Essential fats

If you have been doggedly avoiding fat in an attempt to lose weight — this approach is WRONG. You need fats in your diet. Your brain consists mostly of fat, and your intelligence, heartbeat and muscular movements all depend on it. The only way in which your body can send electrical messages through living tissue is via your nerve cells and their connectors, which again are made of fat.

The fact is that some fats (known as lipids) are essential. They act as the second energy reserve behind glycogen, providing most of their energy at around 70 per cent of maximum heart rate. Endurance athletes utilize fat as an energy source more than other sports people and this is why they tend to be lean.

Fats are not just for energy, though. Their many other functions include insulating important organs, carrying fat-soluble vitamins and regulating hormone levels. If you're a female athlete and you experience a loss of your periods, this may be due to extremely low body fat, for this plays a vital role in the activation of the female hormone oestrogen.

Fats also contribute to health in many other ways — provided they are of the right kind. In an attempt to warn people about the risk of consuming toomuch fat, certain groups have created the impression that all fats are bad, but this simply is not true.

Are you eating the wrong fats?

Many people in the Western world are getting 45 per cent of their calorific intake from fats, but these are junk fats that the body cannot use, so these people are just as fat-deficient as those on extremely low-fat regimes.

THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF NATURAL FATS:

1. Saturated fats come primarily from animal sources such as meat and dairy products, and from coconut and palm-kernel oil; they are solid at room temperature. They provide the body with a stored form of energy in fat cells.

2. Unsaturated fats are found in vegetables, nuts, grains and seeds, and in fish and game; they are liquid at room temperature. They contain two fatty acids that are essential to life and, more importantly, that the body cannot produce itself. These are linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3) From these two 'essential fatty acids' your body can make all the other fatty acids it needs.

Is it just a case of cutting out saturated fat?

Saturated fat gets a bad press, and a diet too heavy in it has been closely linked to cardiovascular disease. However, there is another fat with an equal capacity to harm: hydrogenated fat.

Hydrogenated fat is solid or semi-solid at room temperature (the best example being margarine). It is created when a liquid oil (such as corn oil) has hydrogen added to it, changing its chemical structure. This in turn can interfere with the metabolism of some essential fatty acids. Research has shown that the trans fats in hydrogenated fats can increase LDL (poor) cholesterol,decrease HDL (good) cholesterol and thus raise the risk of coronary heart disease. Hydrogenated fat is found in almost all processed foods, plus frozen convenience foods and deep-fried fast food. This is another good reason to say goodbye to junk food and hello to fresh produce.

If you usually ingest high amounts of processed fats and use commercially altered oils for cooking, then you are certainly not getting the balance of fats that your body needs.

Why don't food manufacturers use healthier oils?

Even though the food industry uses vegetable oils that contain a reasonable amount of omega-6 fatty acids, they avoid omega-3s because these are more susceptible to oxidization — in other words, they go rancid quickly and don't have a long shelf life.

Ironic, isn't it? Food manufacturers quite happily promote food under the guise of lowering cholesterol and reducing heart disease, but they are ignoring one of the fats essential to health. So unless you are eating high amounts of fish, fish oils, leafy vegetables, nuts, unrefined olive oil, tofu or flaxseed oil, your ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is probably screwed up, and this in turn will be screwing up your health.

The current Western diet is much higher in omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3's. Remember those healthy Palaeolithic people we were discussing earlier? They were eating equal amounts of both.

How is this relevant to body weight?

If you are eating a diet with a good balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, this will affect your body in beneficial fat-burning ways:

• Your metabolic rate will be increased, as will the metabolism of fats, so more stored fat will be burned for energy
• Your cells' sensitivity to insulin will be increased, so that it regulates blood- sugar levels more effectively
• The ratio of insulin to glucagons will improve, which will unlock the fat- storage banks and again allow fat to be burned as energy
• Natural appetite suppressants will kick in.

So if you want to improve your chances of losing weight, you need to up your intake of omega-3 and other healthy fats.

Essential fats Q&A

Q. How often should I eat oily fish per week if I want to consume enough omega-3 fatty acids?

A. You should aim to eat oily fish a minimum of 2-3 times per week, or ensure you use flaxseed oil regularly on salads to raise your levels. Try to eat fish from as safe a source as possible as many coldwater fish are contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides.

Q. How can I avoid hydrogenated fat?

A. Cut out processed food and only use cold-pressed un-refined oils such as olive oil, or coconut oil for cooking. Don't eat fast food that has been deep-fried and avoid butter type spreads. If you did this, then you should be able to avoid consuming dangerous trans fatty acids.

Health Concern: FAT?

The term "fat" includes fats from meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products as well as vegetable oils and the nuts, seeds, and grains from which they have been extracted. There are two basic kinds of fats—saturated, occurring mostly in animal foods (although some vegetable fats such as the kind that coconut contains fall into this category too), and unsaturated, in the form of vegetable oils such as safflower, corn, and sunflower, and in seeds and nuts. Fish tends to contain more unsaturated than saturated fats, meat more saturated than unsaturated.

Whether saturated or unsaturated, all the fats you eat rapidly form a film around blood cells and platelets, creating a kind of sludge which causes them to stick together. This clumping significantly interferes with circulation by clogging blood vessels and even temporarily closing down small capillaries. As a result, your cells do not receive all the oxygen and nutrients they need to function efficiently. They only run at about 80 percent capacity. This interferes with cell metabolism as well as with the efficient elimination of cellular and tissue wastes.

The chemical structure of an unsaturated fatty acid differs from its saturated brother in that at least two of the carbon atoms in its formula are free. This means that they have no hydrogen atoms attached to them, as the molecule of a saturated fatty acid does. It was long thought that while saturated fats were bad for you, unsaturated fats were good. For unsaturated fats have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, and therefore were believed to be helpful in preventing arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. That is the reason we have been encouraged in the last thirty years or so to include plenty of polyunsaturates in our diet by switching from butter to margarine and vegetable oils. The catch is that although unsaturates do this, like all fats they still raise triglyceride levels (another factor linked with coronary heart disease) and they also create the same clumping as the saturated fats do, which leads to tissue anoxia.

Women have also lately been encouraged by poorly informed writers to include lots of polyunsaturates in their diet for their beauty's sake. Unsaturated fatty acids are an important constituent of skin and muscle tissue and so it was thought, quite wrongly, that we need more of them. For what we have not been told is that the chemical structure of unsaturated fats with their free carbon atoms makes them extremely unstable compounds, and that when an unsaturated fat is exposed even to the smallest trace of a catalytic agent it begins a process of autooxidation which results in the fat molecule's breaking down to produce what are known as free radicals.

Free radicals are highly reactive particles which, if left unchecked in the presence of oxygen molecules, will form toxic peroxides. These peroxides can damage and destroy cells. They have also been implicated as a primary cause of the aging process itself. When a cell, or the genetic material of a cell, is destroyed by free radicals, the result is something known as a lipofuscin pigment granule—often referred to by biochemists as a "clinker." With age, ever more cells are damaged or destroyed as tissue degenerates, leading to increase in the number of these pigment granules. This is something you want to avoid in every way you can if you don't want to look and be old before your time.

To some extent, the presence of sufficient amounts of an antioxidant such as vitamin E in the system may prevent this from happening, because it minimizes the damage done by free radical chain reactions by breaking the chain. Vitamin E, like other antioxidants, helps block the oxidation that turns fatty acids into harmful peroxides. The more unsaturated fatty acids in your diet, the greater will be your need for the vitamin.

An interesting dietary survey that was done at the University of California at Irvine looked at over 1,000 patients and examined the degree of wrinkling and crow's-feet, frown lines, and other indications of skin degeneration such as damage to the collagen and elastin fibers and the irregular pigmentation characteristic of old skin. The subjects ranged in age from seventeen to eighty-one and 76 percent of them were women. Cadvan Griffiths, M.D., the professor of surgery who carried out the study, discovered that there is an undeniable link between marked clinical signs of aging and the intake of unsaturated fats in one's diet. Those who regularly and frequently included polyunsaturated fats and oils in their diet had marked signs of premature aging. Some looked as much as twenty years older than they were. Very few of those who had made no special effort to eat more polyunsaturates showed any clinical signs of premature aging. Evidence is also accumulating that links free radical reactions to the etiology of cancer, senility, atherosclerosis and hypertension—all of them disorders generally associated with aging. This is all the more reason to limit the amount of every kind of fat you eat to no more than you actually need.

Must Know: Facts about fat in Your Diet

Although the effect of the total amount of fat in the diet on blood cholesterol levels has been well documented, the most important effectrelates to the type of fat.

Saturated fats have a profound hypercholesterolemic effect (in other words, they increase blood cholesterol levels significantly) and simultaneously increase concentrations of LDL or 'bad' cholesterol. Sources: Saturated fatty acids are found in both animal and plant products, but animal products (such as butter, cheese, full-cream milk, cream, ice-cream, beef, pork and lamb) are the major source of saturated fat in the average South African diet. Similarly, hard or brick margarine (the product packaged in a wrapper) is high in saturated fat; soft of 'tub' margarine is the healthier alternative, since it is low in this type of fat and higher in polyunsaturated fats. Using a polyunsaturated fat will also help to improve your P:S ratio (see below). Coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil and palm kernel oil are common 'saturated' vegetable fats which are generally found in many commercially baked goods such as biscuits, also in non-dairy creamers, cake mixes and chocolates. Read labels carefully if youwant to avoid these products.

Mono-unsaturated fats were previously thought to be 'neutral' intheir action on blood cholesterol levels, but recent studies suggest that these fatty acids may play a useful role in the dietary prevention of CHD, since they appear to have most of the benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Sources: Olive oil, avocado pears and nuts are rich sources of monounsaturated fat.

Polyunsaturated fats lower blood cholesterol levels as well as the concentraton of LDL cholesterol.

Sources: Sunflower oil, tub margarine.

There are two classes of polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely omega-3 and omega-6, which have a variety of functions in the body. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in some vegetable oils and, in particular, in fatty fish. Eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) - a fatty acid which falls into thissub-class - is derived from fish and is highly concentrated in fish oils. Research suggests that this fatty acid may play a beneficial role in a diversity of biological processes including arthritis, eczema and even cancer. However, the role of omega-3 fatty acids - and specifically EPA - in the treatment of hypertension and raised serum cholesterollevels remains controversial.

It seems from studies done so far that fish and fish oil supplements may lower triglyceride levels, reduce clot formation, decrease blood viscosity (or thickness) and lower blood pressure levels. However, the optimal doses of these fatty acids have not been established and until answers to these questions are known, the widespreadsupplementation of omega-3 fatty acids is not recommended. It is a better idea to substitute fish, especially fatty fish (such as salmon, galjoen, snoek, pilchards and tuna) as a source of protein in two or three meals a week, thus consuming a whole spectrum of nutrients and not just a single fatty acid fraction.

The P:S ratio

The ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids in a diet is known as the P:S ratio. The typical South African diet has a P:S ratio of 0.5:1.0 (in other words, twice as much saturated as polyunsaturated fat). However, the eating plan recommended for the prevention of CHD suggests a ratio of at least 1:1 (or an equal quantity of both), which for most of us means restricting our saturated fat intake and replacing it, where practical, with polyunsaturated fat such as fish or sunflower oil. Most of the comparisons between the effects of saturated and polyunsaturated fat have indicated that gram for gram, the blood cholesterol-raising effect of saturated fat is up to two times greater than the cholesterol-lowering effect of polyunsaturated fat.

Many studies have shown that so-called 'intervention trials' aimed at lowering raised blood cholesterol levels, reduce the CHD risk and slow the progress of arterial damage. These studies provide strong support for recommendations for a considerable overall decrease in dietary fat by the general public, from the present 35-38°/o to 30% of total kilojoule intake, and a decrease in saturated fat to 10% of total kilojoule intake.

Top tips for healthy eating

The best and most balanced diet is one that suits you and your life, and includes important health and nutritional factors. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts to good health. It is a lifestyle choice, not a programme for a designated number of days or weeks. And it is about attitude: you must want to have good nutrition. You must want to eat healthily.

Taking care of your body is not about feeling guilty or disappointed when goals are not reached. Instead, commit to eating right, for most of the time, for all of your life. Being able to eat healthfully is one of life's gifts, which is sadly not available to everyone worldwide. We need to take better care of the privilege.

1. Use the word 'diet' sparingly!

The word 'diet' should not refer to weight loss but to eating for good health. Most people associate weight-loss diets with missing out or deprivation. These diets can and do work for many people, but more often than not they are counterproductive. Often, once you have finished your diet or reached your goal weight, you gradually put weight back on. A good health diet is a lifestyle choice. Healthy eating promotes energy, vitality and vibrancy.

2. Do not focus on losing weight or clothing size

Rather than focus on getting rid of something, why not try focusing on gaining something? Perhaps a good thing to say would be, 'I aim to feel healthy and fit within the next three months: or 'I will be able to complete that 10 km fun run in September: You can still adopt healthy eating habits regardless of your size or weight. Optimum, holistic wellness is a better focus.

3. Eat foods close to their natural form

Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods. The more a food is refined and processed the more essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients are lost. Many of these foods only fulfil hunger needs and do not take into account nutritional needs. Take a typical fast food like hot fries, for example. The main ingredient is potato, but unfortunately you will often find a multitude of additives and hydrogenated oils, not to mention acrylamides (cancer-causing chemicals from high heat, i.e. frying) and salt in this quick snack. You would obtain much more nutrition from the potato without all the processing.

A meal comprised of fish and green vegetables will help enhance a good night's sleep. These foods are rich in magnesium and calcium, both necessary to help the body relax and brain chemistry balance

4. Drink plenty of good clean water

It is often recommended to drink at least eight glasses of water every day. This can be a huge challenge in itself and may not necessarily be right for everyone. We have found the best way to get adequate water into our bodies is to aim to have at least four glasses per day. Or fill a 1-litre water bottle at the beginning of the day and aim to get through it before you get to bed. Increase your fruit and vegetable intake as these contain a higher water content than most processed foods. Look at the humble baked potato above and you will see that it contains a whopping 71 per cent water, as opposed to the hot fries with only 38 per cent. Processed foods not only contain less water but usually have higher sodium levels which, in excess, can cause dehydration and hypertension.

5. Meet your taste buds again!

As you reduce your intake of processed and refined foods, you may think that some foods taste rather bland. This is because you can be addicted to food additives and flavourings like sugar and salt. Trying new, more healthy recipes and introducing new flavours using natural herbs and spices will help you when you try to avoid processed foods. There are many excellent healthy cookbooks on the market or at the library. See the reference section for our recommendations.

6. Eat healthful snacks

Rather than reaching for the typical convenient snack foods, have a handful of almonds and raisins instead. Nuts have an excellent balance of fats, are packed with essential fatty acids, protein, antioxidants, phytonutrients, fibre and energy. A quick digestable snack like a fruit smoothie filled with fruits, milk, water and whey powder or tofu is also an excellent quick source of the essential nutrients your body needs (see page 95). Make a shake in the morning and pour it into a thermos so it stays fresh throughout the day.

7. Listen to your individual needs

We are overwhelmed with diets and books on how to be more healthy. What works for you may not work for someone else. Get in tune with your own needs before you take advice from someone else. When you find something that is working and enjoyable, then stick to your guns regardless of what others may be suggesting.

8. Enjoy the right fat

Fat is an essential nutrient required by the body. The problem arises when people eat too many hydrogenated or trans fats. The best fats to include in your eating are derived from nuts, seeds, avocados and fish. The Omega 3,6 and 9 fats all contain essential fatty acids and can be included in salad and vegetable dressings, smoothies and spreads. When it comes to eating fat for optimum health, the important thing to remember is the type of fat and how much you consume.

9. Plan, plan, plan

One of the biggest reasons for not eating properly is a lack of planning. When you are running late or working long hours, the last thing you want to do is prepare a good meal. It sounds so simple, but if you make something the night before, it will encourage you to eat a good meal at home rather than dine on drive-through. Planning your meals for the week will also keep your food bill at the supermarket down and take the stress out of preparing food. Taking more time in the morning to make your lunch and snacks of wholefoods will also assist in getting good healthy food into your body.

10. Take a natural antioxidant

It is often said that we are overfed and undernourished. Modern diets tend to be loaded with all sorts of processed and refined foods. We are eating more simple carbohydrates, sugar, salt and trans fats that can increase the free radical damage within the body, contribute to weight gain and lessen our immunity. In order to counteract these processes it would be healthful to include a high-quality natural antioxidant daily.

11. Graze, don't gorge!

Skipping meals or not eating for a whole day because you are too busy can be detrimental to your health. When you eat, the body's metabolism rises as the process of digestion begins. Eating four to five small healthy meals a day may suit you more than the typical two or three. It helps keep sugar levels more even and reduces the craving for unhealthy foods. It may also help some with weight loss, if that is your goal. This does not mean eating chips or lollies between meals! Fruit, nuts, seeds, wholemeal bread and cheese are a better alternative. However, if two or three meals a day suits you, then stick to that. In the end, it is not about the number of meals you consume, but about the quality.

12. Educate yourself

Education is power. If you know how to read food labels (see page 120) and understand your body's basic nutritional needs, you will be better able to tell the difference between good information and marketing hype, which is all too often presented to us in the multibillion- dollar food industry.

13. Fad diets

We often get asked our opinions on the many and varied diets available today. The list is endless - from low-carbohydrate or no-carbohydrate to high-protein diets, raw-food diets, liver-cleansing diets and blood-group diets. There always seems to be a new one popping up. Often they contain some good tips and we have kept some great recipes from different diets that we adapt to suit our tastes. But remember, they often don't work for everyone.

Over the years we have both tried many different diet styles, and we agree that it is all about balance and finding what suits you and your lifestyle - and hopefully with the information in this book you will be that one step closer.

If you could plant only one tree in your garden, it should be an apple tree, says famous French herbalist Maurice Messegue. An apple contains pectin and Vitamin C, both of which help keep cholesterol levels stable. Pectin also helps protect us from pollution by binding toxic metals like lead or mercury in the body and transporting them safely out.

Apples are a great antidote to rich, greasy or fatty food. They are great detoxifiers, and those suffering with arthritis or rheumatism should eat raw apples regularly. They also help with diarrhoea and are a great pick-me-up after overindulging or a bout of the flu. Grated raw apple is said to help with recovery from illness, especially digestive problems or infections, as it is soothing and antiseptic. In fact, there are few health problems that cannot be helped or improved by eating an apple a day, including the peel, well washed and thoroughly chewed. This is precisely the reason why we decided to name our book Like an Apple a Day!

A lot of diets are designed for a finite period of time, to either achieve weight loss, cleansing or better health, and some can be very effective. However, the body is such an intricately balanced mechanism that it is unhealthy to eliminate or radically remove any essential nutrient from your diet for a long period of time, so do not deprive yourself. The best approach is to turn to nature and get back to basics. Reduce the amount of refined and processed foods you eat and turn to health-giving wholefoods. This will naturally bring about the balance and vitality you desire. Remember, to achieve optimum health you need to take the holistic approach and look at all areas of your life, because each impacts on the others.

14. Good food, good mood, good energy

Have you ever woken up feeling sluggish, bad-tempered or in need of more sleep? Or hit the afternoon with a huge slump, wondering how you will make it through the rest of the day? Constant fatigue, mood swings and a lack of energy can be brought on by many different factors, but often they are the result of poor food choices. Foods that are highly processed, loaded with sugar, salt or caffeine can alter the way we feel. Even though they may offer a quick surge of energy, they offer little nutritional benefit and can stress the adrenals and digestive system. This can leave us feeling tired or moody. The answer is simple: look at what you are eating to begin with. Opt for foods that give you sustained energy.

15. A moment to say grace

We are often reminded how fortunate we are to have so many different foods available to choose from. It's really true — we are blessed. We believe taking a few moments to say grace — a 'thank you' for the food you are about to eat and a chance to acknowledge the person who has cooked the meal (regardless of how simple it is) — is a powerful gesture. Our children lead the grace now and it makes a huge difference when we all sit down and hold hands around the table with the meal before us. Apart from expressing respect, it can also decrease the chances of indigestion by slowing everyone down before they get stuck into their food! Even if you are on your own, it is a chance to take a deep breath and relax before you begin eating. Here is a lovely simple acknowledgement you could say prior to each meal.

Earth who gives to us this food Sun who makes it ripe and good Dear Earth dear Sun by you we live Our loving thanks to you we give. Blessings on this food.

Fat Sources in Your Diet

The following table shows you the natural fat sources, and where you may find processed trans fat sources in your diet:

• Processed trans fats
• processed peanut butter
• baked goods
• frozen dinners
• processed meat products
• breakfast cereals
• confectionery
• margarines and hydrogenated spreads dried fruits
• chocolate
• low-fat and lite products
• crackers
• snack foods like chips
• Natural fats
• nuts
• seeds eggs fish
• chicken
• meat butter fruits and vegetables
• legumes and grains cold-pressed and unrefined oils

As you can see, butter is a natural fat, and we believe butter is better for you in moderation than a processed trans fat. However, butter is high in saturated fat, and should only be used sparingly.

Note: A small amount of trans fat can occur naturally in animal products such as meat and milk. This is due to the bacteria in the animal's gut, which produce these fats and transfer them on. These fats are only found in minimal amounts and they are recognised by your body as naturally occurring trans fats. Therefore the body does not respond to them in the same way it does to trans ('plastic') fats as mentioned above.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

Adults need about 50-60g of protein per day. This can be obtained from a couple of portions of foods like chicken, lean meat and fish (each one being approximately 20g). A vegetarian can meet their daily needs with eggs (two of which will provide approximately 15g), a few slices of cheese, a couple of slices of whole-grain bread and a cup of yoghurt.

Some people will need more protein than this at different times, such as infants, teenagers and pregnant women. If you are injured, the body requires more protein to help protect existing tissue and repair and rebuild the injured parts. Surgery, blood loss or wound healing also increase your protein requirements as the body creates new cells. Some athletes, particularly bodybuilders, need extra protein to help build more muscle tissue turned into trans fat. Trans fats also hide in a lot of other processed foods, such as cakes, biscuits, instant and frozen meals, breads, lollies and chocolate. Check the label because the amount of trans fats is not always listed. The only way to be certain is to phone the manufacturer.

(The best way to use butter is to make your own butter blend (this does not contain a lot of the additives that blended butters from the supermarket do): 250 g of unsalted butter blended by hand or in a processor with half a cup of olive oil and half a cup of flaxseed oil.)

The problem with trans fats is that they are not natural. Their altered molecular structure means our bodies are less able to use them, therefore they are of little nutritional value to us and can interfere with other bodily processes; for example, they can block the absorption of good fats. They are definitely not the kind of fat you want in your diet! Keep in mind, then, that fats are more beneficial if they are not processed.

Healthy Dietary Food Portion Serving Sizes Guides (Meat, beans, Fat & Sugar)

Third Floor: Animal foods and products

Moving up the pyramid, you find foods that come mostly from animals - the Dairy group and the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts group. Foods from this level contribute important nutrients, such as protein, calcium, iron, and zinc.

Meat and meat alternates (2 to 3 servings equivalent to a total of ounces)

Two to 3 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish (about the size of your palm) is an adequate amount of protein for a meal. Choose the select grades of beef, veal, and lamb to make sure that you get the least-marbled meats. Also, opt for lean cuts of meat, such as those from the round, loin, or leg (beef sirloin, ground round, or top round; pork tenderloin or loin chop; or leg of lamb). Select lean and extra-lean ground beef. Unless you're eating fat-free cold cuts, be extra cautious in the deli; many have more fat than lean meat per slice. Most fish are naturally lean.

In the USDA view of the food world, meats, beans, nuts, and eggs are ganged together. They all do have higher amounts of protein than other foods in the pyramid, but that's where critics say the similarities end. Red meat has been associated with increased cancer risk, and some other meat, such as cold cuts, are particularly high in fat. New scientific evidence shows that nuts have vitamin E and beans have fiber that makes them more unique, not similar to meat. Plus, the fat in fish trumps the fat in red meat and chicken.

Cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables – bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radishes, rutabaga, turnip, and watercress - are the cancer-fighters from the garden. They're called cruciferous, because their flowers or buds form a cross. Besides helping to protect against colon and rectal cancer, they're also good sources of calcium, iron, and folate.

When meat is your protein of choice, trim all visible fat before cooking and remove the skin from poultry before eating. And use lower-fat cooking methods, such as roasting, broiling, and grilling instead of frying, sauteing, or panfrying. Have fish a minimum of one day a week, and make at least one meal meatless. Dried beans and peas (legumes) are a good substitute for meat in this group.

Check out these options to meet your protein needs:

Meats (each counts as 1 serving):

i. 2 to 3 ounces cooked lean beef, pork, veal, or lamb without bone

ii. 2 to 3 ounces cooked poultry without skin or bone

iii. 2 to 3 ounces cooked fish without bone

iv. 2 to 3 ounces drained, canned fish

v. Meat alternates (each counts as 1 ounce, about 1/3 serving):

vi. 1 egg (yolk and white) or 2 egg whites

vii. 1/2 cup cooked dry beans (if not counted as vegetable)

viii. 2 tablespoons peanut butter

ix. 1/4 cup seeds, such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds

x. 1/3 cup nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, or peanuts

xi. 1/2 cup baked beans

xii. 1/2 cup tofu

xiii. Meat and fish products (each counts as 1 ounce, about 1/3 serving):

xiv. 1 ounce lean ham or Canadian bacon

xv. 11/2 frankfurters (10 per pound)

xvi. 1 frankfurter (8 per pound)

xvii. 1/4 cup drained canned salmon or tuna 1/3 cup drained canned clams or crabmeat

xviii. 4 Pacific oysters or 11 Atlantic oysters

xix. 6 medium shrimp

xx. 1/4 cup drained canned lobster or shrimp

Dairy products (2 to 3 servings)

The Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese group shares the third tier of the pyramid with the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts group. Like foods in the meat group, dairy foods are a good source of protein. They're also some of the best sources of calcium and contribute vitamins A and D to your diet as well.

A word of caution: Dairy foods can be very high in fat, so reach for fat-free, lowfat, part-skim, or reduced-fat cheeses, ice cream, frozen yogurt, ice milk, and fluid milk products when you're watching your weight. If dairy products aren't your cup of tea, so to speak, make sure you're getting enough calcium by eating more dark leafy greens. A supplement may also add to your daily requirement. But keep in mind, recent evidence shows that dairy products can actually help you lose weight. There have been many studies that prove it. One intriguing body of work done at the University of Tennessee and published in the medical journal Lipids in February 2002 concluded that increasing dietary sources of calcium, especially from dairy products, reduced body fat even without calorie restriction and accelerated weight loss when calories were cut.

If you're lactose intolerant and can't eat dairy products without becoming ill, consider milk that has been treated to reduce the amount of lactose in it. You can find several brands on the market that are worth a try.

Dairy delicious ways to get calcium and protein in your diet include the following:

i. 1 cup milk or buttermilk

ii. 1 cup yogurt

iii. 11/2 ounces natural cheese

iv. 2 ounces processed cheese

v. 2 cups cottage cheese (it's lower in calcium than most other cheeses)

vi. 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

vii. 1/2 cup dry nonfat milk

viii. 1/2 cup evaporated milk

ix. 1 cup frozen yogurt or 11/2 cups ice milk

Don't mistake cheese for the only ideal protein alternative to meat. Sure

it delivers some protein, but it also comes with an abundance of fat. If you choose not to eat meat from the meat group, go for water-packed tuna, bean and bean spreads, such as hummus (made with a minimal amount of tahini paste), and soy products, such as tempeh and tofu. Or choose reduced-fat cheeses or lower-fat varieties, such as feta, baby Swiss, and part-skim mozzarella.

Alcohol in your diet

Although alcohol isn't technically part of the pyramid, keep in mind that like items from the pyramid's tip, you get calories but no nutrients in each and every glass. Limit your consumption to no more than two drinks per day if you're male and one drink per day if you're female. A serving of alcohol is defined as

i. 12 ounces of beer

ii. 11/2 ounces of hard or distilled spirits

iii. 5 ounces of wine

Highest Floor: Fats, oils, and sweets

Just because this group is on the top of the pyramid doesn't mean that it's the best group. Instead, this placement means that, like a penthouse, few people can spend much time there. Scan the lists later in this section, and you'll see plenty of foods that you probably eat frequently. Most of these foods contribute practically no nutrients other than sugar, fat, and calories.

Grouping all fats with sugars riles some health groups. There's not much evidence to justify eating more sugar. However, critics say locking all fats and oils in the attic with sugar and sweets simply isn't fair. All fats have the same number of calories but consider the bigger picture: Trans fats, found in foods made with partially hydrogenated fat, such as some stick margarines and solid vegetable shortening, are as unhealthy as saturated fat - animal fat that's solid at room temperature. Both raise unhealthy LDL cholesterol and contribute to heart disease. Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, improve cholesterol levels and thus lower heart disease risk. The oils of nuts, seeds, and olives are unsaturated. The bottom line, use any fat sparingly; they're caloric. And when you do, make them unsaturated.

Fats:

Bacon and salt pork

Butter

Cream (dairy or nondairy)

Cream cheese

Lard

Margarine

Mayonnaise

Salad dressing

Shortening

Sour cream

Vegetable oil

Sugars:

Candy

Corn syrup

Frosting (icing)

Fruit drinks (unfortified)

Gelatin desserts

Honey

Jam or jelly

Maple syrup

Marmalade

Molasses

Popsicles and ices

Sherbet

Soft Drink

Sugar