ShopThe purpose of eating is not just to provide your body with the nutrients you need; eating is also a major source of quality of life. The joy of eating and culinary delights are just as much fundamental building blocks of a healthy diet as the proper ingredients. Since no two people are alike, everyone should pay attention to their own individual needs.
The best basis of a healthy diet essentially includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, a small portion of meat, plant-based carbohydrates, plenty of legumes, low-fat dairy products and a small amount of fat and sugar. This also complies with the guidelines published by the German Nutrition Association, which recommends a diet consisting of a wide variety of foods.
The food pyramid provides a simple overview of these recommended servings. The larger the food group, the more frequent and generous servings of these foods you can help yourself to.
Daily recommendations:
Drink at least 2 litres of liquids
Our bodies need plenty of liquids. You should drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water, unsweetened fruit juices mixed with water, fruit tea and herbal tea per day to keep your metabolism working properly.
2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables
Help yourself to fruits and vegetables, as often as you can, but make sure you get at least 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables a day. Fruits and vegetables go well with every meal and they also make great between-meal snacks. They're packed with lots of substances that are beneficial to your health, and they're usually low in calories—which means they're good for your physical well-being and your figure. The standard serving size here is equivalent to one handful.
SCHNEEKOPPE has created a number of healthy, delicious vegetable juices that are all rich in phytochemicals, a wide variety of substances only found in certain plants in small amounts. Phytochemicals are believed to have a very positive impact on human health.
3 servings of whole grains
At least three servings of muesli, potatoes, pasta, rice and bread, particularly whole grain products, are suitable for meeting the daily requirements for carbohydrates. All five fill you up and supply plenty of vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals and dietary fibre.
Dietary fibre is particularly important for good health. It is the silver bullet for well-being; it helps prevent a large number of illnesses, aids digestion and regulates cholesterol levels. Fibre is a part of plant-based foods that cannot be broken down by digestive enzymes in the small intestine and ends up intact in the large intestine.
The German Nutrition Association has established a recommended value of 30 grams per day for dietary fibre intake, but a higher intake is preferable. Half of our fibre intake should come from cereal grain products with a high whole-grain content, and the rest from fruits, vegetables and legumes. On average, though, the actual intake of dietary fibre is only 20 grams per day.
How can you increase your fibre intake? It’s easy. All you have to do is start your day with wholesome breakfast muesli. SCHNEEKOPPE „Ballaststoff Früchte Müesli“ (fibre and fruit muesli) has a very high fibre content of 22 percent. As Jutta Plate, research & development at SCHNEEKOPPE, explains, „Just one bowl is enough to meet one-third of the daily fibre requirements. This muesli contains both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre, and has no added sugar or raisins. Its 30% fruit content includes unsulphured dates, figs and plums, which give it a particularly fresh and fruity taste.“
Not only do our mueslis and select mueslis add variety to your breakfast, they also taste great and are chock-full of fibre. SCHNEEKOPPE milled products, i.e., Wheat Bran, Crushed Linseed and Linseed Plus, go perfectly with yoghurt, for example, and have the highest fibre content of all our products. They make it a breeze for anyone to meet 100% of their daily fibre requirement.
2-3 servings of milk and dairy products
Milk, dairy products and cheese provide high-quality protein and a lot of calcium for strong bones. 1/4 litre of milk or 250 grams of yoghurt and 2-3 slices of cheese are enough to meet your calcium needs.
Soy products are a healthy and delicious alternative to milk. For the most part, they contain as much calcium as cow's milk but have no animal protein and no cholesterol. What's more, they are rich in natural soy isoflavones (natural plant estrogens) that are especially beneficial to women during menopause.
Maximum of 2-3 servings weekly of meat, sausage, eggs and fish
Meat, sausage and eggs provide your body with nutrients such as high-quality protein and iron. However, it is recommended that you limit your intake to a maximum of 2-3 servings of meat and sausage (a total of about 300-600 grams) and no more than 3 eggs per week. Make sure you choose the leanest meats possible and lower-fat sausages, such as ham or poultry sausage.
Saltwater fish just can’t be beat as a source of iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, so be sure to eat 2 servings per week.
1-1 1/2 tablespoons of oils and fats
Fats play an important role as sources of energy, building material for cells, sources of fatty acids and carriers for fat-soluble vitamins. However, too much fat can lead to obesity and, subsequently, to cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus. That’s why you should use oils and fats sparingly—limit your intake to no more than 1-1 ½ tablespoons (10-15 grams) of high-quality vegetable oil and roughly 15-30 grams of butter or margarine (1 tablespoon = about 10 grams). Make sure that you only use high-quality vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, olive oil or sunflower oil.
SCHNEEKOPPE offers a linseed oil for cooking obtained from a gentle, cold first pressing, a process which ensures that the characteristic taste of the linseed is optimally retained. This pure vegetable oil is cholesterol-free and rich in essential unsaturated fatty acids (such as omega 3 fatty acids) and vitamin E. Incidentally, linseed oil is a Silesian specialty and is traditionally eaten with unpeeled boiled potatoes and quark (a smooth curd cheese).
Go easy on the salt
Salt should only be used sparingly since the average daily intake of table salt is already too high. To improve your iodine intake, you should use iodized salt, such as SCHNEEKOPPE iodized and fluoridised sea salt. It is obtained naturally through the evaporation of pure seawater and finely ground so you can measure out just the right amount of this aromatic seasoning. Iodine is an added trace element that is vital for the entire metabolism and for a healthy thyroid. The added fluoride hardens tooth enamel and is essential to keeping teeth healthy.
By all means, be creative in seasoning your food with herbs and spices and use little salt.
Enjoy your food
The feeling of being full (satiety) does not set in until after 15-20 minutes of eating. Fast eaters don’t even sense that they are already full and eat much more than is necessary. So eat slowly and enjoy your food consciously, in pleasant surroundings and at a nicely set table.