Skipping lunch

Question
First of all, thank you for your quick response. I do have a follow-up question.

What nutrients, in general, should I be looking for in lunches and what should I be looking to avoid? For a while I was bringing microwavable Uncle Ben's rice pouches but I can't imagine those make for a very balanced lunch.

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Followup To
Question -
I'm a college student and I don't have the time or money to eat lunch in the cafeteria (not to mention the fact that I commute). Usually I bring a lunch but that's starting to become inconvenient because I usually have things to be working on between classes, so I've started skipping lunch altogher.

Is this a bad idea or is it mostly harmless?

If it's not entirely bad is there anything I could do make it better (vitamins, watching what I eat for dinner)?
Answer -
Hello Daniel!

  Thank you for your nutrition question.  It's not a good idea to skip lunch because it actually slows down your metabolism(rate which you burn calories).  There are alot of inexpensive types of foods which you can buy that you can bring along with you for lunch.  These include mixed nuts, fruit cups, applesauce, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and go-gurt(yogurt).  All of these are healthy, convenient, and not very expensive to purchase.  
 Another thing you can do is purchase a product called Juice Plus which contains the nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables.  This could be something healthy to add to your diet.  The website to purchase it is at http://www.juiceblend.com  It also comes in gummie form which are popular with my younger patients.  Hope this helps.

-George  

Answer
Dear Daniel,

     The most important nutrients are your B-vitamins,vitamins C,A,E and calcium.  You get these foods from fruit, nuts, vegetables, salads, low-fat yogurt.  These all are lower in fat and higher in nutrients.  Try to avoid foods high in sugar, deep fried foods and saturated fat such as margarines, butter, and animal fat.  Uncle Ben's pouches can fit in a healthy diet but are not really very satisfying.  You have to add some of the above foods to make your diet more balanced.  Hope this helps.

-George

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