Where Is The Fibre And Vitamins Amongst The Fat And Sugar
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The Dietary Guidelines urge people to increase their intake of fibre. Many of the modern "diseases of affluence" have been linked with diets low in fibre. The long list includes constipation, hemorrhoids, appendicitis, varicose veins, bowel cancer, diabetes and even heart disease.
Fibre's main function is to create a bulk in the intestines which helps carry away waste material. Good sources of fibre include fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, brown rice, corn, bran, muesli, dried beans, fresh and dried fruit, baked beans and nuts.
Fast food meals are often deficient in fibre because they lack fresh vegetables, fruits or wholegrains. Fibre depleted foods are generally concentrated in kilojoules.
Many kilojoules can be quickly consumed, thereby contributing to overweight and obesity.
White flour, being highly processed, contains little fibre, so pizza bases and hamburger buns are not good sources. According to a recent survey, a McDonalds cheeseburger contains virtually no fibre. Fried potato chips will provide some fibre but are not the best source because of fat and salt problems.
If you're concerned about fibre, a salad sandwich and a piece of fruit is a much better option than a Chiko Roll for lunch. As far as fibre goes, it would be better to make a baked bean sandwich than to eat a piece of fried chicken, and cheaper too!
Those Vital Vitamins
Vitamins A and C are hard to find in takeaways, though some Vitamin C is present in fried chips and fruit juices. For vitamins, a fruit juice is better value than a softdrink. Other good sources of vitamins are fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and wholegrains. It is good to see some fast food outlets selling fresh fruit salads in addition to traditional takeaways. Encouraging a nutritious diet of the complex carbohydrates and fibre found in cereals, fruit and vegetables is part of the government's Dietary Guidelines.
Use your imagination and buy foods from shops that we don't normally think of providing fast foods: the fruit and vegetable grocer sells the very best sort of fast food and the sandwich bar provides a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre, especially when sandwiches are made with wholemeal bread. Low fat yoghurt from the supermarket, roasted chicken in preference to fried chicken and vegetarian or seafood pizzas are nutritious fast food choices.
A Sweet Tooth
Many people have softdrinks and desserts with their fast food meal. But remember, these foods are high in sugar. In western countries we eat far too much refined sugar - an average of more than 47 kilograms per person per year. This works out to about 35 teaspoons of sugar per person each day. About 70% of the sugar we eat is hidden in processed foods.
Related: Where Is The Fibre And Vitamins Amongst The Fat And Sugar
Additional information:
The Healthy Choices for Kids nutrition education program was created by the growers of Washington state apples and is funded in part by the Washington.
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