What are the most important nutritional habits that we are currently practicing and that lead to diseases such as obesity and others?
I fully agree.
Indeed, our urge to save time, and move quickly over meals, led us to acquire the childish dream of feeding on ready meals "fast food", usually with excess of fat and salt...
Not only rushing lazy time. Also financial difficulties, lead many to adapt those unhealthy habits.
In my country (Portugal), the government has decided to tax unhealthy food and drinks with heavier taxes. Time will tell if this measure works...
Binge eating disorder and high fat or high CHO diet or Western dietary habit.
Regarding obesity, both meal timing and contents are important. Breakfast skipping and late Dinner intake are associated with overweight, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, this could be a plausible explanation why evening chronotype (night Owls) are more prone to these metabolic disorders. The consumption of high glycemic index food especially in breakfast may lead to obesity. Fast fried food, sweet beverages, low fruit and veggies uptake, and food poor in whole grains and cereals may lead to overweight. One the other hands the Mediterranean and DASH diets could improve weigh and prevent unwanted metabolic consequences. A healthy sleep and depression management are of paramount importance.
1.Eating of fast foods and consumption of cold drinks.
2. Eating of food with high calorie, like butter, veg fat, oil etc.
3. Consumption of meat ( particularly red meat) and meat products without proper physical exercise.
4. Irregular lifestyle.
5. Stressful life.
The paradox here is that the obese individual is almost always malnourished, since our western diet has become depleted of minerals and trace elements.
Add the hormonal havoc that comes with excessive fat deposition, and you've got a metabolic disaster waiting to happen.
Here's my take on the subject.
First off.
Don't consume anything that's advertised. It is automatically processed, economised, and nutrient-depleted in favour of a profit margin.
Second.
Do not eat vegetables. Yes, I mean that.
Do not just eat vegetables.
Take time to source your veg. Make sure you know the origin of those 'greens' you're grazing over. You may well be dosing yourself on a pesticide-loaded lunch everyday, losing out on all the nutrients, and paying for it.
Third.
Treat sugar like you would a controlled substance, for that's what it should be. Sugar has an addiction profile comparable to that of cocaine, and enjoys no essential role in human nutrition.
Blanket statements regarding portion sizes, meal timing, and calorie intake do not add up to much. Carbohydrate intake must be tailored to the individual. The aim is to stabilise insulin levels and do away with the peaks and troughs characteristic with the intake of refined simple sugars.
Introducing low to medium GI carbohydrates makes for a good start. Brown Rice and Quinoa reign kings here.
Fourth.
Do not do away with fat.
Unless faced with medical contraindications to the consumption of fats, of which there are few even then, one should thread carefully when advising against fat intake.
Fat can be highly advantageous or equally disastrous to your hormonal profile and overall cardiovascular health, and it has nothing to do with calorie content.
Avoid hydrogenated fats and trans-fatty acids like the plague. Be wary of the supposedly healthy oils too. Olive and Flaxseed oil, for instance, are only beneficial if cold-pressed. At higher temperatures, the oil is denatured and and practically useless. Coconut oil can withstand high temperatures, so it is the natural choice for the occasional fry-up.
Fifth.
Water rules supreme.
In the world of coffees, lattes, and carbonated beverages which would fare better down the drain than down your gut (they might even unclog the former), the average Joe and Jane walking in the street are dehydrated.
Again, optimal intake varies with the individual. Suffice it is to say that, unless you have one of the very few conditions where intake is to be limited (ex. Heart Failure), if you're going by the classic two litres daily, chances usually are you're shortchanging yourself.
I personally go by one litre per 15kg of body mass, which means if you're anything above sixty kilos, four litres should be your baseline.
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