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Basics of Nutrition |
Here’s an interesting question. Why do we eat? If it were up to me, I wouldn't deal with the hassle of cooking then cleaning up the meal, washing the dishes and whatnot. Add on top of that having kids, taking care of them and all they want to eat, plus they make even more messes! Why do we have to eat food?
1. We eat for energy.
2. We eat because our bodies need food to heal and repair itself.
3. If we don't eat, we would starve from lack of nutrients.
Nutrient. The base word for nutrition. Did you know that Nutrition is actually a science? Nutrition focuses on the interactions between living organisms (such as humans) and their food. Nutrition includes the study of the biological processes used in consuming food and our body’s ability to use the nutrients contained in that food.
To break things down for you, there are six classes of nutrients that each have a role within the body:
1. Water – water is found in all tissues of the body and makes up 55-60% of the body. Your body can go 8 weeks without food, but only days without water.
2. Protein – proteins are amino acids, which provide the body enzymes, antibodies, hemoglobin and hormones.
3. Fats – fats compose 15% of the body, it is the energy source, the building blocks for cell membranes. Fats are required for the absorption of many vitamins and for the absorption of food for proper energy regulation. Some good fats to include in your diet are fish oils, flax oil, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and real butter.
4. Carbohydrates – 2% of our body is carbohydrate based. Carbs provide fuel for the brain, a quick source of energy, regulates protein and fat metabolism and is a good source of fiber.
5. Vitamins – vitamins compose 1% of our body and function as helpers that are essential for growth vitality and health. They also help with digestion, elimination and resistance to disease. A depletion of vitamins in the body can lead to a variety of disorders and general health problems.
6. Minerals – 4% of our body is composed of minerals. These are what remains of the body in ash, when tissues are burned. Out of 103 known minerals, at least 18 are essential for good health.
When you eat your meals through out the day, you want to make sure you have the proper balance of nutrients. You can do this at each meal or look over your whole day to determine your balance.
Here’s a Basic Nutrition Eating Guide:
- 40% Carbohydrates- mostly veggies, some grains and fruit
- 30% Proteins – meats, poultry, fish and dairy
- 30% Fats – real butter, coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil, supplement with Omega 3’s and Fish oils.
What does all this mean to you? What do these percentages mean? Basically these percentages are based on your caloric intakes each day. But who counts calories? From my experience, only people who want to lose weight or gain weight! As you are reading this, grab a piece of paper and draw a circle on the paper. This will help you get a visual of what I’m talking about. Think about this circle representing a plate, a plate that you eat your food on. Now draw two lines that meet in the middle, two lines that take up 40% of your circle. Now on the side of your circle that you have left, draw another line from the middle of the circle, dividing what is left of the circle in half. This makes two 30% sections.
The majority of your carb intake should be vegetables that are raw or slightly steamed. Include 2-3 fresh whole fruits (not juice) per day. Occasionally include starchy carbs like whole grain breads, brown rice, etc. Whenever possible select organic products, because they are always the best for our bodies. Especially choosing items with thin skins like apples, grapes and strawberries. Avoid all processed and refined carbohydrates, this includes all sugar/white flour products. So, in your circle, in the large section, put vegetables into portion, those are your carbs.
Incorporate good source of proteins into your diet, like:
-grass-fed beef
-free-range poultry
-whole, raw or cultured dairy products
-organic free-range eggs
-Low-toxicity seafood
Avoid:
-Soy
-Farmed Seafood
-Pasteurized and homogenized milk
Incorporate fats into your diet by:
-Eating nuts and seeds
-Raw, cold-processed oils from nuts & seeds (these are in dark bottles and containers, not clear)
-Cold-processed, extra virgin olive oil
-Saturated fats from healthy sources
-Butter & other raw dairy fats
-Raw, organic coconut oils
Avoid:
-Hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats
-Highly processed vegetable oils
-Trans fatty acids
-Fried foods
Well, that was all the technical mumbo jumbo of basic nutrition. Here’s something a bit easier to digest:
If you have to eat fast food for breakfast or for lunch, which I highly do not recommend, but I realize that there are times that it is unavoidable, avoid the breads and the fried potatoes. Here are some tips when eating out at fast food restaurants:
- Substitute! Some restaurants will let you substitute a salad for french-fries. Some will also let you substitute a bottle of water for a soda in their value meals.
- Try eating your hamburger without the bun! Most fast food places are prepared today to serve up your burger minus the bun, they’ll even give you a fork and knife.
- This doesn’t mean that every time you eat out you will have to avoid the fries, but more often than not if you choose the salad, your body will think more kindly of you. When you get the fries, get the regular or small size, do not super size any thing.
Breakfast tips:
1. As you’ve no doubt heard, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you are working hard, you need nourishment, no matter what you are working on! Eating a good breakfast will provide you with the sustained energy you need to last the morning with good mental and physical acuity.
2. Have some source of protein in the morning. You need more than a bowl of cereal and milk or some toast. These things will burn off fast and will not last you over 1-2 hours. Having some eggs with whole grain bread or muffin or even some breakfast meat (not bacon) should get you off to a good start.
3. Here’s something easy for those mornings you are running out the door. The next time you buy a dozen eggs, hard boil them all and leave them in the fridge. Hard-boiled eggs are easy to grab and take with you when you’re in a hurry.
Lunch time tips:
Lunch is hard because sandwiches and hamburgers are very easy to take with you . The best thing to do is to eat left overs from last nights dinner. If you make a sandwich, use whole or sprouted grain breads, and use and abundance of vegetables on them.
Dinner time:
--If you haven’t already throughout the day looked at your food in the 30-30-40 paradigm, it is very important to do so now. Have a portion of meat, a serving size of meat is about 4oz or about the size of a deck of cards. Have some raw vegetables like a green salad, eat some slightly steamed veggies too. On the veggies and salad you can have some fat, like a tablespoon of butter or some salad dressing. Stick close to the serving size portion on the labels or just under that amount.
What to drink?:
1. Any good nutritionist is going to tell you to drink plenty of water. I’m really not going to defer from that rule of thumb, but I’ll give you a few choices:
-- 1st choice Water.
-- 2nd choice….water.
3rd choice……..water.
2 It is imperative that your body is provided water. Drink filtered water, because it’s filtered and because it tastes better than tap water. Try and avoid bottled water as much as you can, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Take a look at www.wellnessfilter.com
3 Here is an easy formula to follow for daily water consumption: take your body weight and divide it in half, this is the amount in ounces your should consume each day. Example: 160/2 = 80 oz. Which is 10 cups or 5 pints or 2.5 32oz-water bottles. However you need to measure it out, just do it. Your body will get used to the liquid after a few days and you will crave the water!
4. Soda’s and pop deplete your system of all the nutrients that you are trying to gain from eating a good diet, only let yourself have them on special occasions.
Snacks:
1. Do you snack? It is okay to snack, especially if you have a strenuous job, you’ll need to keep up your energy. If you aren’t burning the calories with your job, you may think about having smaller meals so that you can includes snacks in your day without worrying about the extra calories.
2. What are some good snacks? Nuts and seeds, raw and unsalted are the best, try not to eat too many salted nuts. Raw veggies or some yogurt (avoid the aspartame).
3. Beware of energy snack bars, they usually contain a high amount of sugar or refined carbs. They may also give you a quick burst of energy, but it doesn’t last long. Try instead, making your own trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, putting it into a baggie to bring with you.
4. Carry fresh fruit in your bag or car. When I was pregnant, I never left home without a bottle of water or a snack like a banana in the car with me.
5. If you are eating smaller meals because you are trying to lose some weight, it’s imperative that you eat small snacks between meals to keep your metabolism moving so that you burn fat and not muscle.
6. Meal replacement shakes, I’ve found, are not for everyone. They usually don’t replace the meal, but they can be good snacks. Look at the labels carefully, some meal replacement shakes have a ton of sugar in them, and not enough protein.
As you learn more about nutrition you also learn the importance of elimination. What goes in, must come out. Your body is a well oiled machine that takes what it needs from what you feed and eliminates the rest through urine and the bowels. This is not something to be taken lightly, many people do have a problem with elimination, and if you are one of them, you should seek counsel through a nutritionist or naturopathic physician.
1. Do you know how many bowel movements (BM) a normal healthy person should have each day? Most people guess that 1 BM per day is good for regulation. One BM is ‘okay’, but it is not optimal. There are a lot of people who only have 1 BM per week, or 2 per month. This is not normal, there is a problem. The correct answer is that a normal healthy person should experience 2-3 BM’s per day, and more if they eat more often.
2. We live in a fast paced society, some would call us the ‘microwave’ generation. We don’t have time to use the bathroom too often, and many of us would prefer to be ‘home’ when we have a BM, urine we don’t mind using public bathrooms, but if we need to do the other, we’d prefer to go home!
3. To keep your colon and bowel healthy, you should eliminate several times per day, ideally not long after each meal. If you do, you will make your colon very happy.
4. Some tricks to doing this is eating plenty of raw fruits and vegetables, steamed beets are good, and also using digestive enzymes with each meal.
Supplementation:
1. There is a ton of information on the web today about food supplements. In fact there is so much information out there, that a person could get very confused about what to take, and might be taking too many different supplements or not the right supplements that their bodies need.
2. The truth is, that we absolutely cannot get the nutrients we need from the foods we eat today. There are a myriad of reasons why we cannot, but suffice it to say, mostly it is because of poor farming practices and foods being picked before they are ripe.
3. When you look for vitamins and minerals, look for some that are food based and not produced by a pharmaceutical company. These vitamins are hard on your digestive system and make it difficult for your body to absorb and utilize.
4. Here are a list of basic supplements that our bodies need according to the scientists and researches who are trying their hardest to help us stay healthy:
a. Vitamins & Minerals
b. Fats & Lipids
c. Proteins (amino acids)
d. Essential Carbohydrates (supplemental, not in diet)
This is just basic information that I’ve shared with you, it is very important that you truly look at your diet and lifestyle, and look at your future. What is ahead for you? Are you going to be chasing your grandkids and great-grand kids around the yard? Will you be around to even see your grandkids? I truly wish you all the best in life and may you have a Healthy One!
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com
More About Stephanie Meyer, CNT: Stephanie Meyer is a Certified Nutritional Therapist. After struggling with her own health issues and finding out that she could be healthy again, she has been helping others find hope through good nutrition since 1997. For your free 20 minute nutritional assessment call 1-800-839-2068 or visit her home on the web at www.HealthyLivingForLife.info. |
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