What a boring word for a fascinating subject. Of course, everyone knows how important good nutrition is. "Eat your vegetables" is practically part of the national anthem. Unfortunately, even the best intentions can go astray. Relationships may come and go but golden snack cakes are forever. Take heart. With a little bit of planning and some helpful information on nutrition you can change your habits.
Here's some information to get you started on a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Try it for three months. That's just enough time for all sorts of good benefits to start showing up and for "good nutrition" to become a good word.
Nutritious food and exercise is good for your body. Go heavy on the fruits and veggies and light on the junk food. Guide your food choices with help from the food pyramid. The foods you're supposed to eat the most of are at the wide bottom of the pyramid; the foods you're supposed to eat the least of are at the top. That means lots of veggies and fruits, breads, cereals, rice and pasta. Add 2-3 servings a day of milk, yogurt and/or cheese and 2-3 servings a day of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and/or seeds.
Lighten up on fats, oils, and sweets. Fat-free cakes, cookies and chips are one very small part of a sensible eating plan. And, your body needs vitamins and minerals to grow strong and stay healthy. Vegetarians, be sure you're getting lots of protein from other sources.
Calcium is a serious subject. Lack of calcium could mean walking around with an osteoporosis induced camel-hump looking thing on your back when you're 80. Who wants to spend their golden years with a condition that could have been prevented with adequate calcium as a young woman. Fight osteoporosis (fragile bones) with calcium. If milk has a high gag-factor for you, try broccoli, yogurt, leafy greens, artichokes and sesame seeds.
Take care of yourself and try to get moving at least 30 to 45 minutes three times a week. This helps keep you healthy and may put a strangle hold on PMS.
PMS
Can you relate to any of these pre-period situations?
- You can be overheard on the phone loudly telling a friend about how your favorite jeans shrunk in the wash. For some reason, they refuse to button today when they buttoned quite fine last week. You've also noticed your rings are not coming off without the help of a tub of Crisco®.
- You are insanely irritable about the no-fit jeans situation.
- You make everyone in the house aware how irritable you are about the no-fit jeans situation.
- Later that evening you find yourself watching Lifetime television and sobbing into a bowl of extra-salty popcorn followed by chocolate.
Hold the phone. There is no need to call in a shrink. If you can relate, you've probably got bloating and pre-period moodiness linked to your cycle. Both can be somewhat controlled with diet. This is great news!
pms remedies that have helped other girls and women
"Chocolate covered pretzels sound good ?"
Hold it. If your stomach or breasts feel huge and heavy right before or during your period, reduce the amount of salty foods you eat during the week before and on the first day of your period. You'll be glad you did. Salt causes water retention and increases that marshmallow woman feeling. There are the obvious sources of salt that you may crave before your period--corn chips, potato chips, french fries-and there are also hidden sources, like soy sauce and fast-food milkshakes which can contain a truck load of sodium.
"Where's the coffee?"
Skip it. If you want to lessen pre-period moodiness the extra strength skinny double latte will have to go. Replace it with the skinny de-caf double latte to keep the irritability meter in check. Skip the coffee, caffeinated tea and sodas too. Some people even say chocolate needs to go too. What a trauma to give it all up! No pretending it's going to be easy. But a month without uncontrolled moodiness could be worth it.
Good things to eat and drink: Fruit juices, plenty of water, multivitamins containing calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C, and herbal tea. Many drugstores and health food stores sell special PMS tea, labeled as such, but any kind of caffeine-free tea would be nice. Ask a doctor or other health care provider for advice. Try to take care of yourself and exercise moderately on a regular basis.
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