THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A HEALTHY DIET

Energy-giving Carbohydrates

Your body’s most constant and basic requirement, apart, perhaps from water is Energy. Energy to breathe, to move, to function, to power itself, for repair and growth. Like machines we need an outside source of energy, but our fuel has to come from what we eat and drink.

That energy is measured in Kilocalories. When you expend energy you burn up calories and when you eat you consume calories. The amount of calories/energy your body needs in a day depends on your size, age, proportion of muscle to fat, activity levels and many other factors

In order to maintain a reasonable and stable body weight, energy/food intake and energy expenditure needs to be balanced. Too little intake and too much expenditure can result in weight loss and being too thin, too much intake and too little expenditure can result in weight gain, with the excess calories converting themselves into body fat and eventual obesity.

All food/drink-containing calories can supply you with energy, in the form of carbohydrate, fat, protein or alcohol but the majority of your energy supply should be derived from carbohydrate.

There are two main sorts of carbohydrate, starches and sugars. Starchy foods are plant-based foods e.g. breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, pulses and vegetables also contain starches in varying amounts, most fruits contain none with the exception of bananas

The carbohydrates in these foods are called Polysaccharides and known as complex carbohydrates

Sugars are either intrinsic, such as those found in fruits, which are part of the cellular structure of the food or extrinsic such as those found in table sugar, honey, fruit squashes, cakes, biscuits sweets etc. and not bound into the cellular structure of the food but are Refined and depleted of fibre.

It is the complex carbohydrates and intrinsic sugars that should form the bulk of your healthy diet

The more unrefined the carbohydrate that you eat, the better for your health.

Why? These are the plant foods which not only supply your energy but which also contain a whole range of vital nutrients

Carbohydrates also ‘spare’ protein from being converted into energy, which can be important if protein needs are high.


The Facts about Fats

Fat is mainly used by the body as energy. If fat surplus to energy needs is eaten it stores itself in the body as adipose tissue, this can be converted to energy if needed. A small amount of fat is also needed because it ‘carries’ the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. Polyunsaturated fats are also needed to supply essential fatty acids

Saturated Fat this is the kind of fat that is usually solid at room temperature and often in largest quantities in animal products e.g. cheese, meat, cream, eggs, butter, lard and in milk chocolate. It has been proved that a diet high in saturated fats can raise levels of the bad blood cholesterol, which is a major factor in heart disease and may be linked with other ailments and problems such as cancer and obesity.

Polyunsaturated Fat, this type of fat is found in the kinds of fat that are liquid at room temperature e.g. vegetable oils, such as corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil and most nuts, they have the opposite effect by lowering blood cholesterol. However experts believe high levels are never the less a good idea because they are easily oxidised by the body why can result in free radicals, which can damage body cells. However a diet high in Anti-oxidants will help counteract this effect.

A certain amount of polyunsaturated fats are needed because they contain essential fatty acids

What is Protein?

We require protein as we need it to build us up and keep us strong, it is essential for growth and development in children, for cell maintenance and repair, especially muscles and for the regulation of all body functions and for various jobs that fats and carbohydrates cant do.

Protein is a component of many foods, but it doesn’t always take the same form. It is made of Amino Acids, like building blocks. Proteins from different food sources contain different amino acids. Twenty-two of these amino acids are used in the body in different combinations to make the body’s proteins, such as muscle, and for the activities above.


What are good sources of Protein?

Animal sources of protein, such as all animal fleshes, dairy produce, fish and eggs, contain all eight essential amino acids within themselves, which is why they have been called ‘First Class Proteins’.

All vegetable sources of protein with the exception of Soya beans don’t, which is why they have been called ‘Second Class Proteins’. Some vegetable sources have certain amino acids but not others, and they need to be combined with the correct ‘missing’ amino acids in other forms of protein in order to be utilised by the body.

Vitamins

These are the unseen components of a healthy diet; vitamins are organic substances for the everyday functioning of our bodies, for good health and proper development. Each has a different role to play and most have to be provided in what we eat and drink.

We only need very small quantities, normally just a few milligrams or even micro-grams depending on the vitamin.

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble and can thus be stored in the body. Vitamins C and the B group are water-soluble and can’t be stored, excess is excreted in the urine and so they must be consumed on a daily basis.

Minerals

Minerals are inorganic substances and various vital body processes, as well as normal development, are reliant on an adequate supply of them. Altogether 15 minerals have been classed as essential in the diet. The major minerals, needed in larger quantities are, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Iron and Zinc, although needed in milligrams rather than grams are also classed as major minerals.

The trace Elements needed in much smaller quantities, but essential are, Selenium, Copper, Fluoride, Iodine, Manganese, Chromium, and Cobalt.

In general the three main functions of minerals are as constituents of bones and teeth, as salts regulating body fluids and as components of enzymes and hormones or helping all the functions of the body.

Vitamin & Mineral Awareness

Bear in mind it is important to have correct nutritional advice regarding vitamins and minerals, the wrong advice can lead to problems, some of which can be serious. Many people believe use vitamin and mineral supplements assuming that if enough is good, then more must be even better. This might be true sometimes, for some individuals and of some vitamin and minerals, however it is not always a good idea to exceed the recommended daily amounts, without proper advice as vitamin and minerals can be toxic in excess.

Good examples are with vitamins A and D, they are toxic in excess as they can be stored in the liver and too much of vitamin A is a particular danger for pregnant women. High intakes of Iron can cause stomach upsets, constipation and kidney damage. Excess Zinc, over 50mg a day can hinder Copper absorption and it is thought possibly Iron as well. Selenium, although an important trace element and a good anti-oxidant, which protects us from heart disease and some cancers and premature ageing, is toxic in excess, producing a nerve disorder and hair and nail loss. Up to 1,000ug per day should be safe, the Department of Health, however has set an upper limit of 450ug per day, as a precaution. An excess of vitamin C can cause stomach upsets and it can be quite laxative in high doses. Vitamin B6, often used to treat PMS, high doses may cause nerve damage. In the UK pills containing more than 10 mg of this vitamin have been withdrawn from sale over the counter.

Almost all vitamin and minerals can have some side effects if taken in very high doses. In certain people, though not all can be affected by certain vitamins e.g. vitamin E, particularly if they suffer from hypertension and or if they are on anti-coagulant drugs such as ‘Warfarin’. This supplement, vitamin E, can also affect people adversely if they have kidney stones or those on Calcium supplements.

Supplements can also cause nutritional imbalances, this is because vitamin and minerals and other nutrients work together, too much of one particular nutrient can cause imbalance within the body e.g. when taking Calcium supplements, you should take Magnesium as well as they both need one another to be assimilated by the body. Iron supplements may reduce Zinc absorption, it also in high intakes can hinder vitamin E absorption and high Zinc needs Copper to be assimilated too. The B supplements should be taken together rather than separately, as an excess of one upsets the delicate balance of assimilation of these vitamins. High intakes of any one particular vitamin or mineral should be avoided unless you’ve been advised to take them by a suitably qualified person.

Most nutrition experts agree however that there is no substitute for a healthy balanced diet and vitamins and minerals are best taken as part of that diet. Vitamins and minerals extracted or created synthetically, (and many of them are); don’t have quite the same effect on the body as when eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet. In having a balanced diet with the chief source of our vitamins and minerals coming from food it is impossible to overdose on them. Another reason is that as well as vitamins and minerals, food also contains other substances, phytochemicals, namely bioflavinoids. Also food contains a whole balance of things we need i.e. proteins, essential fats, fibre etc. In merely popping a vitamin C tablet instead of an orange we miss out on other nutrients an orange contains.

But there are times when to take supplements is better than nothing at all. In illness to aid recovery when the patient is suffering from anorexia, loss of appetite, supplementation will support the patient until his appetite recovers. Although most of us try to eat a nutritionally sound diet most of our food has suffered from overzealous food production methods, in that a lot of the vitamin and mineral content has been lost. Today we live busy life-styles; we eat irregularly and often unfortunately through lack of time eat processed pre-packaged food.

To conclude, we should eat as balanced a diet as we are able, but we should seek advice from a suitably qualified person if we feel we need supplementation; for although vitamin and minerals are very valuable and ‘good for us’, too much can be dangerous.



Article by MPB©

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