Nutrition

Nutrition

Nutrition means nutrients or the science of nutrients. It means a sound knowledge about food-value. Health and nutrition are very interrelated as no good health is possible without nutrition. Human body is completely dependent on nutrients. Any lacking of knowledge of nutrients may bring a great hazard to our body. Only proper knowledge of food-value can help us to keep our body fit. Nutrition is just one key to developing and maintaining good health which is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being — a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

The strength of our body comes from different types of foods that we eat every day. So we can say-

Nutrition is the study of food at work in our bodies, our source for energy, and the medium for which our nutrients can function.

Foods are the main source of nutrients. The essential nutrients for life include carbohydrates, proteins fats, as well as fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water—the solvent for all soluble ingredients in the blood and cells.

Good nutrition means getting the right amount of nutrients from healthy foods in the right combinations. Having nutrition knowledge and making smart choices about the foods we eat can help us achieve optimum health over our lifetime, and can be a key to avoiding obesity, illness, and many of today’s most prevalent chronic diseases.

To avoid severe impacts of diseases, we have to have healthy foods and drinks. We have to eat more vegetables, plenty of fruits of all colours, a variety of whole grains- like wheat bread, grain pasta, brown rice and limit grains- like white rice and white bread. We have to drink water, tea or coffee with little or no sugar and limit milk daily and juice of 1 small glass/day. We should avoid sugar drinks.

We should have fish, poultry, beans and nuts, limit red meat and cheese. We can use healthy oils like olive and canola oil for cooking, on salad and limit butter. We should avoid fats.

Whereas vitamins are organic substances, minerals are inorganic elements that come from the soil and water and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. Our body needs larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, to grow and stay healthy. Other minerals like chromium, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc are called trace minerals because we only need very small amounts of them each day.

If we're a vegetarian, we'll need to plan carefully for a diet that offers the vitamins and minerals found primarily in meats. The best sources for the minerals zinc and iron are meats, fish, and poultry. However, we can get zinc and iron in dried beans, seeds, nuts, and leafy green vegetables like kale.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are found in almost all living things and play a critical role in the proper functioning of the immune system, fertilization, blood clotting, and human development. A deficiency of carbohydrates can lead to impaired functioning of all these systems, however, in the Western world, deficiency is rare. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates like sugar or corn syrup, can lead to obesity, type II diabetes, and cancer. Unhealthy high carbohydrate foods include dried fruit, cereals, crackers, cakes, flours, jams, preserves, bread products, and potato products. Healthy high carbohydrate foods include vegetables, legumes (beans), whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt.

Fats

Dietary fat is an important part of a healthy diet. However, some fats are better than others. Saturated fats increase blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to lower blood cholesterol. Trans fats are potentially harmful and are used to make baked products, pies, cakes, biscuits and buns.

Dietary fat is an important part of a healthy diet. However, some fats are better than others. Saturated fats increase blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to lower blood cholesterol. Trans fats are potentially harmful and are used to make baked products, pies, cakes, biscuits and buns. Omega-6 and omega-3 fats can benefit your health.

Some foods or drinks contain a large amount of one nutrient such as soft drink, which contains a large amount of sugar, or fried food, which contains a large amount of fat. The term ‘fat’ and ‘oil’ are often used to mean the same thing.

Dietary fat is important for many body processes. For example, it helps move some vitamins around the body and also helps with making hormones. There are different groups of dietary fat and each of the groups can have a different effect on our blood cholesterol level. For this reason, it is recommended that we replace foods and drinks high in saturated and trans fat with alternatives that contain more polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats.

Each gram of fat contains twice the kilojoules (energy) of carbohydrate or protein. Because of this, if we have foods and drinks with too much dietary fat, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

Fat-containing foods

Foods generally contain one main group of fat. For example:

• Saturated fats – sources include fatty cuts of meat, full-fat milk, cheese, butter, cream, most commercially baked products such as biscuits and pastries, most deep-fried fast foods, coconut and palm oil.
• Monounsaturated fats – sources include avocado, and nuts such as peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews and almonds (including peanut and other nut butters), margarine spreads such as canola or olive oil based choices, oils such as olive, canola and peanut.
• Polyunsaturated fats – sources include fish, seafood, polyunsaturated margarines, vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn or soy oils, nuts such as walnuts and Brazil nuts, and seeds.

Proteins

Protein is a macro nutrient necessary for the proper growth and function of the human body. There is considerable debate over the amount of protein a person needs to consume per day, the current recommended daily intake (RDI) for protein is 46 grams for women aged 19-70, and 56 grams for men aged 19-70. Any excess protein is turned into energy by the body, and it is controversial whether this excess protein causes a strain on the liver. A deficiency in protein leads to muscle atrophy, and impaired functioning of the human body in general. High protein foods include meat, fish, cheese, tofu, beans, lentils, yogurt, nuts, and seeds.

Pizza and cheese are the biggest food sources of saturated and other dairy products and meat products are also major fat contributors. Keep in mind that all foods contain a mix of fats. Even “healthy” foods like chicken, fish, nuts, and oils do contribute some saturated fat to the diet, though they are much lower in saturated fat than beef, cheese, and ice cream. And it would be a mistake to cut back on nuts, oils, and fish to minimize saturated fat.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals make people's bodies work properly. Although we get vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat every day, some foods have more vitamins and minerals than others.

Vitamins fall into two categories: fat soluble and water soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins — A, D, E, and K — dissolve in fat and can be stored in our body. The water-soluble vitamins — C and the B-complex vitamins (such as vitamins B6, B12, niacin, riboflavin, and folate) — need to dissolve in water before our body can absorb them. Because of this, our body can't store these vitamins. Any vitamin C or B that our body doesn't use as it passes through our system is lost mostly when you pee. So we need a fresh supply of these vitamins every day.

Nutrition is just one key to developing and maintaining good health. Good health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being — a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

Nutrition is at work during our entire life-cycle — from infancy to adolescence, adulthood and in our senior years — and can be the antidote for many of today’s common problems, such as stress, pollution, sexual vitality, and disease prevention.

For me personally, nutrition translates into health, and health is freedom. Being healthy not only makes us feel great, it enables us to enjoy life to our fullest potential, and to follow our dreams. Conversely, a poor diet can have a serious impact on health, and rob us of our freedom.

Food therapy is emerging as the latest prevention against multiple lifestyle diseases. Experts now believe it’s better to pop an apple, rather than popping a pill.  Negative influences such as stress, shock, injury, emotional upsets and worries can have a direct impact on life-long health. The good news is that the body can heal itself, if given what it needs to do its job. The nutrition in certain foods can naturally increase our body’s oxygen levels, eliminate many sources of toxins, improve our digestion, and prevent, heal, or reduce the severity of various diseases. Nutrition is about choices.

Healthy eating is the best recipe for an abundant life. Make every bite count.

Nutrition is:

• utilization of food to grow, repair and maintain our bodies;
• getting the right amount of nutrients from healthy foods in the right combinations;
• making smart choices about the foods you eat;
• proper nutrition helps you develop and maintain good health;
• a choice — choose good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle! and get free weekly Healthy Lifestyle recipes and tips.