NUTRITION
Key to maintaining good health, nutrition refers to the relationship between the food we eat and our bodies’ needs. While there are hard and fast rules about the things our bodies require to operate efficiently, confusion often arises from the fact that nutritional needs vary from person to person as a result of physiological and environmental differences. Commercial interests may also exploit our desire for good health and seek to mislead us with exaggerated or even false claims about goodness or dangers of certain foods. A thorough understanding of the essential food groups and their sources, your daily requirements and the pressures of your environment and lifestyle will help you on the road to good nutrition. It is also recommended that any symptoms of dietary deficiency, which can range from marks on the fingernail to lethargy and more serious illnesses, be considered from a nutritional perspective. Your natural health practitioner will be able to help you identify and rectify problems with your diet.
Our basic nutritional requirements divide into five categories: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats or lipids, vitamins and minerals.
Water makes up about 70% of our body mass. While it is often said that water has no nutritional value, it is essential for cell function, nutrient absorption, temperature control and waste elimination. Most people will die within days if water is withheld.
Starches and sugars are known as carbohydrates. Both are broken down into simple sugars called monosaccharides and stored in the muscles and liver. Providing our most immediate source of energy and assisting with the body’s uptake of nutrients, carbohydrates should comprise about 60% of a normally active person’s diet. Starches are complex carbohydrates and are found in grain foods such as breads and rice, pasta, peas and potatoes. Bulky and often high in fibre, vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates are the better source of carbohydrate in the diet. Sugars, particularly refined sugars, have less nutrient value and, because they contain less bulk than starches, are easily overconsumed, resulting in obesity. They are also a major cause of tooth decay. Refined white flour may contain similar levels of carbohydrate to wholemeal flour, but it is low in fibre and therefore of less benefit to your general health.
Proteins are responsible for growth and development and for the repair of body tissue. Made of amino acids, they also form the enzymes and hormones which regulate the body’s chemistry and function. You will obtain protein from meat, fish, eggs, dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese, nuts and beans such as soya beans, lentils and haricots. The amount of protein required by the body is a matter of some controversy. Generally, it is thought that 40-60 grams a day is sufficient. Excess protein can be converted and stored as fat.
It may sound like a dirty word, but fat is an essential element of any healthy diet. Also known as lipids, fats allow you to absorb the fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. Fat provides protection for the abdominal organs and nerve fibres, conditions the hair and skin and helps to keep the body warm. The issue, of course, is what kind of fat you eat and how much. Excess fat or too much of what are known as saturated fats, as opposed to polyunsaturated fats, contain high levels of cholesterol, leading to gallstones, obesity, blocking of the arteries, heart attack and stroke. Saturated fats generally come from animal products such as meat, eggs and dairy foods but beware: palm and coconut oils are also high in saturates. Polyunsaturated fats are mostly derived from vegetable sources like maize, sunflower, sesame and rape seed, and oily fish such as tuna, salmon or trout. Olive oil and some fish oils are known as mono-unsaturated and are better for your health than animal fats.
Under increasing scrutiny is the process of hydrogenation, a food industry technique which saturates polyunsaturated oils with hydrogen usually in the presence of a metal catalyst such as nickel. Normally liquid, the unsaturated oils become solid when hydrogenised: for example, sunflower oil becomes margarine. The process creates non-natural fat substances which are now thought to act like saturated fats, depositing fatty substances on the organs and making the blood cells sticky. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing. Keep your intake of hydrogenised fats to a minimum.
Although required in tiny quantities, vitamins and minerals are essential for food absorption and body function and deficiencies will affect a person’s health. (For information on specific vitamins and minerals, see individual entries). There are 13 major vitamins, only two of which are produced by the body: Vitamin D is made by the action of sunlight on the skin and Vitamin K is a byproduct of the activity of bacteria in the large bowel. All other vitamins must be ingested and, fortunately, most are readily available in fresh food. Supplementation in the form of tablets is rarely necessary. Remember, however, that the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for each vitamin and mineral is calculated as the minimum requirement for health in ideal conditions. Such conditions rarely exist.
The following is a list of just some of the factors, physiological, environmental and behavioural, which can affect your daily requirements: alcohol, caffiene, smoking, allergies, oral contraceptives, reliance on convenience foods, pollution, pregnancy and lactation, stress, antibiotics and other medication, certain medical conditions, menopause and old age. For these reasons, among others, your medical practitioner may recommend you adjust your diet or supplement your vitamin intake with tablets or tonics from time to time.
Fibre is the next important consideration in your diet. It has no real nutritional value as it cannot be absorbed by the body. Instead it passes through our digestive system as roughage, pushing through waste products and keeping the digestive tract healthy. Both constipation and cancer of the bowel can be avoided with a high fibre diet. Most unrefined cereals and plant foods contain fibre. Eat plenty of unrefined grains and raw or lightly cooked fruit and vegetables. Those who suffer from irritable bowel complaints should choose a source of fibre which will not scour the bowel, such as oatbran.
While you may think you need a chemistry degree to eat well, good basic nutrition comes down to common sense. Make sure you eat at least four serves a day of breads, rice, pasta or potatoes and four serves of fresh fruit or vegetables, including green and yellow/orange vegetables. Eat three serves a day of meat, fish, poultry, nuts, beans, peas or lentils. Have one serve of milk, cheese or yoghurt and keep additional fats, oil and salt to a minimum. The fat and sodium you need should be available from other foods in a balanced diet.
Whenever possible, eat fruit and vegetables raw. If cooking, opt for a technique which preserves the nutritional value of food or uses minimal fat such as steaming, grilling, roasting, stir frying and stewing. Western style frying of foods should be avoided.
Finally, eat three meals a day, vary your diet regularly, keep tabs on your general health to pinpoint any deficiencies and try to eat when relaxed. Fifteen minutes of relaxation before eating will aid digestion and increase your absorption of nutrients.
*23\69\2*
Related Posts:
Tags: General health