Today, more than ever, people want to live a longer and healthier life. And in this eternal search for the "fount of youth", eating right plays a fundamental role. But what is eating right? Are there some types of food more important than others? Should we eat the same things a marathon athlete eats? Or the same thing someone who does not practices any physical activity does? In fact, there is no perfect type of food for several different people, therefore, just like physical activity, what you eat should be planned individually, respecting some characteristics such as weight, body composition (quantity of fat, muscle mass...), basal metabolic tax (minimum of energy needed to maintain vital functions of a resting organism), daily caloric spending, etc. based on these parameters, a nutritionist can set a menu according to one´s characteristics and goals, be that loosing weight, improving muscle mass, defining muscles, having more energy for work, etc. As characteristics and goals change, we can say our nourishment must always adapt to our needs in different situations and moments in life, that is, one may not eat the same things than when one was 14 (when has 35, for instance), the same way a man cannot improve his muscle mass with the same soup diet his wife uses to lose weight! Good nourishment is associated to physical and mental well being and, on the contrary, wrong nourishment can lead to a series of health risks such as obesity, one of the most famous. But what does it mean to eat right? A good diet is one that does not restrain any kind of food that might be important to someone´s health. In order to make that statement a little more clear, food can be divided in 4 different groups: 1. Group of fats, oils, and sugars: must be ingested sporadically; 2. Group of the constructor foods: dairy, meat, eggs, etc; 3. group of regulating foods: vegetables and fruit; 4. group of energetic foods: bread, cereals, pasta, rice. What has to be known in respect to those groups is the quantity and proportion one should eat from each group in relation to the others and the right time for each, since each group has some, but not all nutrients and therefore the importance of blending them all right, the famous balanced diet. Of course this is not easy and someone who has not deeply studied nutrition cannot plan they´re own diet, hence looking for a nutritionist is always the ideal option. aware of that, I have asked nutritionist Felipe Rabello (CRN 4648) to give us some basic tips of the rules we should follow in order to have a balanced diet: 1. Never forget carbohydrates should be part of at least 60% of most daily meals (breakfast and lunch) because they are source of energy and metabolic activator; 2. the ingestion of protein should also be a part of all meals: breakfast: dairy, turkey; lunch and dinner: meat in general, eggs, and others. Proteins are source of amino acids, essential to good recovery of muscle fibers after physical activity; 3. fruit and vegetables should also be a part of every meal, because they offer vitamins and minerals, easily lost during exercise; 4. Drinking lots of water and careful reposition of nutrients (always on the first hour after exercising) will make the muscles recuperate faster, get disposition, and accelerate metabolism; 5. Never exercise on an empty stomach, which means it should not take more than four hours from your last meal to the time you´ll exercise; 6. Correct division of diet (at least 5 meals a day) will make your metabolism rise in at least 20%; 7. Rise up your ingestion of fibers, integral foods (rice, bread, lentils, beans), leaves, fruit with eatable peal and seeds, as well as vegetables in general; 8. Avoid excessive ingestion of carbohydrates at night, such as pasta, bread, fruit, and sweets. At night we are closer to our resting metabolism, needing, therefore, less energy. It is important dinner is always less rich than lunch; 9. Chew your food carefully. This process allows the arrival of food to the stomach to be slow, which means more time for the organ to send the brain a message of satisfaction, diminishing the will to eat more, that is, the excess; 10. Drink at least 4 pints of water during the day, for it hydrates the body, helps in the elimination of toxins by the kidneys and improves cellulite treatment; 11. Give preference to white cheese. Cheese is rich in protein and presents a great variety of fats. The amount of fat can be perceived by the color of the cheese. The more yellow, the more fat; 12. Avoid drinking alcohol during meals. The body will be in charge of burning the alcohol first, since it is toxic to the organism, meanwhile food is stored in fat reserves; 13. Avoid graves made of sour cream and mayonnaise. Replace them with light yogurt; 14. Give preferences to baked, cooked or grilled. Every time you fry meat (cow, chicken or fish) it gains about 35 extra calories; Final Observations: - We should always eat according to the needs of each period or situational that is done in this direction allows us to know what and how much is necessary to our daily menu so our heath can be restored or maintained; - Don´t be a slave to your diet, it is not worth to live without eating that something you like so much, it is just a matter of controlling it; - Go see a nutritionist if you really want to pursuit a correct diet, according to your own needs. You better believe the huge difference it makes; - That´s all! You don´t have to stop living , it is not worth to suffer because you can´t eat something you really like, try to readapt your diet and save it to special occasions, weekends, etc... - And don´t forget physical activity can "burn" all the extra calories from the weekend!!! Cheers and see you next time!