Heather Little-White, Contributor

A chef preparing stir-fried vegetables at a Westmoreland event last year. - File

The thought of food is always enticing. However, some people find it hard to resist food and may end up eating around the clock. It is important for men and women to make healthy choices about nutrition in meal selections, with a view to preventing illness and premature death.

Marcialaments the rate at which her husband, Paul, eats. He is always snacking on plantain chips and he loves to eat ice cream at nights. Paul enjoys eating Jamaican foods like ackee and salt fish, mackerel run down, liver and bananas. Of course, how could we forget oxtail and beans that Paul must have at least twice a week? As accompaniments to the main courses, Paul must have the entrée with a range of 'food', such as yams, boiled bananas and boiled flour dumplings.

Marcia has great difficulty in getting him to eat a lighter diet with fewer calories. Paul is overweight with a big belly, which he seems to treasure and does not want to lose. Paul's excessive weight comes from eating more calories from food than he expends through physical activity. His only form of exercise is walking from his house to the car and from his car to the office.

In addition, the balance between his energy intake and output is influenced by his metabolic rate and genetic, environmental, cultural and socio-economic factors. As a cultural practice, Paul must 'hang' with the boys on a Friday evening over some rounds of alcoholic beverages accompanied by jerked pork, ackee and salt fish and fritters.

Major guidelines

To help a man eat healthily include:

☞ Two or more daily servings of fruit;

☞ Three or more daily servings of vegetables, with at least one green or orange

☞ Six or more servings per day of grain products, with three or more as whole grain

☞ Cholesterol is essential for good health, but too much can be harmful to the heart, so it is important to limit your intake and eat the right foods with 'good' fats from plant sources, and which have not been hydrogenated to form trans fats. Trans fats are unsaturated fats formed during the hydrogenation of vegetable oils to produce margarine. Trans-fatty acids in the diet are a health risk because they raise cholesterol levels.

Menu substitutes

Paul's diet of Jamaican foods can be modified to include less carbohydrate foods, increasing whole grain and vegetable input. Pumpkin could be served with the Jamaican entrées and less starchy foods could be served for balancing nutrients. Serve lavish amount of raw salads, and for variety include stir-fried vegetables with iron-rich pak choi or callaloo. Include high fibre foods such as yams, sweet potato, whole wheat flour for dumplings, and use brown rice to make Jamaican rice and peas. Fruits are more nutritious as snacks compared to chips, which provide 'empty calories'.

TIPS FOR HEALTHY EATING

☞ Try a new liver recipe for Paul's menu by adding pak choi, corn, sweet peppers and onions. All the ingredients are stir-fried oriental style and served on a bed of spaghetti.

☞ Substitute unsaturated fat, olive oil, for saturated fats and serve smaller portions of meat. Reduce the amount of butter used in a recipe.

☞ Remove chicken skin, but do not remove the skin until you are finished cooking the bird. This produces a moister and flavourful dish.

☞ Steam vegetables with fresh herbs for a surprising flavour.

Names changed for privacy.