender” foods.

Part of the difficulty in compiling our favourites here, is that the important foods and nutrients sometimes depend on who’s asking. For example, most of us know high intakes of red meat can push up our blood cholesterol levels. However, if you’re one of the 50% of young Irish women who don’t get enough iron in your diet, then increasing red meat consumption’s exactly what you should do.

Similarly, even though we’re advised to include milk in the diet to protect our bones, this can create digestive problems for people with lactose intolerance. You get the idea... it’s not really a “one size fits all” scenario.

Notwithstanding these differences I thought we’d have a go at identifying a few foods and nutrients that could really boost the typical Irish diet....

1. High-fibre breakfast cereal: Recent evidence suggests that only 61% of the Irish adult population eat breakfast cereals. That’s despite the fact that wholegrain varieties of these cereals are jam-packed full of fibre (protective against weight gain and gut cancers), and an enormous array of other critical nutrients like iron, folate and vitamin D that are lacking in many Irish people’s diets. Better still, they’re taken with milk which enhances their nutritional value even further.

2. Vitamin D: My friend and colleague Dr Declan Byrne, an expert in geriatric medicine, lobbied hard for vitamin D to be placed at the top of the list. And who could argue? The role of this nutrient in optimising bone health is now beyond question. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it also has important protective effects against other serious disorders including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, auto-immune conditions like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and several common cancers. It’s especially important for Irish people as we don’t get enough of it in our diets and don’t make enough in our skin due to our northerly position on the globe. We should all be taking a supplement of this vitamin to safeguard our health.

3. Oily fish: The oily fish include mackerel, herring, trout, tuna, salmon, pilchards and sardines. These are all rich in special oils called omega-3, which you’ll sometimes see referred to as EPA and DHA. There are multiple health benefits associated with increased intake of these oils including reductions in blood pressure and some blood fats, reduced inflammation (a key player in many serious disorders) and improved brain function. Only half of Irish adults consume fish regularly, with even fewer consuming the oily varieties, making this a change of enormous potential benefit.

Most of the main dairies now produce low-fat milks with added vitamins and minerals. These genuine “super-foods” have added folic acid, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium, all nutrients which tend to be low in the Irish diet, especially amongst women and elderly people. Bear in mind too, that the vast weight of research shows that milk drinkers (especially low fat milk consumers) are less likely to gain weight around the middle, and the case for inclusion of these fortified milks is self-evident.

4. Broccoli: While all fruit and vegetables are rich in important vitamins and minerals, this is probably the pick of the bunch. Not only is it extremely rich in dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C and folate, but it also has decent amounts of iron, calcium and potassium. It’s high in certain “phyto-chemicals” which are thought to have favourable effects on our blood cholesterol levels.

I’d have to go with any (or preferably all) of the above. The real challenge will be convincing those who never ask, that these changes are worthwhile.

* For more information on healthy eating, please visit www.Dieticio.com