Obesity, Weight Management & Control

Correspondence:

Received: January 01, 1970 | Published: ,

Citation: DOI:

Download PDF

Opinion

Blood type diet

Blood type diet is one of the common unhealthy fad diets…it claims that each blood group reacts negatively to a specific food item and hence there are lists of allowed and restricted foods for example people with blood group B should avoid eating chicken meat… In general there is no scientific proof regarding such a diet…in my opinion it's unhealthy to skip any food group in order to avoid deficiency in essential nutrients. Therefore, my advice is to stick to a healthy low calorie diet designed by a clinical dietician to get all the nutrients your body needs

Healthy diet for a pregnant woman

Pregnancy is considered one of the most important periods in women's life and hence it's important to ensure good and healthy nutrition before, during and after it so that mom and fetus get all their body requirements, but this for sure doesn't mean that you should eat for two people!

And here are my advices for you:

Take 3 main meals and two healthy snacks per day one of these snacks should be a calcium food source (milk – yogurt).
Take 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day but are careful to wash them well before eating.
Take 4 servings of dairy products every day.
Be sure to include protein in all your meals (it's advised to avoid consuming Raw fish – Sushi –Tuna - Fish oil and Marine Omega 3 during pregnancy and breastfeeding to avoid food poisoning and mercury poisoning).
Increase intake of complex carbohydrates instead of sugar and simple carbohydrates (example: whole wheat bread instead of white bread- brown rice instead of white rice- oats-quinoa …etc) in order to increase dietary fiber intake to avoid constipation.
Drink enough water every day.
In addition and by the beginning of the third month you should take.
Vitamin D after asking your specialist.
Vitamin C from its food sources (citrus fruits- kiwi- apple…etc).
Iron which is very important for you to take from its food sources in addition to the supplement.
Calcium from its food sources (milk, yogurt, almonds, dried figs, sesame, lettuce) in addition to supplements in some cases.
Herbal omega 3 (nuts, green vegetables) or as a supplement to provide fetus with essential fatty acids that are important for brain development.
Finally I advise you to avoid sweets, fried foods, junk foods, artificial sweeteners and carbonated beverages.

Low hemoglobin healthy tips

We usually diagnose anemia when hemoglobin in an adult woman is below 12g/dl and in a pregnant woman below 11g/dl…. Iron deficiency anemia is considered the most common food deficiencies all over the world.

Firstly we should identify the main cause of anemia (low intake, low absorption, normal monthly loss, stomach ulcers) then treat the main cause in addition to dietary modifications and iron supplement.

The main food sources of iron are meat (6mg in 100g meat) then legumes then spinach in addition to dates, but in order to enhance iron absorption from foods and supplement I advise you to increase consumption of vitamin C (example: take one glass of fresh orange juice with the main meal) or add lemon juice to salad and I also advise you to avoid drinking tea immediately after the main meal and avoid taking anti acidity medications and calcium supplements with the main meal or with iron supplement (they might affect iron absorption negatively) and finally avoid cooking meat too much with a high temperature because it might change the type of the iron into a less absorbed type.

Healthy tips to reduce menopause symptoms

Hot flashes are a common disturbing symptom among premenopausal women …my advice to you is to go through a healthy life style:

Eat foods rich in vitamin E (plant oils – nuts–green leafy vegetables: broccoli…etc).
Eat Phyto-estrogen food sources (soya beans–soya milk–legumes–nuts).
Exercise regularly (walking, aerobic…etc).
Reduce intake of hot beverages especially caffeinated drinks (coffee-tea- mate).
Reduce adding hot spices to foods.

Healthy tips for diabetes

If you have diabetes mellitus you should control your blood sugar level in order to avoid complications.

Control your diet (avoid taking excessive carbohydrates such as rice-bread- noodles-pasta-sugar-sweets-biscuits-juices-carbonated beverages-honey).
Use artificial sweeteners or diabetic food (I myself prefer you get used to low sweet taste and reduce the use of artificial sweetener).
Increase your dietary fiber intake (fruits-vegetables-whole grains-oats).
Add cinnamon to your daily diet (example: add it to milk makes it very delicious and helps in blood sugar control).
Get rid of the extra KGs.
Exercise regularly.
Carry along sweet candies with you for emergency use (hypoglycemia).
Use proper shoe size to avoid pressure sore and be careful of the water temperature when taking a shower and avoid hot water.
Finally, you should avoid alcohol and quit smoking.

Healthy tips for Osteoporosis

It's the silent disease but we can improve our bone health through these following tips:

Stick to a healthy diet: 4 servings per day of dairy products – almonds – sardine – dried figs- sesame- lettuce.
When shopping chooses skimmed milk fortified with vitamin D and soya milk fortified with calcium.
Walk regularly.
Try to expose yourself to sun 15minutes every day during the peak time.
Take vitamin D, vitamin K, Omega 3, Magnesium, potassium and calcium supplements after asking your specialist.
Drink enough water every day if you take calcium and vitamin D supplement.