Variety is the spice of life, studies say

Eating habits are important but too much familiarity "can breed complacency instead of excitement and responsiveness"


Shake it up! No, not your salad, but your daily routine. Studies suggest that adding some variety to what you eat and how you move can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Novelty not only boosts attention and adds a little jolt of adrenaline, but it can also "reinforce a sense of mastery and control,'' says John Norcross, professor of psychology at the University of Scranton and co-author of Changing for Good''. By tinkering with your daily habits, you increase your sense of being in charge.

While habits are important, too much familiarity "can breed complacency instead of excitement and responsiveness,'' Norcross says. Think of it like commuting along the same route every day. It's easy to zone out.

How much variety you add and how fast you add it are matters of personal preference, time constraints and a little trial and error. But studies suggest that "extroverts often need more novelty and variety in their day,'' notes Norcross. "They crave more excitement and change. Introverts may need less novelty, but that isn't to say that they need none.''

Whatever your personality, here are some areas that experts say are good to shake up from time to time:

Physical activity

Cross-training (a mix of aerobics, stretching or isometrics and weight training) not only helps reduce boredom, but also works different muscles. Also, "working out at a different time means you may see new people, have different interactions or even feel better,'' Norcross says.

Strategy: Try a new activity or alter where or when you do your workout. Some options are: Dance instead of jog; try tai chi instead of Pilates; do free weights instead of stationary weights; split the cost of a personal training session with a couple friends.

Fruit and vegetables

Eating the same old salad, fruit or vegetable every night is not only boring, it also means you miss a huge array of other great-tasting options filled with health-promoting nutrients.

Strategy: The National Cancer Institute recommends including each of these colours in your five to nine servings a day of fruit and vegetables: blue/purple (blueberries, grapes); green (spinach, broccoli, lettuce, string beans); orange (cantaloupe, oranges, orange peppers, carrots, apricots); red (tomatoes, red peppers, watermelon); white (onions, cauliflower).

Fibre

Oatmeal has different fibre than Bran Buds or whole-wheat pasta. The fibre in oatmeal helps reduce cholesterol levels; the other fiber helps keep you regular.

Strategy: Try both while meeting the 25 to 35 grams per day recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. Increase variety by choosing beans; brown or wild rice; whole-grain cereal, pasta, bread, crackers or couscous; quinoa; popcorn; fruit and vegetables; nuts and seeds; whole-grain pilaf.

Seafood

It's low in calories and filled with omega-3 fatty acids — heart-healthy fat that seems also to be good for the brain and the joints. The American Heart Association recommends consuming about two meals of fish per week to help reduce cardiovascular risk, but recent warnings about contaminants, as we reported last week, underscore the importance of eating a variety of seafood to minimise risk and protect the environment.

Strategy: Vary the type of seafood eaten, repeating no one type more than once a week. The Food and Drug Administration says that pregnant and nursing women, women considering becoming pregnant and young children should limit seafood to 12 ounces per week, including no more than four to six ounces of tuna.

Fat

With twice the calories of protein and carbohydrates, fat needs to be consumed in moderation.

Strategy: Sample the wide variety of healthy fat sources, from avocados to nuts. For cooking, Tufts University's Alice Lichtenstein alternates between canola oil (rich in mono-unsaturated fat) and soybean oil (high in polyunsaturated fat). Olive oil is her choice for salad dressings, with sesame oil for stir-fried dishes.

© Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service