Healthy Eating ~ Bloggerin Info

Let's look at food with a fresh approach. Some foods are good for us and are lacking in our diets; others are bad and should be avoided.

1. Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbohydrates supply energy in the form of blood sugar. It is useful for keeping the body functioning. Carbohydrates can be founded in cereals, rice, breads, pasta, nuts, and all vegetables. They are good for us. Carbohydrates should be considered as a primary food.

A diet rich in carbohydrates can improve your energy and performance and help you prevent long-term diseases. Carbohydrates are low in fat but nonetheless very satisfying. They are rich in vitamins and minerals. They "burn clean" in the body, leaving only carbondioxida and water to be excreted (protein, however, leaves potentially dangerous nitrogen and sulphur waste).

2. Protein

Protein is one of the enemies from food. It is essential for life. Every cell in the body contains some protein. Half of the body weight is protein. Most of us eat at least twice as much protein as we need. Excessive protein is not excreted but it is stored in the body.

Our high protein intake is creating high fat, cholesterol, and kilojoule intake, because our major sources of the protein include meat and dairy, that are high in fat. In short, it is making us fat.

Beside making us fat, protein is also putting a strain on the liver and kidneys. Excessive protein consumption increase your need for calcium. It can also cause a problem connected with a low-calcium diet.

To give a diet a better balance in terms of protein is to shift the major source of it to fish, soya, and dried beans and peas.

Fibre

Insoluble Fibre Foods

Fibre is important in giving "bulk" to food and helping to move it though the intestines and colon back of sufficient fibre in the diet has been linked to cancers of the colon, rectum, hemorrhoids, hernia, varicoseveing, and heart disease.

These are two kinds of fibre present in foods: soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fibre is the "rough stuff" that promotes regularity. It is called insoluble because it will not dissolve in hot water. Soluble fibre, which will dissolve in hot water, has an effect on the metabolism of fats and sugar. Some soluble fibres have a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol.

They can be dangerous, if you don't take them with enough water or if you take them too much. Moreover, too much fibre, can rob your body of important nutrients. Why? Because it moves food to rapidly through your digestive system.

Vitamins and minerals

The definition of vitamins are organic substances which are essential to biochemical reactions in our bodies. Vitamins do not give us energy. We rely on kilojoules for energy. Kilojoules simply promote the metabolic function for energy.

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble. Vitamins C, B6, and B12 are water soluble.

Minerals are inorganic substances that, like vitamins promote various metabolic functions in the body.

The macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sulphur, sodium, and chlorine. The micro minerals include iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine, and fluorine.

Foods are high in the macro and micro nutrients.

Calcium

It is one of the most abundant minerals in the body. It sustains the maintenance and development of bones and teeth. Calcium is crucial for blood coagulation, muscle action, heartbeat, and nerve function.

Women (girls) are vulnerable to calcium deficiency. They can easily suffer from osteoporosis, a weak bone structure. This can lead to "dowager hump" and easily fractured bones.

You will have more than third of your daily requirement by having 100 g of cooked broccoli, and 250 ml of milk.

Iron

It is necessary for the formation of hemoglobine, the red pigment in blood cells. Hemoglobine transports oxygen in the body.

Women/girls especially are prone to the iron-deficiency. It is a result of blood losses during menstruation.

You can increase your iron by taking some vitamin C. Orange juice can boost the absorbed iron by 200%.

Magnesium

It is essential for energy biological process. It aids in the body's use of carbohydrate, fats, and proteins.

Many of us risk becoming deficient in magnesium because of our low-kilojoule diets of highly processed foods.

You will have a quarter of your daily magnesium requirement by having 100 g of fresh, cooked spinach.