Fueling Your Body for Better Health

There are so many aspects to brain health and healthy living — from exercise and socialization to nutrition and medications and supplements. One of the important factors in long term health and wellness is prioritizing a balanced, nutritious diet. What you eat can affect everything from your energy levels and weight to certain health conditions.

“It’s all about ‘fueling’ your body and not having a mindset of restriction,” says Vanessa Hardy, registered dietitian at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital. “Nutrition is best when it’s a balance and not a strict set of rules to follow.”

Hardy says, in general, it’s important to aim for filling half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter of your plate with protein and a quarter of your plate with carbs or ‘fun’ options.
“Keeping a good balance is what helps make your diet sustainable,” says Hardy. “Plant-based carb choices and protein-rich foods are best, but other things are okay too, in moderation.”

In considering what to put on your plate, she says it’s important to serve a variety of foods and colors, which can be in various forms (fresh, frozen, canned or dried). She advises:

• When it comes to fruits and vegetables, eat the rainbow.
• Aim to make most of the grains you eat by choosing whole grains, like oats, corn and brown rice.
• Replace sugary drinks with water, skim or low-fat (1%) milk, unsweetened tea or coffee, flavored water or sparkling water without added sugars.

Hardy provides a list of examples of what to put on your plate to fill in the portions for each category of food:

Vegetables
• Green (broccoli, spinach, cucumber, asparagus, kale)
• Orange, red and yellow (squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes)
• Beans and peas (kidney beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, green beans)
• Peppers (bell peppers, hot peppers)
• Lean or plant-based proteins
• Chicken and turkey
• Eggs
• Fish (salmon, tuna, tilapia, cod)
• Shellfish (shrimp, lobster, clams)
• Lean beef, pork or deli meats
• Cheese and cottage cheese
• Hummus
• Nuts and nut butter
• Edamame
• Tofu

Carbohydrates
• Whole grains (brown rice, oats, quinoa, corn, bread, pasta, tortillas)
• Starchy vegetables (corn, peas, dried beans, potatoes)
• Dairy (milk, almond milk, yogurt)
• Fruit

WCCH provides options to help anyone eat for better health:
Work Well Program at WCCH: The Nutrition Services Department provides healthy meals and grab-and-go options at the hospital cafeteria Monday through Friday, at breakfast and lunch. A Work Well logo on the cafeteria menu indicates a Work Well entree, which has about 350 calories, 20 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein. Work Well vegetables are prepared with no added salt or additional oils. The weekly menu is available on the hospital’s website, wcch.com, under the “patients and visitors” header.
Healthy Meals in Minutes. These quarterly cooking demonstrations are offered by WCCH dietitians at no charge to the public. They are scheduled for 11 a.m. on January 21, April 15, July 15 and October 21. The demonstrations take place in the WCCH cafeteria conference room. Participants will get plenty of ideas for quick, healthy meals.

Call (337) 527-4261 for more information or to register.