Nutrition
For Life
Eating for good health and the energy to embrace life.
You are what you eat. It’s an old adage- but it couldn’t
be more true. The nutrition provided by the food in your diet is the
fuel that allows your body to breathe, to move, to work, to think- in
essence, to live.
Given all that, it’s no surprise that what you eat matters- and
that by eating the right kind of diet, you can help your body function
at its best.
You need a balance of nutritious foods.
In your body, nutrients do their work together. And to work best, they
must be in balance with one another. Too much of one nutrient or too
little of another- and the balance is thrown off. It is within your
power to find a balance that provides good nutrition for your body.
A good place to start is by understanding the nutrients that make up
a balanced diet and why they’re so important.
Protein
Although protein can be converted into energy, its primary job in the
body is to provide the building blocks needed for growth, repair and
the maintenance of body tissues.
Protein is found in practically every food. Among the richest sources
of protein are:
Meat
| Poultry | Dairy Products
| Cereals and Grains
Fish | Eggs | Beans and Legumes
| Nuts and Seeds
Protein itself is made up of amino acids. During digestion, your body
breaks protein down into these building blocks and uses some of them
to build and rebuild body tissues, such as skin, muscles and bones.
Carbohydrates
Most of the energy used by your body is provided by the carbohydrates
in your diet. Carbohydrates are available from:
Pasta | Fruits | Vegetables
| Sweets/Honey
Bread | Milk | Cereals and
Grains | Rice
Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates should be most plentiful
foods in your diet. These foods are often good sources of nutrients,
including vitamins, minerals and fiber. Complex carbohydrates are found
in foods such as whole-grain breads and cereals, rice, pasta and vegetables.
Sugary foods such as desserts and soft drinks are usually very low in
nutritional value. So limit your intake of sugary foods to special occasions-
and use fruits to satisfy your sweet tooth most of the time.
Fats
Fats are another important fuel source for your body. They are found
mostly in:
Butter | Margarine | Whole
Milk | Nuts and Seeds
Meats | Vegetable Oils | Ice
Cream | Cheese
Fats, in general, may have a “bad” reputation, but here
again, balance is the important issue. Some fats are absolutely vital
to life and health, and they play important roles in keeping the body’s
immune system functioning at its best. They are an important source
of energy, and they’re required for the body to carry the “fat-soluble”
Vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are also essential to good health.
Minerals
Your body depends on minerals for practically every process necessary
for life. The major minerals are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium,
potassium and chloride. These are the ones that are present in your
body in the largest amounts. The trace minerals are iron, zinc, iodine,
copper, manganese, fluoride, chromium, selenium and molybdenum. These
are required in much smaller amounts.
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