365days2playWhile I’m on this healthy streak, I thought I should share my enthusiasm with you guys by posting some health tips you might like to follow.
Before I jump into the hard stuff, I’d like to tell you that I am a label reader, and I’ve always been so since I was a kid. My music school was right above a supermarket, and after class, I’d prowl the supermarket shelves, stalking the canned food or confectionary section. I’d actually read the ingredients and nutrition list. Don’t ask me why it’s so fascinating, but it just is. In fact, one of my dream jobs (still is!) is to work in a supermarket!
Anyway, the point is that when you read labels, you learn a lot more about the food you’re consuming. It just baffles me how easily people are fooled by the colourful words on the packaging, that are designed to make you think what THEY want you to think. Cereals for kids are the worst offender! But the truth is there for you to see, in the labels! For example, I once told a colleague to drink more fruit juice since he had come down with the flu. He dutifully went to 7-Eleven, and to my horror, bought a juice drink. Now when you see the word ”juice drink”, rather than ”juice” or ”pure juice”, you know that it’s not pure. Many times it’s apple juice added, but in bad cases it’s sugar added. So he sipped on a sugary juice drink. Ah well, on to the mantras.
Eat 2 servings of fruit a day
So everyone has this vague idea that one should try and eat more fruits. The question is how much is enough? The answer is that you should eat at least 2 servings of fruit a day. And how much is 2 servings of fruit? 1 kiwi is about the size of 1 serving of fruit.
In a survey conducted by Zespri (the company that represents and markets NZ Kiwifruit), it was found that most Singaporeans aren’t getting at least 2 servings of fruit a day. At least more than 50% eat at least 1 serving of fruit a day. I certainly hope you’re not in the 8% that do not eat fruit at all! Two servings is the minimum btw, there are some health experts out there who say that you need to consume 9 servings per day! I think I’ll give myself a pat on the back if I can sustain 2 servings.
Not all fruits are created equal. Be kiasu, choose the best!
Okay you guys may think that I’m trying to hard sell the kiwifruit, but the facts are not fake. We should always eat a good variety of fruits for the various vitamins, but if you can only stomach a bit of fruit a day, go for the most power packed one!
Make your breakfast a nutritious one
You see, one excuse I have for not eating enough fruits is that after lunch or dinner, I’m just too full to eat anymore fruits. And believe it or not, I don’t snack all that much, yes it’s true lah! So actually, a good time to pack more fruits into my diet is to have fruit for breakfast.
In another survey conducted by Zespri, only 19% have fruits for breakfast, while a whopping 84% have bread, buns or biscuits. I don’t know about you but plain bread or bread with a sweetened spread is a definite NO NO for me for breakfast. The sugar from all the carbo hits me really hard and I literally feel like taking MC for the rest of the day.
So are you one of those that makes use of breakfast to jumpstart your day? Let’s ignore the survey that Zespri has done and conduct one ourselves. Fill in this survey and let me know what you have for breakfast!
