Making small changes for a healthier nutrition – public radio in South Carolina

This week, Bobby Connor talks to Janet Carter about making small changes for a healthier meal plan. Janet is a clinical specialist in lipid and program manager and leading nutritionist for the health program for the health of the Musc Distly Health Wellness.

Transcript:

Connor: I am Bobby Connor for public radio in South Carolina with a health focus here at the radio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. The healthy eating plan gives your body the nutrients it needs every day, and also helps to reduce your risk to heart disease and other health conditions. Janet Carter is here to talk about the details. Janet is a specialist in clinical lipids and she is the head of the program and manages a nutritionist for the health program for the health of MUSC for children’s health. Janet, what would you look like a perfect plan for a healthy eating for adults and children?

Janet Carter: It is very important to focus on the presence of many vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and slender proteins, including plant -based proteins. If I wanted to offer a name of a dining plan, the Mediterranean eating plan has decades of evidence to support its health benefits. The Mediterranean eating plan is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, vegetable proteins, healthy fats and can be consistent with the likes and dislikes of all. There is a lot of online information about the Mediterranean eating plan, such as daily diet plans and recipes that help families follow this type of dining plan.

Connor: Can we still have some treats or spread sometimes when we maintain this type of healthy eating?

Janet Carter: Yes, of course. As for healthy eating habits, perfection is not the goal. I often recommend what we call rule 80/20 or 90/10, which means that about 10 to 20% of the time if you eat something that is not as healthy as unwanted food or fast food, this is not great deal While for the rest of the time, 80 to 90% of the time you do healthy things, your body will be very healthy.

Connor: What small changes or replacements we can make to come up with a healthier diet.

Janet Carter: Well, you said that Bobbi, the changes should be small. Trying to make big, drastic changes, it can lead to stress and powerlessness, which is really counterproductive for healthy habits. A great start can be to add more vegetables and fruits to the day. Another great start may be to add another ten minutes to any exercise you are already doing. Everyone is at a different starting point with healthy habits, so the key is to make only 1 to 2 small changes that can be built that will not lead to stress or powerlessness.

Connor: Janet, which foods are best to avoid or limit if our goal is really a healthy diet.

Janet Carter: Foods that have the most negative effect on our wellness are ultra -processed foods, deep fried foods, foods high in saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. But it is always important to remember that we should not be perfect. We just have to be very careful about what we have on a daily basis and are trying to stick to this Rule 80/20.

Connor: How important is reading each food label to really stick to a healthy diet?

Janet Carter: Reading food labels is very important because it gives you a chance to see what you put in your body. So, the first thing to look at on the eating label is the size of serving. The purpose of serving is to determine the amount of food that the rest of the label information is in relation to. Then the three components of the food that need to be limited are saturated fats, sodium and added sugar. A good thumb rule when you look at the eating label is to look at the right side with the percentage of the daily value and if this number is 15% or higher, it is considered high and you may want to look for an alternative.

Connor: Janet, thanks for these tips for healthy eating.

Janet Carter: Welcome.

Connor: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I am Bobby Connor for public radio in South Carolina.

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