What does Modern, Healthy Nutrition Look Like?

Experts have argued about it for years. Food consumption is the target of billion-dollar advertising strategies and so it happens that official recommendations are not always for the benefit of the average person, but rather influenced by industry interests. How else can it be explained that more and more people are overweight (in Germany, 67 percent of the population), despite the topic of healthy nutrition being a top priority in policy and health circles?

The Nutrition Pyramid

A few years ago, nutritionists developed a new food pyramid based on solid science and adapted to our current lifestyles.

Vegetables, salads and fruit form the basis of the diet, including healthy oils. We should eat a lot of these foods.

If we want to lose weight, protein is particularly important. It helps us to rev our metabolism and to build up our muscles. That is why in second place come protein products such as fish, poultry, meat, dairy products, legumes, soy products, nuts and eggs.

In third place come cereals, wholemeal bread, pasta, rice and potatoes; i.e. products that contain a lot of starch, which raise the insulin level and therefore have a negative effect on fat burning. For those of us with too many pounds on the hips, be cautious of these foods, especially in the evening.

Sweets, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, lemonade and sweet juices as well as white bread should only rarely be consumed.

 

Nutrition Pyramid According to David Ludwig

Ernährungspyramide

The following points are important for a healthy diet:

  • Prefer food left in its natural state to refined products and finished products. So wholemeal bread instead of white flour, freshmeal muesli instead of convenience muesli, fresh fruit instead of canned fruit, crunchy salad instead of overcooked vegetables.
  • Pay attention to the freshness of the food. Salad that has been kept in the fridge for four days now contains only a fraction of its vitamins.
  • Prefer domestic food to imported products. Strawberries grow here in spring and summer, so we can even pick them fresh from the field. So you can be sure that it is fresh food that has not had to endure long transport distances or storage. If you want to eat strawberries in winter, you have to accept high doses of sprays, because this is the only way the fruit can survive the long transport route.
  • If you would like to afford something particularly good, then fall back on vegetables and fruit from organic cultivation. These products are subject to strict quality and treatment controls.
  • Give preference to meat and eggs from species-appropriate animal husbandry.
  • Make sure you have a balanced mixture of natural carbohydrates (vegetables, fruit, salads, wholemeal products), protein (fish, meat, pulses, eggs) and healthy fats (olive oil, rapeseed oil, linseed oil).
  • Enjoy sweets and alcohol only in moderation.
  • Pay attention to the individual tolerance of a food. If you do not tolerate one or the other food so well or even react allergic to it, avoid it better.