TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Eat healthier by tomorrow: 3 tiny tweaks

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL ROIZEN, M.D., and MEHMET OZ, M.D. King Features Syndicate

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 31, 2009

You know how information overload is like Kryptonite to decision-making? Too much stuff in your kitchen - like snacks on the counter or in the glove compartment, or platters with enough food for a swim team - messes with your brain's ability to make smart choices. But healthy can be easy if you change your "kitchenscape" in these simple ways:

1. In your kitchen: Ready-to-grab foods on the counter are going to make it into your mouth most often. Hide candy in a locked cupboard (or give it to your co-workers) and set out a bowl of fresh fruit (keep rejuvenating it). In your fridge, bring produce out of hiding. In the pantry, keep only a couple of packages of one type of healthy treat-(whole-grain pretzels or unsalted nuts) on hand - not the supersize packs from the big-box store.

2. On your table: The greater the variety of food, the more you'll eat, so present just a few options (maybe a main and two veggies) at dinner.

3. On your plate: If you use a 15-inch (yes some people have platters for plates) or 11-inch plate, you'll serve yourself more food - and eat more - than if you used a 9-inch one.

Bottom line: A plate, table or kitchen with too much food is like Mount Everest to an explorer: You'll eat it "because it's there." Smarten up your environment, and health and skinny pants will follow.

Take care of nature's best detoxifier

Your liver isn't just a place to filter tequila. Although it never gets the attention your heart, eyes or other body parts get (know of any odes to your liver?), it performs biological miracles daily. All blood that has visited your small intestine flows through the liver, where it gets detoxified and where all the nutrients go before they get passed to the heart for generalized distribution. A big job, but something has to do it. So help your liver help you with these four strategies:

1. Live clean. Reduce your personal pollution so that there's less to filter out. Drink filtered water, eat unprocessed foods, choose veggie protein over red meat and practice safe sex. And keep the mojitos to a minimum.

2. Add crunchy veggies. Cruciferous produce (like broccoli and cabbage), B-rich foods (like whole grains) and high C items (like citrus fruits and leafy greens) assist the liver's detoxifying process.

3. Consider a supplement. Lecithin (egg yolks and soybeans are good sources) and zinc (turkey) support liver function, and you may want to consider supplementing your diet with them if you don't get much naturally (men should get 550 mg and women 425 mg a day of lecithin; 15 mg a day of zinc). Herbs such as milk thistle and dandelion may help liver function, too, but consult your doctor before taking them.

4. Don't take too much vitamin A. If you do, you risk liver problems, including cirrhosis.

The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: The Owner's Manual." To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT