"Excessive consumption of salt, sugar and fat is bad for health"

We see often in the media this "slogan" above, but nobody clarified for us how it really works, but now SM has a specialized nutritionist Kirsch Andrea.She will write for now on about these things every Wednesday...

Why would be "excessive"? 

1.Salt (sodium chloride, NaCl)

Sodium is an essential mineral to the body, most common is the “table” salt. The body needs sodium to function properly and this mineral it helps maintain the fluid balance in the body.

People without major health problems should consume max. 6-7 grams of salt per day, but you have to be careful because that doesn't mean we have to use 6 grams of salt/ day. 75% amount of salt is obtained by solely processed foods but if you counting the 6 grams added to your food than a person gets to consume more than 15 grams of salt daily, which is not healthy.

In the kitchen you should use max 2 or 3 g of salt per day so you can avoid the excess of the salt.

Tips: the first step towards healthy eating is to try to eat vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions) without salt. This statement is true too, if you eat oleaginous (nuts, seeds, almonds etc) and from here we have already reduced the amount of used salt ;).

2. Sugar

By refining, sugar loses protein contents and reach's to provide a lot of harmful calories  to the organism. When you set a meal plan, you should consult the product labels first.The largest amount of sugar comes from drinks and sweets. Two glasses of juice and a chocolate bar has, in the best case, 355 calories.

Rachel K. Johnson, nutrition professor at the Vermont University in Burlington, author of a study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. He advises us to be careful with the solid/liquid calories and the sugar which might be hidden in yogurts or cereals.

It is important to make difference between sugar and natural sugar which appear in foods, fruits and vegetables. Healthy foods are contain water, fiber and various micro nutrients. Look out for the addition of sugar that are added to the food which you buying.

Unfortunately there is no simple answer to the daily consumption of the sugar. Some people can eat sugar without affecting the body, while others should avoid it as much as possible.

American Heart Association (AHA) recommends:

Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).

Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

Tips: Try to replace sugar with dark chocolate, fresh fruits and honey. If you want to use sugar substitute, then I recommend you to choose natural sweeteners such as "stevia" (100% natural sweetener).

3. Fat's 








Not all fats are bad for health, but primarily are the saturated one, to clarify one thing is not all fats have the same potential toxic.

Saturated and trans fats raise the cholesterol in the blood which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Saturated fats are found in meat, cheese, etc. Trans fats are found in foods containing hydrogenated vegetable fats, usually used in pastries. Foods fried in oil is filled with trans fats for example.

Unsaturated fat helps to increase the "good" cholesterol in the blood and gives us essential fat acids what we need. Unsaturated fats are found in foods such as oil vegetables, oily fish (sardines, mackerel, salmon) avocado, nuts and seeds. Unsaturated fats can be: monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fats can be found in certain plant, such as olive oil. Polyunsaturated fats is in the sunflower oil.

When we eat alimentary food we have to be careful to not exceed 30% of total calories consumed in a day.

Tips: an important step to reach a healthy life would be to try not to fry foods in oil and try to make it on the grill, or steam in the oven, boiled, etc..
And finally I want to share a recipe, because we all know fries are widespread in alimentation.

Here is how to prepare healthy and tasty potatoes:

Baked Fries 

Ingredients:
• potato
• salt
• pepper
• spices (if you like to put something else)
Preparation:
• peel the potatoes, wash with cold water, then slices it but not too thick.
• put in the baking dish with baking paper, place the potatoes in a thin layer, in that way the potatoes do not overlap. Put the potatoes in the preheated oven (at 200 degrees) for 20-25 minutes (until they are golden brown).

Everything should we eat in moderation.