Tamotsu Nakanishi writes:
Mr and Mrs Mine have very bad eating habits. They usually skip breakfast on Monday through Saturday. Because Mr M comes home late at night, both Mr and Mrs M often share fast food that Mr M picks up on his way from the office -- pizza, yakitori or Chinese noodles with eggs, pork and chicken. Mr M eats a hamburger or fried chicken or fried fish at lunch. He has no opportunity to do regular exercise and is a heavy smoker.
There are also specific risks for Mrs M. Mrs M eats a simple meal at lunch, usually a bowl of rice with some meat (usually beef or pork) and a sweet dessert, cake, cookies or ice cream. And at dinner, she very often eats a combination of snack food and sandwiches -- she especially likes cheese or eggs and butter or margarine on her bread. Mrs M is more concerned about her appearance than her health. She cannot understand, for example, why she is 10 kilos overweight, since she eats only two meals a day. But even if she continues with her dietary pattern and her lack of exercise, she does not think she will gain more weight.
There are specific risks for Mr M. He takes too much cholesterol and too few vitamins, fibers, and grains. Mr M has low levels of HDL, good cholesterol, but the level of his LDL, bad cholesterol, is 170. Mr M has high blood pressure and occasionally experiences angina chest pains. He can raise his HDL cholesterol level by exercising, quitting smoking and losing weight. Too much cholesterol (LDL) in the blood can raise risks of a heart attack or a stroke. Reducing cholesterol (LDL) levels in the blood and fat in the diet can prevent heart disease and related deaths. Eating healthy food can help lower his LDL cholesterol level. How?
* Eat more fruits and vegetables.
* Eat more broiled or grilled fish and skinless chicken and less fried meats.
* Choose lean cuts (pieces of meat containing little visible fat). Also, cut down on the amount of meat you eat.
* Eat a variety of fiberrich foods, like oats, wholegrain breads and apples.
Fiber helps reduce cholesterol levels.
* Limit your intake of saturated fats, like dairy fats (in ice cream and butter) and palm and coconut oils (in baked goods).
* Limit highcholesterol foods, like egg yolks and liver. Eat no more than four egg yolks a week.
* Use lowfat dairy products skim milk, nofat yogurt and ice milk.
* Avoid eating fried foods.
* Dietary fiber, which is found in fruits and vegetables, may help lower cholesterol. It may also help prevent heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
* Apples, berries, figs, oranges, pears, prunes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes,
* Eat brown rice instead of white rice, bran muffins, brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn, multiple-grain cereals, cooked or dry 100% whole-wheat bread.
Mr. Mine intakes too much fat and too few vitamins, fibers, grains. And he has no opportunity to do regular exercise. He is a heavy smoker. These habits can raise his risk of many kinds of cancers. Reducing fat in the diet can prevent cancers. Fruits and vegetables are plentiful sources of vitamins, minerals, biochemical compounds, and fiber-ingredients that may help to reduce cancer risk. And a low-fat diet reduces overall cancer risk. Limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages, exercise and maintaining a desirable body weight may help to reduce risk of cancer. He should stop smoking right now or smoke only a few cigarettes a day, and he should exercise regularly.
There are also specific risks for Mrs M. She eats too many fats. Fats increase risk of developing breast cancer. The substances, called trans fatty acids, are prominent in many processed and fast foods, margarine and some vegetable oils. Women who have high level trans fatty acids have high risk for breast cancer. Moreover, trans fatty acids increase risk of heart disease. But certain kinds of fat, such as olive oil, may actually be protective. Weight gain in adulthood and alcohol intake may be a risk factors for breast cancer. Mrs.M's several aunts and her mother have developed complications with various cancers, including cancer of the breast. So she have many risk factors of cancer, especially breast cancer, and heart disease. Here are some general dietary guidelines for Mrs M: A low fat and high fiber diet is recommended. And high soybean intake may have a greater effect on keeping breast cancer rates low . Animal meat consumption should be avoided as much as possible. Fish, turkey and chicken should be a source of non-vegetable protein. So she should take less fat and more vitamins, for example, salad without dressing oil, seaweed soup and boiled vegetables etc. She should take little sweet foods and cholesterol.
In conclusion, they need to change their life style in order to make themselves healthy. Firstly, because they work hard, neither Mr nor Mrs M are very careful about what they eat. Secondly, there are early signs that Mr and Mrs M are not in perfect health. For example, Mr M has high blood pressure and occasionally experiences angina chest pains. So they shouldn't work so hard and pay attention to what they eat. Moreover, since Mr M works late, Mrs M eats her dinner alone. So they should eat dinner together at least a few times a week. In addition, they need to attach importance to their health. For example, Mrs M is more concerned about her appearance than her health. She cannot understand, for example, why she is 10 kilos overweight, since she eats only two meals a day. But even if she continues with her dietary pattern and her lack of exercise, she does not think she will gain more weight. In fact, she should pay more attention to her health than her appearance.
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