90 Part II: Enjoying Total-Body Health: Eating Well and Staying Injury-Free
If you just don’t eat a lot of fiber in your diet and can’t seem to change that pat-
tern, try using a fiber supplement such as Metamucil. Although you want to get
your fiber from the foods you eat, a supplement is a good idea if you don’t.Avoiding processed carbs ..................................................................
Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, are single or double sugar mole-
cules. They’re found in table sugar and processed foods like Pepsi and
Twinkies, but they also occur naturally, like in fruit. Simple carbs, whether
they’re found in a papaya or a Pop Tart, are absorbed quickly, causing the
amount of sugar in your blood to skyrocket and then plunge soon after, leav-
ing you feeling tired and hungry. But there’s a difference between the natural
simple sugars found in fruit and the refined simple sugars found in candy.
When you eat that papaya, the sugar comes packaged with vitamins, minerals,
water, and fiber. Also, the sweetness in fruit comes from fructose (as opposed
to sucrose or glucose in other simple sugars), and fructose doesn’t cause the
sort of sharp insulin spike that other simple sugars do.In general, eat foods that are processed as little as possible. Choose an apple
over apple juice, and whole-wheat bread over white bread. Be sure to buy
bread that is actually labeled “whole wheat.” Many wheat and grain breads
are mostly refined white bread colored with molasses, despite the brown
wrapping that depicts wheat fields waving in the wind and names like “12-
grain health nut bread.”Read food labels carefully and find out where you’re getting most of your
refined sugar. Breakfast cereals such as Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and Frosted
Flakes are more than 42 percent sugar. Flavored yogurts are loaded with
sugar, too. Be aware that sugar goes by other aliases, including corn syrup,
honey, maple syrup, maltodextrin, sucrose, and other words that end in -ose.
Sugar is sugar.Going low-carb — with modifications ..............................................
If you’ve been bitten by the low-carb craze, don’t fret. Low-carb eating could
be an ideal way to eat with the following simple modifications:Consume an unlimited variety of vegetables.
Choose dense, whole grains and avoid processed carbs.Eat two to four half-cup servings of unsweetened fruit each day. (Most
low-carb diets eliminate fruit, but fruit contains many vitamins and min-
erals that are important to consume.)
Substantially reduce your intake of saturated fat and trans fats, which
many popular low-carb diets don’t limit.