Nutrition ambition!
In October 2012 H&F’s staff writer Sian Lewis began training with Future Fit to become a nutrition and weight managementadvisor.
I have always wanted to study nutrition. To say I have a bit of an obsession with food is an understatement. I love eating, cooking and learning about good nutrition. Whether I’m at home or at work I try to absorb and learn as much as I can about the foods I’m consuming.
Thanks to Future Fit Training I have the opportunity to expand my knowledge further and qualify as a nutrition and weight management advisor in the process. Over the next nine months I will complete three modules: nutrition for weight management, client psychology and motivation, and nutrition for sport and exercise. Not only will this e-study course broaden my own knowledge, by the end I will be able to confidently coach other people about weight loss and healthy nutrition.
I am now on week 6 of my course. So far I have covered the role of macro (protein, carbohydrate and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). There are two other essential nutrients, which are water and fibre.
Read on to find out the benefits of including fibre in your diet:
- Fibre-rich foods include wholemeal bread, baked potatoes with their skins, bran, oats, muesli, lentils, beans and pulses, fresh and dried fruits, vegetables and nuts and seeds.
- Aim to consume 12-24g of fibre each day. Look for foods with at least 3g of fibre per 100g.
- It slows the digestive process – eat more to keep you fuller for longer and to balance your blood sugar (very important for diabetics).
- It improves gut health – bacteria in the large intestine use soluble fibre to feed on and grow. Healthy gut flora will boost your immune system.
- It makes stools soft and bulky – by increasing your fibre intake you can reduce constipation and bloating and improve the health of your colon and bowel.
- Fibre can reduce blood pressure – Fibre’s role is to swell up and hold onto water to keep your intestines healthy. As it swells it soaks up bile from your liver, which contains cholesterol. Your liver then takes more cholesterol from your blood to top up its stores. This reduces circulating cholesterol and in the long term will lower blood pressure.
For more nutrition advice and to follow Sian’s progress subscribe to Health & Fitness magazine. We’ll give you three issues for £1!
