Shinobu Ohshima writes:
Mr. Mine and Mrs. Mine have many bad lifestyle habits. I want to point out the habits Mr. and Mrs. Mine share. First, they are not very careful about what they eat because they work hard. This is bad for their health because health is greatly influenced by daily diets. Second, they usually skip breakfast or if there is time they will fry some food left over from the day before. Breakfast is very important for activities in the morning. If we do not eat breakfast, we cannot do good job. It is difficult to get enough nutrients when we eat only two meals a day. And eating fried foods is a risk factor of raising LDL levels. Third, they eat fast foods like pizza, yakitori or Chinese noodles with eggs, pork and chicken for dinner. Those foods contain much saturated fat and few vitamins, fibers and calcium which are necessary for functions in the body.
Next, I want to advise Mr. Mine individually. First, his lunch is usually a hamburger or fried chicken or fried fish. These foods have much fat and few vitamins, fiber and calcium. High fatty diets have been clearly linked with heart disease and colon cancer and raise the level of LDL. Vitamins play a very important role in the body. For example, Vitamin A is necessary for growth and repair of body tissues and aids in bone and teeth formation. Fibers can help relieve some problems with constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis and irritable bowel syndrome. Calcium is the material of bones and teeth, and is important for blood clotting and contraction of muscles. So Mr M must change his lunch. I advise that he eat vegetables and fruits which contain vitamins and fibers, like carrots, lettuce, oranges, and that he drink low fat milk. And he should change his lunch which now contains saturated fats into a lunch which contains polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats like liquid oils of vegetable origin. Second, he has high blood pressure, low levels of HDL and high levels of LDL. And he has no opportunity to do regular exercise and is a heavy smoker. These are all risk factors of coronary disease. So he must reduce those risk factors. He must quit smoking and do exercise. And he should lose weight, eat a variety of fiberrich foods, limit his intake of saturated fat and limit high cholesterol foods in order to rise his HDL level and lower LDL level.
Next I want to point out Mrs. Mine's problems. First, at lunch she eats a simple meal, usually a bowl of rice with some meat and a sweet dessert. This meal has much fat and few vitamins, fiber or calcium. It's the same with Mr. Mine's lunch. And sweet desserts contain much sugar. Intake of much sugar can cause diabetes. So I advise her to change her lunch to fruits which contain much fiber and vitamins instead of sugar. Second, she eats her dinner alone. It is not good to eat a meal feeling lonely. So I want to advise her that she eat dinner with her husband or her friends. Third, her dinner is a combination of snack food and sandwiches. And she especially likes cheese or eggs and butter or margarine on her bread. They have much cholesterol and saturated fat, so she must change this into a meal that has less cholesterol and more unsaturated fat. Fourth, she has a high level of LDL. She must do everything which I advised Mr. Mine to do. In her case, losing her weight by exercise is very important because she is 10 kilos overweight. Fifth, she has a hereditary risk of cancers including cancer of the breast. Women who eat diets rich in animal foods develop breast cancer at a significantly higher rate because they develop more estrogen. So she has to reduce her intake of animal products.
Finally I want to give some advice for both Mr. and Mrs. Mine. They have to pay attention to what they eat. They should have breakfast every morning. They must eat meals which have little saturated fat, sugar, and much more vitamins, fiber and calcium. And they must do exercise together for twenty minutes a day at least.
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