Nutritional Needs

What you eat is really your own business. You have likes and dislikes. But if you let your likes or tastes alone tell you what you eat everyday, you might find out that your body's need for nutrients is being met. You can eat a lot of food and still be poorly nourished.

    Nutrients are the substances in food that provide energy, build and repair cells, and regulate body processes. They aid in growth and development. Eating a lot of just one kind of food may not give your body enough nutrients. But if you eat variety of foods, there's a good chance that your nutritional needs will be met.

    A balanced meal provides between one-forth and one-third of the nutrients you needs daily. The meal contain a serving from each of the first four food groups. If the serving sizes are adequate ,a Swiss cheese omelet served with steamed broccoli and French bread is an example of a balanced meal.

    Take a minute to check your favorite meal against the Daily Food Guide. Make a list of each food in the meal. Are all food groups included? If not, What other foods could you add to the meal to make it balanced nutritionally? Get into habit of mentally referring to the Daily Food Guide to check the nutritional value of the foods you are planning to eat. This will help you to make a wise choices, whether you are preparing your meals at home or eating out in a restaurant.

Nutrients:

PROTEIN

Protein is needed for the never-ending building and replacement of body cells. Protein can also provide energy. When you eat chili con carne with beans, you are taking in proteins of animals and plants. Inside the small intestine, these large protein molecules are broken down. Smaller substances called amino acids are formed. Then, like tiny building blocks, the amino acids are joined together to form specific proteins that the body needs. Foods with high quality protein contain the essential amino acids. The meat, poultry ,fish and beans group and the milk and cheese group are the best sources of such protein. Some vegetarians get a well-balanced assortment of amino acids by including dried legumes, milk ,cheese ,and eggs in their diets.

CARBOHYDRATE

Carbohydrate is the body's main source of energy. The energy provided by carbohydrate is needed by every body cell. Starches and sugars are carbohydrates.  Starch is the carbohydrate in foods of the bread and cereal group and in vegetables. Fruit and milk contain the carbohydrate called sugar. If you eat more carbohydrate than your body needs, the excess is stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen (stored sugar). If you eat more than can be stored this way, the excess is changed to fat and stored in fat cells. Many overweight people blame carbohydrate for their weight problems. But overeating not carbohydrate, is what causes people to gain weight.  

FAT

Fat is concentrated fuel for the body. It is found in many foods, such as nuts,meat,oils,eggs,chocolate,margarine, olives, avocados, and butter. Many people believe that fat is bad for them, so they avoid it as much as possible. It is true that eating large amounts of fat-more than 30 percent of your calories-can cause certain health problems for some people. But the body needs fat for several reasons. Ounce for ounce, fat supplies much more energy than carbohydrate or protein does. Fat also add flavor to many foods and helps body to absorb vitamins A,D,E,and k from the digestive tract. Fat stored in the body is a reserve source of energy. Finally, fat is important for insulating the body and acting as cushioning for vital organs.

CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol, most of which is produced by the body, aids in the production of hormones and cell membranes. Cholesterol can be found in foods from animal sources, but it is not found in foods of plant origin. It is a waxy and fatlike, but it is not a fat. As a person ages, the ability to rid the body of cholesterol decreases. The possibility of developing cardiovascular disease increases. To find out if a patient has a high potential of developing cardiovascular disease, doctors measure the total cholesterol and divide it by the HDL cholesterol to find the numerical ratio. The lower the ratio, the less chance there is a heart attack-and the higher the ratio, the greater the risk. Exercising seems to increase the body's manufacture of HDL,while daily stresses, smoking, and poor nutrition increase the body manufacture of LDL.

MINERALS

Many minerals are needed in small but steady supply to control the body's chemical processes. The following are the most important.

Iron-Iron is the mineral in hemoglobin that attracts oxygen. without enough iron, muscles do not get sufficient oxygen to contract properly. We can avoid iron-deficiency anemia by eating foods that are good sources of iron, such as meat(especially liver and kidney), dried beans, eggs, and enriched breads.

Calcium and phosphorus-These are minerals that are very important for strong bones and teeth. An adequate amount of calcium is essential for building stronger, denser bones. Calcium also helps blood to clot, muscles to contract, and nerves to send messages. Good sources of calcium include milk, hard cheese and yogurt. Meat, fish,poultry,eggs and milk are high in phosphorus

Fluorine-Fluorine prevents tooth decay. The best source of fluorine is drinking water that has fluoride salts in it.

Iodine-Iodine is needed for proper working of the thyroid gland. The body's need for iodine can met by using iodized table salt.

    Many other minerals are needed by the body. But if you include enough foods with iron, calcium, phosphorus, fluorine, and iodine in your diet, you will usually get all the other needed minerals along with them

VITAMINS

Vitamins are important to your body. They are substances that regulate body processes. Many people think that large amounts of vitamins will guarantee good health. Unfortunately. that is not really so. It is even possible to take too much of certain vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins-vitamins A,D,E, and k-are stored in the body until they are needed. Unneeded amounts are not removed as waste in the urine, so taking large amounts can be harmful. An excess of the water-soluble vitamins-vitamins B and C-cannot be stored and is less likely to be a problem. You should know how much of each vitamin your body needs and eat to meet those needs.

WATER

Most people think that water is something to bathe in, swim in, and drink whenever they are thirsty. Actually, next to air, water is the most important substance needed for life. Water is found in every cell of the body. Water has several important functions. It carries nutrients through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. It also helps to carry waste materials out of the body. The body's temperature-control system needs water in order to work properly. To make sure your body is getting the water it needs, you should drink 6 to 8 glasses of liquid daily. Even dry foods, such as bread, flour, and crackers, contain from 5 to 30 percent water. You must increase water intake when you exercise, have you exercise, have a fever, or lose fluid through vomiting or diarrhea.