To enjoy a fantastic new year, Nigerians have been advised to take care of their health. In line with this admonition, they are advised to make their good health resolutions into scalable and traceable goals to achieve fruition.
Olusola Malomo, a registered nutritionist and National Publicity Secretary of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), made the call at the January edition of his monthly healthy living dialogue, an initiative supported by Chi Limited. The dialogue is part of the company’s ‘No-Added Sugar’ campaign.
Malomo said it was widely accepted that people will have different benchmarks for how they want to define a successful year but that achieving nutritional goals should follow a universal guideline, which must be adhered to if one wants to live healthy.
He stated that amongst the most common goals people set for themselves in the new year are those regarding health, fitness and eating habits. They include the resolution to drink more water, visit the gym once a week, eat fewer carbs, take on a sport, and others. He added however, that what is more viable is consistency and tenacity to the goals, rather than setting new ones.
The Nutritionist said research conducted in the UK to know those that stick to their New Year resolutions shows that 43 per cent do not keep their resolution up to a month.
“The one goal we need to have posted on our walls is to focus on our health. Having this overarching goal may look too broad, but being healthy involves everything we set as individual targets, such as eating a balanced diet, drinking pure fruit juice, taking long walks, or using the stairs.”
“This one resolution requires that we are mentally committed to being healthy, and we should take on any activity that ensures our health. While we are looking for specific activities that we need to stay healthy in 2020, having a mindset of being healthy ensures that we do not get disheartened when we miss a gym time or eat a bar of chocolate,” Malomo added.
He said the focus on health should be based on getting the right amount of nutrients every day and that various studies have confirmed the potential health impact of the bio-actives found in 100% fruit juice.
Typically, he noted, dietary guidelines recommend a vitamin and mineral intake, preferably from fruits and vegetables as part of an overall balanced diet.
According to Malomo, concerns that the natural sugar content may adversely affect diet quality or energy intake are unfounded, as 100% fruit juices are a “source” of key micronutrients, as some nutritional compounds in fruit juice have greater bioavailability than in the fresh fruits from which they are derived.
“There is no doubt that we all want to have a better year than the last, but what we must do this year is to ensure that we have the recipe to come out on top. Recent studies indicate that on average, it takes approximately 66 days before a new habit becomes automatic. This means that by mid-March a focus on health will become a habit. Now that is a habit that is sure to set you up to achieve your dreams,” he said.