Good Food And Food To Avoid

Be Liberal with vital animal protein foods – milk, meat, eggs and cheese.

Reasons why: Protein foods satisfy your appetite earlier, make it content with fewer calories. Protein calories step up your metabolism and tend to use up more energy, hence are more effective in reducing weight than fat or carbohydrate calories. Proteins help to eliminate surplus water from the tissues (70% of your weight is water).

Animal proteins are necessary to supplement the less complete ones of vegetable foods; animal fats are outstanding sources of Vitamin A in which many reducing diets are deficient. The vitamin in green and yellow leaves and vegetables is present in a form (carotene) not always well utilized, especially if "diet dressings" made of mineral

Eat as many vegetables as you like

Reasons why: They satisfy your need for bulk because you can eat large quantities without taking in many calories (except for legumes and avocados, which are high in fat). Vegetables are valuable carriers of vitamins and minerals, and provide bulk for intestinal roughage. Choose a substantial proportion of your carbohydrate calories from vegetables rather than from concentrated sweets and sugars which have low mineral and vitamin values. Generally speaking, the proteins of vegetables are inferior, except for the legumes, but they increase in value when supplemented by animal proteins. Vegetables should be boiled, baked, or eaten raw, since frying adds fat and increases calorie values hugely.

Include plenty of fruit

Reasons why: Fruits are excellent carriers of vitamins and minerals and, like vegetables, most of them leave an alkaline ash that helps prevent acidosis in restricted diets. Fruits are outstanding for carbohydrate calories, because of their content of natural sugars and starches. When canned in heavy syrups, fruits may more than double their calorie values if the juice is used in average servings. By choosing water-packed or "diabetic" canned fruits, you can consume about twice the quantity with

no greater calorie intake. Containing natural sugars, most fruits are not low in calorie value.

Be careful with breads and cereals.

Reasons why: Cereal products are excellent energy foods in that their starches furnish liberal carbohydrate calories, but they are relatively low in vitamins, except the whole-grain or fortified products. Moreover, breads and pastries usually require butter to make them palatable, or cream and sugar in the case of breakfast cereals, and the calorie values of these accessories must be added. Breads need not be eliminated from reducing diets but should be used sparingly, and wherever possible the new vitamin-fortified flours and breads, or whole-grain equivalents, should be chosen.

Pies and Cakes

Here are some little trouble-makers you're likely to overlook because they appear so innocent. But don't forget that a small-size package can deliver plenty of calories —look at the 450-calorie wallop packed by a piece of mince pie!

Desserts and Sweets

You're entitled to something sweet with which to wind up a meal—makes you more satisfied with your diet, and remember, it isn't safe to pass up all carbohydrates. Pick the simpler, non-concentrated light desserts. Remember that foods containing chocolate are extra fattening because of higher fat content—"I'll take vanilla."

Fats, Sugars And Syrups.

These are the items we use in cooking, or for spreading or pouring on bread or flapjacks, that add alarmingly to calorie totals. Watch them! The best source of fats is in butter or cream because of their fat-soluble vitamins.

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