 Have you ever thought of how many sides there are to people? Of course, there are the strictly dimensional ones, left side, front side, back side, even a top side and a bottom side, but that's not all. People have a sunny side, a sad side, an angry side, a happy side, and an indifferent side. I guess there's a side of people for every mood imaginable, but there's one very important side that gets overlooked. I'm talking about the inside. Too many like you out there ignore us insides. That's right, you don't pay enough attention to the inside of your own body. I mean, just think how we're mistreated. Do we complain? It's time we put a stop to what you've been doing to us. Ouch! See what I mean? We should speak up and turn things inside out. It's stupid. We sure our clumsy today pick up our feet. This is your body talking and you need to listen. Sure, sit down before you fall down. If you weren't in such bad shape, you wouldn't have to just sit there like a lump. Oh, yeah? Well, I'm in pretty good shape, considering... Considering what? Considering you've spent years stuffing your face and not getting enough exercise? I get lots of exercise. You mean running through airports? Oh, eat regular meals. Regular meals? This is your body talking. High octane might be a better description. Well, you're embarrassing me. Oh, that's all right. You've been embarrassing me for years. Look, I'm healthy. I'm not sick. Well, that's part of the problem. Everybody seems to think they're in perfect health and can get by with anything. Listen to your body. I've got something to tell you. But first, let's trade places. It's cramped in here. That's better. Now, let's talk about my favorite subject, me. That is, let's consider all those bodies which Americans too often ignore, malign, and abuse. I mean, when was the last time you were nice to your body? Looking on an outing, pampered it, and cared for it? See what I mean? We aren't all beautiful bodies, and our needs vary depending on lifestyle, age, size, sex, and physical condition. Nevertheless, our bodies are all we've got, so give us a break, okay? Take any group of people and assume that all of them are normal, healthy adults. Each of them has the potential for good health, providing they follow a few easy food and fitness recommendations. It's really important. Well, I'm not too sure about food and fitness. Whenever I get the urge to exercise, I just lie down till it passes. And as far as the health foods are concerned, why, the names are as bad as some others. You're so defensive. I haven't said anything about health foods. We'll talk later about healthy eating. That's different. And you don't have to train to be an athlete to exercise properly. When was the last time you had a physical? Well, it wasn't very long ago. Well, it was about four, five years ago. Do you have any history of rheumatic fever as a child? No. As a nation, we're healthier than we were in the past, mainly because modern health care and good sanitation have overcome a great many infectious diseases. And your father or mother, have they ever had heart trouble? Of course, you can't change your age and family history, but you can modify your eating and exercise habits with a little information and the willingness to do it. And it isn't really that difficult. One thing which has gone unnoticed largely is that the way Americans eat and exercise is changing. For most Americans, technology has changed the amount of energy we have to expend on either work or play. Most of us have sedentary jobs, and many of our pastimes are less physical than they used to be. Today, people usually ride rather than walk, use elevators instead of stairs, and sit home watching television rather than being outside and active. With regard to food, we eat differently now. We consume fewer potatoes and grain products, and generally we take in fewer total calories than we did, but we get them from different sources. Now more of those calories come from fats, oils and added sweetness, but we have made some positive changes, too. We're getting more fruits, particularly citrus, and often choosing lower fat milk products. Perhaps the greatest change is in attitudes. Large spinach salad with eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. We've become more weight conscious, and many of us are concerned about the amounts of fat, cholesterol, sugar, salt and alcohol in our diets. There's been a positive response from the food industry, which is providing products and information to meet our new concerns. Social agricultural research has facilitated development of leaner meats, less salt to products, and reduced use of sweeteners. Increased leisure time offers the opportunity for more participation in physical activities. Yet with it all, even those who exercise regularly seldom understand the true relationship between food and fitness. They don't know how much or the right kind of exercise to get, or which foods are best for them. As science and technology provide more facts about nutrition and fitness, people are becoming more interested in applying them in their own lives. Perhaps as never before, Americans are becoming informed about these important data. The media frequently feature articles on nutrition research, and important scientific information is disseminated by means of government publications. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture Nutritionist, in cooperation with the American Dietetic Association, published food based on the latest nutritional findings. Now such information comes from continuing research at government and university centers. Now out of this has come an approach to nutrition in the form of some guidelines. The secret of health through food and fitness today is a balancing act. Of course, people with health problems may require special diets or exercises given by their doctors, but for most of us, a sensible eating and exercise plan is simply a matter of balance. Jack, are you about ready? Sure, coach. Send me in. You know what the doctor said. It's important to start a regular program of exercise. The idea is to improve flexibility, strength, endurance, and cardiorespiratory conditioning. Not trained for the Olympics. I was just kidding. You know I'm going to love jogging. Right, dear. For some, walking or jogging offers fitness. You should pick a variety of exercises which are enjoyable. And I feel like I've been doing this all my life. Remember, we're just beginners. The doctor said to be moderate to avoid undistress and strain. What you do is nearly as important as doing something on a regular basis. As hungry as I thought I'd be. Exercise temporarily inhibits your appetite. Variety and moderation also apply when it comes to food. Eating an assortment of foods helps ensure an adequate intake of essential nutrients, and besides, it's more interesting. We're supposed to have a good breakfast. How'd you like some orange juice? There's also some whole fruit over there if you'd prefer. Already poured the orange juice. Do you want some cereal? No, I think I'll just have muffins. Of course, there are many good nutritious breakfasts. The point is, they are important and should be selected from different food groups. Vary your choices from day to day. Balance applies as a principle of food and fitness in another way. That is, adjusting the amount of calories you eat to your energy expenditure. For some, one of the advantages of exercise is that it uses more calories, and so allows intake of more food, and thus more nutrients, without unwanted weight gain. No sugar for the Wheaties. All right, this is my last muffin. Plan food and fitness by tailoring your own program. Modify it if your lifestyle changes. Well, I don't know. It all sounds pretty complicated to me. I mean, can't you just see me going into a nice restaurant, spending the evening interviewing the staff and counting the calories? If I did that, why, I wouldn't have any time for exercise. Of course, carrying all this equipment ought to give you some. There are lots of excuses for not eating smart and living fit, but if you listen to your body, you'll find out it's a matter of priorities. Besides, you don't have to count anything. Just choose a variety of foods from the major food groups and make it a habit to maintain appropriate portions. Let's start with the basics. No one food can supply all the nutrients you need for good health. However, foods may be grouped by the kinds and amounts of nutrients they contain. Whole grain and enriched breads and cereals are a good source of starch and provide several B vitamins and iron. Some whole grain products should be selected daily. Whole grain items like whole wheat, breads and cereals, oatmeal, brown rice, etc. provide additional vitamins and minerals plus fiber. Fruits, particularly citrus, melons and berries are important sources of vitamin C. Fruits are naturally sweet and usually low in calories, sodium and fat. They make excellent desserts and snacks. Different types of vegetables vary in the nutrients they provide. All contribute fiber plus a number of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables fit into three main categories. It is important to include each of these types in your diet regularly. Dark green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and greens provide vitamins A and C and other vitamins and minerals like folicin and magnesium. Deep yellow vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes are excellent sources of vitamin A. Starchy vegetables like potatoes, green peas and corn are sources of starch, fiber, vitamins C, B6, iron and magnesium. Dried beans and peas are particularly good sources of these nutrients plus protein and zinc. The other vegetable category includes all the rest from asparagus to zucchini. Nutrient content of these vegetables varies. Many are good sources of vitamin C. It is important to diversify your choices. Milk, yogurt and cheese are major sources of calcium and riboflavin in U.S. diets and also supply protein and other nutrients. Milk is not just for children. Adults should also include it plus the others in their daily diets. Teenagers, pregnant women and nursing mothers need more dairy products to meet their calcium needs. To cut down on calories and fat while still getting your needed nutrients you can choose low-fat varieties. Meat, poultry, fish and eggs are good sources of several B vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc as well as protein. It's very important to vary your choices from day to day because the nutrient content of food in this group varies. Fat, sweets and alcohol are also part of the American diet. Generally these provide mainly calories with few other nutrients and should be used in moderation. Fats and sweeteners are also added to other popular foods. While these provide some nutrients from the basic ingredients from which they are made they provide more calories from fat and sweeteners and also should be used in moderation. Now you mentioned some vitamins and minerals but you weren't very specific. Now if you just picked foods from these categories how do you know if you're getting enough of what you need? Vitamins and minerals are important but there's a lot to keep track of. A good balanced diet provides all the vitamins and minerals needed. Usually both children and adults in good health get all the vitamins they need if they eat all of the types of foods just described. Should you take a vitamin supplements then? Only if a doctor says so. If you're healthy you need a vitamin and mineral supplement only if your diet is curtailed or you don't eat some of the foods from these groups. Then too some essential nutrients can't be supplied by pills. How do you know this is true? Mainly we know it's true because of scientific research. The US Department of Agriculture has been monitoring food supplies for over 75 years. The Department of Agriculture is conducting human studies like this in several laboratories across the country. We are interested in three major objectives. The first one, the exact definition of human requirements for individual nutrients. The second one, the analysis, the determination of these nutrients and the foods that we eat. And thirdly, the determination of the actual food consumption and intake of individuals. The results of these three activities together allow us a reasonable assessment of not only nutritional habits but also of the adequacy of dietary intake of the population. In the way I see it, the secret to good nutrition is working out a menu ahead of time not just leaving it to chance. You sound like my high school home economics teacher. You had a pretty smart home act teacher. Look, if you pick foods from each of the food groups and plan a menu that way, you'll eat smarter. Well, I'm high continued vantage, but getting it locked into a menu, isn't that kind of dull? Not at all. As a matter of fact, that's one of the reasons to have variety and still get good nutrition. Hey, you two want to go out for a burger and a shake? Ah, sounds good to me, but stands on a diet. Not on a diet. I'm on a planned menu. The answer is yes on hamburger and fries with cheese and coleslaw. I'll pass on the shake, but I'll go with milk or juice. Grandma, can you eat strawberries? Oh, sure. I can eat anything you can. Just because you get older, you don't have to eat different unless you're sick from anyone else. Strawberries are my favorite food. Really? And all the time I thought it was Grandma's shortcake you favored. Raw strawberries are best for you. I like walking in the market. So do I. That's how I get some of my exercise. Come on, dear. Of course, fresh foods aren't labeled as two ingredients, but you can tell a lot by the color. Interestingly, when fruits and vegetables are at their peak, they tend to be the most nutritious and economical, too. If it looks good enough to eat, it probably is. Another thing you can do to eat smart is learn to read food labels. Most packaged foods today are labeled as two ingredients, and many have nutrition information as well. For example, note that ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. That is, the ingredient present in the highest amount is listed first and so on. Well, then all I have to do is eat foods from all those groups and get all the nutrients I need, then I can have everything else I want. Not exactly. It's still a balancing act. Many Americans eat too many calories and too much fat, sugar, sodium, or alcohol. Good nutrition also means moderation of these. Just as I thought, see, I can't have everything I like, and I like pie. Nobody, that is your body, is saying you have to give up anything. I know you like apple pie because it sometimes gives me heartburn, but almost any food can fit into a good diet with a little bit of planning. For example, an average piece of pie provides about the same nutrients as a couple slices of bread and a little fruit, plus a fair amount of added fat and sugar. So when you eat a piece of apple pie, make some trade-offs. Use less salad dressing on your salad, less butter or margarine on your bread, less sugar in your coffee, or jam on your toast. The same balancing act applies to choosing other foods. If you prefer whole milk or cheese to skim milk or products with added sugar, like chocolate milk or flavored yogurt, choose other foods that are lower in fat and sugar, and add less of these two at the table. If you keep your food choices in balance, your diet will be moderate in fat and added sugars. I know how to moderate sodium, because I can tell when foods taste salty. Besides, I salt them myself at the table. Some foods high in sodium don't taste salty, but salt is the main source of sodium in our diet. The fact is, many Americans eat more than twice as much sodium as they need. Most fresh foods are relatively low in sodium, but salt is frequently added in processing such as canning produce, curing meats, making cheese, etc. Many package labels provide sodium information. However, some canned vegetables have no salt added. There are things you can do to moderate sodium intake. When you cook, reduce the salt you add to recipes or to cooking water. If some of your favorite foods are high in sodium, you can still include them by serving other foods that are lower in sodium to make a balance. Try seasoning vegetables and meats with herbs and spices instead of salt. Finally, cut down the uses of salt and high sodium condiments at the table. If you cut down slowly, your taste will adjust. If this exercise is okay, sweating really gets you in shape. Sweating may be your idea of being in shape, but not mine. Sweating occurs when you heat up and requires more blood flow. Your heart gets more exercise, but sweating doesn't help the rest of your body. I'll be all right. I'll just replace the salt I lost with salt tablets. Now, this is another myth that is wrong and dangerous. Salt tablets can be worse than no salt at all. What your body really needs is water. Speaking of water, that reminds me of another myth that has to do with physical fitness. Now, you may have heard you should not drink liquids while exercising. That's false. Replacing body fluids whenever they're needed is essential. Another myth is not to eat before exercising or swimming. Eating a little before exercising is not dangerous for people in good health. Cramps are not caused by food. With regard to physical fitness, there are many ways to accomplish exercise. For some, the best way is to participate in an organized program. This is good from the standpoint of commitment and discipline, but it's by no means necessary. The whole idea is to use the musculoskeletal system so that it remains active, flexible, and able to do what you want. A particularly interesting form of exercise is called aerobics. The heart of the matter is the heart itself, which is a muscle strengthened by exercise. Running, swimming, bicycling, and jogging are among those aerobic exercises which increase the efficiency of the heart and lungs. Generally speaking, they should be performed at least every other day and for a sufficient length of time to permit a comfortable adaptation to the increased activity, around 30 minutes or so. For many people, fitness comes from a daily routine in their own home. For example, a staircase is an excellent exercise machine. You don't even have to do calisthenics and sometimes housework, gardening, or a hobby provides needed exercise. You ought to do some planned exercises to be sure that all your muscles are working. And there is a simple way to monitor whether or not you're getting sufficient aerobic type exercise. That is merely to take your pulse rate. However, a word of warning. Find out from a physician if your heart is in shape to do aerobic exercises that raise the pulse rate substantially. Of course, the most enjoyable exercise may come in the form of participation in sports or recreation. Whatever the method, exercise like food should be used in moderation. If competition is your incentive, fine. Providing your physician and your body agree. Okay, get it, go. The benefits of a regular physical activity program are so great that it is hard to understand why more people aren't engaged in some type of sports activity. Individuals over age 40 particularly should check with their physicians to be sure that there's not some underlying condition that would limit their ability to engage in vigorous sports. Are we able to prolong life in a useful manner? The data would suggest that yes, indeed we are. That those who are physically more active have fewer coronary heart attacks, have fewer strokes, have less difficulty with the circulation of the legs and elsewhere such as is often a problem, particularly in the diabetic. We know that the diabetic requires less insulin and we have every reason to believe that the total metabolic balance in the diabetic is improved when that person engages in a regular physical activity program. The psychological benefits are those which I find perhaps most persuasive for most of the patients with whom I have contact. People feel better, they sleep better, they relax better, they feel they have more energy and are more creative, are pleasant to their people and that they can get more done in a given period of time as a result of being involved in a physical activity program. Do you think I'm fat? Hey, fat is your body's way of saying you're taking in more calories than you're expending. A pound of body fat contains about 3,500 calories. So to lose that, you simply need to burn those 3,500 calories without replacing them. Now that may mean just cutting down on excess sweeteners such as desserts, consuming less alcohol or eating slightly smaller portions. Ounce for ounce, fat provides over twice the calories of carbohydrates. There are some things you can do to help avoid too much fat and added sugars in your diet. Select lean meats and trim visible fat. Boiler bake foods rather than fry because frying adds fat. Avoid using too many cream foods and rich desserts and reduce the amount of salad dressing or substitute low fat dressings whenever possible. That was a delicious dinner. Was it really on your diet? Absolutely. Low fat, no high calorie sauces, reduced fat salad dressing and moderation in butter or margarine. What do you do about added sweeteners like fruit and your coffee? Well, of course like other sweeteners, sugar adds calories without any benefit of nutrients. So I use it sparingly, if at all. I'm trying to cut back on my sweeteners because I really fill me the calories. And besides, sticky sweets promote tooth decay. Most added sugars and sweeteners in U.S. diets come from soft drinks, candy and desserts rather than from the sugar bowl. To avoid too much added sweeteners, cut down on candy and soft drinks. Avoid too much sugar used in recipes. Eat more fresh fruit or canned fruits packed in juice and reduce the amount of jams, jellies, syrups and honey used. Well, I might give it a try. But I wonder if I can stick to it. Of course you can. For most people, adopting a positive food and fitness program requires commitment to establishing a healthy lifestyle. Make eating food a joy. Develop your food curiosity. Try new foods and fix familiar ones in brand new ways. Also seek out the food and fitness resources in your community. Take courses. Get information from the county extension office. Contact the public health department, American Red Cross, your local YWCA or YMCA. Get involved in public school or recreation programs. Join community groups or go back to college. The whole idea is to make food and fitness part of your lifestyle. If you use alcohol, use it in moderation and think health about all the areas in your life. In addition to food and fitness, consider other factors such as smoking, your stress environment and any habit which affects health. In a lot of ways, a food and fitness program involves positive attitudes. If you think you can be healthy, the chances are pretty good that you can. Ooh, good hands. It all makes so much sense. I just don't know why you people don't listen to your body. Look, you obviously need and want good health. Now, although it takes more than a good diet and exercise to accomplish this, those are two of the most important things you can do to stay well. This is your body talking. If you want good health, get it inside out. Good nutrition through a complete and balanced diet takes care of the body from the inside out. A fitness program works on the body from the outside in. You need both. It's as simple as that. Bodies of the world unite. Demand your rights of health through food and fitness. You'll be really glad you did. We're really fortunate here in the United States to have such a wide variety of food for the people, the most reasonable prices, selection across the land. It's a blessing that we have in the United States and it's not readily available in a lot of other countries. I'm firmly convinced that if you couple good eating habits and good eating habits or choosing a broad variety and balancing what you eat with a exercise program of some nature, you don't really have to run marathons. You can do other kinds of exercise, but a balanced program of good eating habits and exercise can bring about the fitness and the healthful life that we're always looking forward to. I'm convinced it'll mean a longer life for Americans in the United States that they will employ a program such as this.