Serves: 5

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, developed in May 2000 by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, can help you take action for good health and develop a healthy lifestyle. Three basic messages, or ABCs, of a healthy lifestyle are aiming for fitness, building a healthy base and choosing sensibly.

At first, following all of the ABCs, and in that particular order, may be difficult for some cancer survivors. If so, survivors may be better served by starting with B, building a healthy base, then incorporating C, choosing sensibly, and returning to A, aiming for fitness, after they are feeling better.

AIMING FOR FITNESS
As you probably know, obesity is linked to many diseases. Carrying extra weight may place you at greater risk for developing high blood pressure, heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and difficult breathing. Choosing a lifestyle that helps you aim for a healthy body weight and an increased level of activity may be helpful for maintaining good health in the long run.

Experts recommend monitoring body weight regularly by stepping on the scale every few weeks. Work with your doctor or dietitian to determine your Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure that links your height and weight to potential health risks. If you find you weigh more than you would like to, there is no better time than after treatment to take off excess weight. (During treatment is not a good time to try to lose weight, because your body is concentrating on fighting cancer cells.) But it's best to lose the weight gradually. Aim to lose about 10 percent of your weight in about six months-or about one-half to two pounds per week. Losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight should become part of your everyday lifestyle.

Being physically active on a daily basis can help you take off and keep off weight, strengthen and tone muscles and increase your flexibility. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. You don't have to do it all at the same time. Keep track of the times you go up and down the steps, walk through the parking lot and lift things, such as groceries. All these activities count and add up to your total activity for the day.

BUILDING A HEALTHY BASE
The Food Guide Pyramid (see C-Food Guide Pyramid) is a wonderful visual guide to remind you of the variety and amounts of foods you need to rebuild your healthy base. Use plant foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains as the mainstay of your diet. These foods supply much of the carbohydrate energy you need, along with many of the vitamins and minerals.

Plant foods make up the foundation, or base, of the pyramid and should be the focus of eating. Scientific research has shown that whole grains (such as whole wheat and whole-grain oats) and cruciferous vegetables (those in the cabbage family such as broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts) contain fiber, vitamins, minerals and other natural components that may help prevent disease. Dark green vegetables (including spinach and broccoli) and orange-yellow fruits and vegetables (such as carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and oranges) are rich in antioxidants (vitamins A and C) and folic acid, which are also important for maintaining a healthy body.

To these plant foods, add small amounts of lean cuts of meats, poultry, fish, eggs and low-fat dairy foods and legumes (dried beans and peas) to balance out your diet. Variety is vital to a balanced diet that supplies the nutrients needed for health. Keeping the portions to a reasonable size is key to helping maintain a healthy body weight.

Some of us choose to follow a vegetarian diet for religious, spiritual or cultural reasons. The Food Guide Pyramid can help you balance your diet by emphasizing plant foods (grains, vegetables and fruits) and adding legumes (dried beans and peas), nuts and seeds to provide protein, vitamin E, fiber and carbohydrates.

CHOOSING FOODS SENSIBLY
Fats supply energy. Too much fat supplies more energy than we need. Besides adding to weight gain, some fats, particularly saturated fats from animal sources in the diet, can increase risk of coronary heart disease by raising blood cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats, however, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats mainly from plant foods, do not raise blood cholesterol. Experts recommend you choose unsaturated fats over saturated fats.

Reading the Nutrition Facts label on food packages and the nutrition information included with recipes can help you choose foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Remember too that experts recommend eating no more than 30 percent of calories from fat. To figure that out, keep track by adding up all the grams of fat you ate for the day and multiplying the total by 9 calories per gram to give you FAT CALORIES. Then divide the FAT CALORIES by the total number of calories you ate for the day. Multiply by 100 to get the number to a final percent. The final number should be less than 30 percent.

Choose beverages and foods that limit your intake of sugars. Limiting sugars helps keep teeth free from decay and helps ensure you're getting enough foods that supply plenty of healthy nutrients, not just sugars and calories. Again, read the Nutrition Facts to determine the amount of sugars in foods and help you select sensible food choices for life. To decrease dietary sugar, limit soft drinks, fruit punch, lemonade, candy and ice cream.

Select foods and prepare foods with less salt. Scientific research shows that we may be able to reduce our risk of developing high blood pressure by consuming foods that are lower in salt and sodium. In the body, sodium helps to control fluid balance and blood pressure. For some individuals, high levels of sodium in the diet can be associated with higher blood pressure. No one knows for sure who will develop high blood pressure, but limiting salt and sodium is recommended for healthy individuals. Look for low-sodium canned soups and vegetables, and go easy on cheese, salty snacks, pickles, olives, mustard and ketchup to decrease the sodium in your diet.

Alcoholic beverages are harmful when consumed in large quantities because they can impair judgment and lead to dependency and other health problems. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. More than one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men can increase risk of auto accidents, high blood pressure, stroke, violence, suicide, birth defects and cancer. Heavy drinkers also run the risk of malnutrition because they often substitute alcoholic drinks for nutritious foods.

From "Betty Crocker's Living with Cancer Cookbook." Text Copyright 2005 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the Betty Crocker's Living With Cancer Cookbook Cookbook:
01-Having A Diagnosis Of Cancer
02-Bring Back the Joy of Eating
03-Be Prepared for a Roller Coaster Ride Coaster Ride
04-So What Is Cancer All About, Anyway?
05-Take Control of Your Life
06-Eat Well and Enjoy Food
07-The Importance of Sound Nutrition
08-Enjoy Cooking, Shopping and Eating
09-Special Diets
10-Foods for Special Diets
11-Mind-Body-Spirit Connection to Healing
12-Beyond Treatment
13-The ABCs for a Healthy Lifestyle
14-Onward and Upward
A-Key to Common Side Effects
B-Foods Rich in Essential Nutrients
C-Food Guide Pyramid
D-Radiation (Radiotherapy) Remedies