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is critical. She suggests that if a person is in doubt how much they should eat at a meal, they should cup their hands together. The food that fits into that space is plenty.

She noted that people often struggle to understand what a serving is.

“One large banana is two servings. One large orange is two servings. Eight grapes are one serving, even though we like to eat 20,” she said.

Organics

Not all healthy foods are equal. Thornton said whenever possible, people should consider organics.

“We do have an issue in the food supply with pesticide residue on our food,” she said.

She said some foods, such as bananas that have thick skins that are not eaten, are less of a concern than foods like peaches, where the skin is eaten.

“Peaches can have a lot of pesticide residue so you need to wash them well,” she said.

Thornton said it’s important to be aware of chemically treated foods.

“If they knew what was happening in their body, they would more likely not eat it,” she said.

She said there is an advocacy group online that produces an updated “dirty dozen” list of foods tested that have high levels of chemical residue on them. A simple Google search will find them.

Kim Thornton, a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator at Hill Country Memorial’s Wellness Center, said people need to be aware of what they are eating and how much they eat. — Standard-Radio Post/Joe Southern

Avoid fad diets

Thornton said one of the worst things people can do is go on “a diet” rather than control their diet. She said diets, as most people know them, are temporary and often the rebound once leaving the diet is worse than before the dieter started.

“Diets like keto or Atkins … don’t provide all the nutrition the body needs and they’re very hard to sustain,” she said.

She called them “short-term drastic measures” that will result in weight loss, but most certainly significant weight gain when the person resumes normal eating. That’s why she recommends controlling weight with a permanent, healthy diet rather than a fad diet. Additionally, fad diets tend to reduce or eliminate food groups the body depends on.

“You need to meet the nutritional needs of the body,” she said.

Online:

www.hillcountrymemorial.org/ services/wellness-center www.myplate.gov