You are what you Eat!

Components of a healthy diet:
1. Nutrients provide energy, measured in kilocalories, build and maintain body tissues and regulate body functions.
2. Water is the most significant nutrient, in terms of quantity, 60% of our body composition.

PROTEIN: used to create and maintain muscle tissue, bone, blood enzymes, some hormones and cell membranes. It provides 4 calories per gram. Proteins are constructed by amino acids called the building blocks of proteins. Two types:
Essential amino acids: (9) must be supplied through diet since the body does not manufacture these.
Nonessential amino acids: body can manufacture these from other Substances and are not needed in a diet

Foods are considered “complete” protein sources if they contain all 9 essential amino acids. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, other foods from animal sources provides complete proteins.

Foods from plant sources such as beans, peas, nuts contain some but not all essential amino acids and are called incomplete proteins.

About 10-15% of the total calories in a diet should come from proteins. Americans consume much more than that amount, two-thirds of which come from animal sources. *Excess protein is stored as fat or burned for energy.

Carbohydrates: “THE PRICIPLE FUEL SOURCE FOR THE BODY.” These should be a “staple” in your daily dietary intake. Carbs supply energy to body cells. Should provide 55% or more of your total daily calories. 15% from simple, 40 from complex.

Simple(refined): Calorie dense foods. Also “empty calories” because they contain calories but have few vitamins, minerals and fiber. Include most sugars candy, soda (for Texans that would be Coke!), other sweets, and found naturally in fruits and milk.
Complex(unrefined): Nutrient dense foods. Containing many vitamins, minerals and fiber. Many times do not contain a high amount of calories. Starches like pastas, rice, breads and potatoes, as well as some dietary fiber found in fruits, vegetables and grains. Complex carbohydrates are NOT fattening….it is the high fat toppings added up that make it fattening…butter and sour cream on a baked potato!

Unrefined (whole-wheat flour, brown rice, whole grains) take longer to digest and enter the bloodstream at a slower pace and may decrease the risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. So unrefined are recommended over refined. *Excess carbs are stored as fat.

FATS: Insulate the body, cushion organs, and provide the most energy of any nutrients. (9 calories per gram!)

**Triglycerides are the digested form of fat from your diet and are the form of fat that is store in your fat cells. Triglycerides are composed of fatty acids and the fatty acids may be either saturated or unsaturated.

Two main types of fats:Saturated and unsaturated
Saturated: found in meat, full-fat dairy products, palm and coconut oils. Solid at room temperature.
Unsaturated: found in plant oils and fish. Liquid at room temperature

Hydrogenation: process used to convert unsaturated vegetable oils into substances which are more like saturated fats (ex margarine). MANY food products you will find in the grocery store(especially processed and snack foods) have been either partially or fully hydrogenated. Hydrogenation will tend to turn a “product” that was more like a liquid oil into a “product” that has a solid form. You want to look for unsaturated or liquid type “fat foods”.

*In order for a food product to be considered “low fat” the fat calories should be less than 30% of the total calories.
*Only 1/3 of your total fat intake should come from saturated fat. The key to a healthy diet is to eliminate as much saturated fats as possible while increasing the unsaturated fats.

Recommendations to decrease intake of fat:
*Minimize fast foods
*Minimize processed foods
*Use lean cut of meat and/or decrease meat consumption (except fish)
*Use low fat alternatives when cooking
*Decrease the use of condiments (salad dressings, mayonnaise)
*Eat lower fat snacks
*Beware of serving sizes in foods contain oils but claim to be low in fat.



The information on this page is from Health: The Basics, Fifth Edition by Rebecca J. Donatelle, is copyright 2003 by Benjamin Cummings, an imprint Pearson Education. It was found on www.coursecompass.com