Healthy Diet

In these tough economic times having a good diet, exercising and pursue a healthy lifestyle is expensive and time consuming. Food insecurity, or inaccessibility to nutritionally adequate foods owing to financial or other resource limitations, has emerged as an important public health concern. Estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture showed that 14.9% of households in USA qualified as food insecure in 2011 (Coleman-Jesen, Nord, Andrews, 2012). Food-insecure families diets depends mainly on price, consequently consume energy-dense inadequate foods (Dachner, Ricciuto, Kirkpatric &Tarasuk, 2010).  It is widely known that eating habits could induce to obesity and chronic diseases that harm the population health.  

Diet is a known modifiable risk factor for stroke, therefore, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association offers these recommendations for a healthy diet:

·      Eat a diet rich in vegetables and fruits.

·      Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

·      Eat fish at least twice a week.

·      Avoiding partially hydrogenated oils will reduce trans fats.

·      Choose lean meats and poultry, and prepare them without using saturated or trans fats.

·      Select fat-free, 1-precent or low-fat dairy products.

·      Cut back on drinks and foods with added sugars.

·      If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

·      Prepare healthy recipes at home 

Healthy food habits can help you reduce risk factors for stroke like cholesterol levels, blood pressure and excess weight.  For more information you could access the American Heart and Stroke Association:  http://powertoendstroke.org/stroke-reduce-risk.html

Don't let the cost of a healthy diet discourage you.  Here is a helpful website for Healthy Eating on a Budget: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-on-budget.html

References:

Coleman-Jensen A., Nord M., & Andrews M., (2012),  Household Food Security in the United States in 2011. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Dachner N., Ricciuto L., Kirkpatric SI., &Tarasuk V., (2010), Food purchasing and food insecurity among low-income families in Toronto. Can J Diet Pract Res, 71(3), e50-e56