CTS

Beyond the trend, the poke has been consolidated as a proposal of healthy food. What characteristics does it have for nutritionists to recommend it? Are all poke the same, or are some healthier than others?

A perfect stranger at our table until just over five years ago, poke has become ubiquitous: we find it in the office tupperwarein fast food restaurants, in informal menus and, of course, in all places healthy. Because poke is associated with healthy food and a balanced dish, but is it really like that?

The short answer is yes: poke is a healthy food option. The long answer leads us to specify how the poke should be to be interesting from a nutritional point of view. For this reason, the first thing is to define what it consists of, what its basis is, and then see the different varieties and how we can benefit from it… or the opposite.

origin of poke

Let’s go to the origin. Poke is a dish with Hawaiian roots strongly marked by Japanese influence. The initial base was pieces of lightly marinated raw fish that Hawaiian fishermen ate while fishing on the high seas. From the Japanese they took rice, soy sauce and sesame oil, as well as other fish. And all this accompanied by vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts… Simplifying: poke is a salad with rice and raw fish.

Nutritional values ​​of poke

“This combination of protein, high-quality carbohydrates and vegetables is what makes poke very attractive for healthy eating“, explains nutritionist Lola Cano. “We take it as a single dish and we know that it is providing us with the necessary nutrients.”

Thus, the fish that are normally used (salmon and tuna) are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (beneficial for cardiovascular health); fruits and vegetables provide a variety of vitamins and antioxidants; Whole grain carbohydrates are a good source of fibra insoluble (which makes the poke very satiating), and the seeds and nuts, in addition to being heart-healthy, provide minerals and trace elements.

Added to all this, continues the nutritionist, “that a poke can be made in a few minutes and is a very good alternative to fast food options much less recommended. Of course, we must take care of the ingredients: depending on what we add, it will be more or less healthy”.

What is the healthiest poke?

That is the key. Under the name of poke we have begun to bring together multiple variants. Hawaiians, of course, throw their hands up when they see what we’re doing in the West with this dish (as we do with the chorizo ​​in Jamie Oliver’s paella), but it’s not about being purists either: if we’re looking for a dish simple, fast and healthypoke can give us a lot of game.

What are the healthy options? Lola Cano tells us that “the greens and vegetables, both raw and steamed or even grilled, are always recommended. As for fish, although we normally talk about tuna or salmon -which are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids-, in reality any fish is a protein of high biological value and, therefore, also interesting from a nutritional point of view”.

The weak point -or, at least, where there are more chances of screwing up- is “in the carbohydrates. We must take them of good quality, that is, we are not interested in highly refined pasta and, on the other hand, the integral alternatives, which incorporate more nutrients and are therefore more complete. Rice, quinoa… and also legumeswhich, in addition to being high-quality carbohydrates, provide us with vegetable proteins”.

How to dress the poke

Another aspect that we have to take care of, if we want our poke to be healthy, is that of the dressings. No hypercaloric sauces (such as mayonnaise or ketchup) and, as for soy sauce, “you have to watch the salt, it is your greatest risk”. As far as the Sesame oilthe nutritionist reminds us that “the healthiest oil is extra virgin olive oil”.

Proportion of ingredients in the poke

One last question: the proportions. A poke with health benefits should be balanced and keep the right proportions. “The healthy plate is one in which half is made up of vegetables, fruits, vegetables and, in general, vegetables; a quarter will correspond to the protein (the fish in this case) and another quarter to high-quality carbohydrate. Those are the right steps.”

Specific sports practices such as tabata method o High-intensity workouts are effective for weight loss. But can you lose weight without exercise?

Possibly this is one of the topics that has been written and talked about the most in recent decades. In magazines, newspapers or digital media, but also in television programs or in books. Today it is an apparently inexhaustible source of content for profiles and social network accounts. As well as the axis on which multiple companies are based. However the slimming is not always approached from the health point of viewbut of the aesthetic.

The answer to the question of whether can you lose weight without exercise is simple: yes, but nutritionists warn that diets, especially the very restrictive ones, are not the solution or the most effective way to lose weight. Nor subjecting the body to periods of fasting without professional and qualified supervision or resorting to methods such as substitute products.

If it is not complemented with the practice of exercise, to lose weight only with food, it is only necessary to establish a caloric deficit. A hypocaloric diet, that is, ingesting fewer calories than the body needs, in this way it is possible to lose weight. This can be associated with a diet based on salads and grilled chicken meat, but it is not an effective or much less healthy way to lose weight. Luckily, the ideal way is much simpler and more satisfying.

“We live in one society too obsessed with weight and not with health and happiness when choosing what we eat, and that has repercussions when we feel bad when we consume some less healthy food, a guilt that in turn has indirect repercussions in a lack of weight control and that causes the appearance of binge eating and disorders that prevent us from having a healthy diet”, explains the nutritional advisor Matthew Aunon. The key is a balanced diet.

How to lose weight in a healthy way if I don’t have time to exercise?

Many people cannot play a sport due to all kinds of circumstances and reasons, from little free time to certain physical conditions. Therefore, if they intend to lose weight, they should focus solely on food and the best strategy, respectful of the body, is changing habits. A messy meal plan must give way to a healthy and complete diet.

Entities in the health field, such as the Department of Nutrition of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the United States, inform that a healthy diet involves incorporation of a variety of foods: fruits, vegetables, dairy products, legumes, meat, fish, eggs or nuts. Learning to create balanced dishes and organizing a weekly menu that is beneficial for the body is the key to that “eating well” that nutritionists teach.

What is the healthiest way to lose weight?

Health and nutrition professionals have a very clear answer: a combination of healthy food and balanced guided and regular practice of exercise. It doesn’t matter what type it is, whether people who go to the gym to increase their motivation, those who participate in a team sport or those who simply they go for a walkall of them will achieve weight loss.

Once the desired goal has been reached, always under the supervision of a nutritionist and according to the physical characteristics of each person, nothing else will have to be done to keep. Simply continue with the new eating style that has been learned and with the exercise.

Physical and psychological benefits of playing sports

Implementing sport as part of daily life is one of the best decisions to take care of health, both physical and psychological. The health professionals highlight the physiological benefits of exercise when it comes to maintaining the ideal weight, reducing the appearance of diseases, boost the immune system and improve the glycemic regulation. As well as others, for example, the strengthening of muscles, an increase in coordination and reflexes. It even encourages healthy rest.

As for the benefits for the mind, the psychologist Jonathan García-Allen talks about the positive generation of calls hormones of happiness, such as endorphins, “chemical substances that produce a feeling of happiness and euphoria”. It is also an effective formula to combat stress and anxiety.