EAT moderately, have a balanced diet, and avoid fried and fatty dishes.
This is the healthy eating advice for Singaporeans who are aged 50 and older, from Mr Eric Teo, the executive chef of Mandarin Oriental Singapore.
The best food for you is fresh boiled veggies cooked with lots of garlic and very little oil and salt, says Mr Teo, who is also the president of the Singapore Chefs Association.
Other tips from him include:
- Eat more fish with less fat content. You can bake or steam with natural sauce made from fruits, vegetables or fish bones.
- Take less fatty meat. If you have to take meat, remove the skin and fat or try to eat only lean meat.
- Observe a balanced diet of tofu, vegetables, fish and lean meat which has sufficient protein and fibres but fewer carbohydrates.
These tips are good for older folks who don ft exercise much. Mr Teo says they may put on weight, build up blood pressure and have heart attacks because their metabolism is slower in breaking down food.
"So eat less, but eat good," Mr Teo says, adding: "Prepare the food when it is fresh and eat it while it is hot." He also notes that garlic, ginger and vinegar are good for cleansing toxins and flatulence in the body, and they form the basic ingredients of tasty dishes for older Singaporeans.
When eating out, he encourages Singaporeans to opt for dishes that are healthy and easy to digest, such as fish soups, stews, braised and steamed dishes that are not too oily.
He notes that older Singaporeans are now more aware of healthy food. gIt is always good to eat at home.
You know what is going into the food. "Reputable restaurants also do a great job serving healthy food," Mr Teo says.
He also gives some advice on how tasty dishes for older Singaporeans should be cooked and why they should eat in moderation. These are:
- Avoid deep frying, use unsaturated fat if you have to, and put less salt and sugar in your dishes.
- Avoid artificial substitutes and use natural ingredients for stocks and sauces.
- Don ft eat too many sausages, pickles, oyster omelette with plenty of lard, starchy glutinous rice, cooked yellow noodles, egg yolk and animal offals. Lard, fats and offals can clog the blood and create heart problems. Eating a lot of starch in glutinous rice and yellow noodles can lead to diabetes.
- Huge consumption of egg yolk may push up cholesterol levels. Green vegetables, salads and fruits are good starters for a meal.
- Have fish and skinless white meat for the main course. Eat more berries and grapes for your dessert.
Mr Teo and the Singapore Chefs Association are sharing their experience about healthy and tasty dishes at the 50+ Singapore Expo 2009.
The association is helping the Council For Third Age, which is the organiser of the expo, to promote healthy diets for older citizens of Singapore.
It conducts seminars and workshops and works closely with food nutritionists to achieve this aim.
