What
you eat has a life long effect on your health and well-being.
To look and feel your best, you have to eat adequate
amounts of the proper foods. Many teenagers don't always
choose the food that is best for them. They may not
want to eat what the rest of the family is eating or
they may eat poorly at school. The food at the school
cafeteria is required by law in the United States to
meet certain nutritional standards, but you may not
be eating their food.
Nutrition...
Nutrition... Nutrition... Adults are always talking about
good nutrition and eating the right foods. Isn't it enough
to eat the things that we enjoy eating? Not necessarily,
unless you like eating foods rich in vitamins, minerals
and other essential nutrients. Sounds boring? It doesn't
have to be. If you are going to eat well you have to take
some of the initiative and responsibility for what you eat.
You'll be doing your family a big favor as well as learning
how to take care of yourself.
Nutrients
build your body and allow it to function. Each nutrient
has at least one specific job, and no other nutrient can
cover for any of the others. Because you need many different
nutrients to stay healthy, you have to eat a wide variety
of foods in order to get all of them. If you stick to just
one or two favorite foods, you'll run short of the nutrients
you must have to stay well.
A lot
of the foods that we like to eat don't have much nutritional
value. These foods are referred to as "junk
food" = empty calories, because while they
provide calories that can be turned into energy, they don't
provide much else in the way of things our bodies can use.
There
are six types of nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, fats,
vitamins, minerals, and water. In simple terms, nutrients
are the chemicals that your body gets from food. If your
body gets the right fuel, just like a car, it will run smoother.
Nutrients in food allow your body to break down the food
you eat into energy so can use function. When you go for
a run, swim a few laps, or even talk on the phone you are
using energy that your body has produced. When you are taking
a test, you're using brain power, which is really energy
that is coming from the food you had last night for dinner
and this morning for breakfast. One nutrition key is to
never skip breakfast,
especially the morning of tests. Your body has not received
energy for more than 12 - 15 hours and will not be able
to function at its peak without that boost you get from
food.
A
Closer Look At The Nutrients Our Bodies Need
Vitamins
and Minerals
These nutrients don't supply your body with energy because
they don't have calories. However, they are necessary because
they help your body convert food into energy. Using our
car analogy, vitamins and minerals are like spark plugs
in a car, not the gas. The thirteen vitamins: A, C, D, E,
K and the eight B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin,
B6, pantothenic acid, biotin, folacin, and B12) can be divided
into two types: fat-soluble and water-soluble. You do not
need to consume the fat-soluble vitamins everyday in order
to maintain their proper levels because they are stored
in your body fat and liver. But, the water-soluble vitamins,
the B-complex vitamins and C, dissolve in the water in your
system. So, these vitamins should be consumed everyday (with
the exception of B12, which your liver stores).
Vitamin
A
Promotes
normal bone growth, healthy skin, hair and eyes, helps
with night vision.
Vitamin
C
Strengthens
blood vessels, helps the immune system, heals wounds
and helps heal broken bones.
Vitamin
D
Helps
absorb calcium for strong bones and teeth, your body
produces this from sunlight.
Vitamin
E
Ensures
that Vitamins A and C are not destroyed by oxygen and
are properly used by your body. Helps form red blood
cells.
Vitamin
K
Called
the clotting-factor vitamin, it enables your liver to
produce a blood-clotting factor to control and prevent
internal bleeding.
Vitamin
B-Complex
(8 different vitamins and minerals)
Breaks
down carbohydrates and fat to energy, works to give
you a healthy nervous system and healthy skin, helps
you digest food and utilize minerals in foods you eat,
important in the production of red blood cells, and
works with proteins to build and repair tissues.
Thiamine
Helps
keep your nervous system healthy, breaks down (Vit.
B1) carbohydrates into energy.
Riboflavin
Breaks
down carbs, proteins and fats so your body can use (Vit.
B2) them for energy and repair.
Niacin
Works
with riboflavin to convert proteins into energy. (Vit
B3)
Calcium
Needed
for healthy bone and teeth development, helps with muscle
function, helps blood to clot.
Iron
Ensures
the body produces red blood cells -- which transport
oxygen. (Needed to produce hemoglobin - the red oxygen
carrying pigment in blood.)
Folic
Acid
Needed
to produce genetic material (DNA & RNA), needed
during and before pregnancy to prevent birth defects.
Protein Every single cell in
your body is made up of protein. Hair and fingernails consist
of fibers of protein called keratin. Collagen is the protein
that strengthens your skin, blood vessels, bones and teeth.
Even your muscles are held together by the protein fibers
called myosin and actin. In fact, about one-fifth of your
body weight is protein. Every chemical reaction that takes
place in your body -- that is a lot -- is dependent on proteins.
These important nutrients help us build new cells and repair
damaged body tissue. Because your tissues are constantly
being destroyed and rebuilt, and because unlike carbohydrates
your body has no means to store protein, you must make sure
you get enough of this important nutrient to keep all your
vital processes functioning. During digestion, large molecules
of protein are broken down into smaller, simpler units called
amino acids. The body requires 22 amino acids in specific
patterns to make human protein and thus do its necessary
functions. Your body can produce all but nine of these amino
acids. The nine that can not be produced are called essential
amino acids because they must be supplied by your diet.
In order for your body to properly use proteins, all of
the essential amino acids must be present in your system.
A food that contains all the essential amino acids is called
a complete protein. Examples of foods high in protein include:
meats, fish, lentils, nuts, dairy products such as cheese
or yogurt and beans.
Carbohydrates Most of our energy comes
from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are chemical compounds
of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They provide us with calories
which can be converted into energy. There are two types
of carbohydrates: simple, which are sugars, or complex,
which are starches. It's a good idea to try to eat more
complex carbohydrates because your body get longer sustained
energy from these foods. Examples of complex carbohydrates
include: potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, lentils, cereals
and fruits and vegetables. Compare these to the simple carbohydrates
such as cookies, candy bars and other sugar foods which
provide a quick jolt of energy, but then leave your body
craving more. These simple carbohydrates are known as "empty
calories" because they lack vitamins, minerals, fiber
or anything of value to your system.
Fats While
too much fat is bad for your health, we do need some to
survive. By cutting down on your fat intake you can reduce
your chances of developing heart disease or cancer, not
to mention staying in better physical shape and maintaining
a healthy weight. There are three types of fat: saturated,
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats are
the worst type because they raise the cholesterol level
in your blood, which can lead to heart disease. The more
saturated the fat is, the more solid it will appear at room
temperature. This includes animal products such as butter,
cheese, milk and meats. Monounsaturated fats are the types
in nuts and fruit and polyunsaturated fats are found in
oils. If you are trying to reduce the fat content in your
diet, try broiling rather than frying your food, use skim
milk rather than whole milk, use low-fat salad dressing
or yogurt, and cut down on red meats.
Fiber Okay, you are right,
there is no nutritional value in fiber. But we do know that
fiber absorbs water, helping both keeping away hunger pangs
and to keep the colon healthy by allowing bowel movements
to be regular, softer and easier to pass. Fiber has an important
role in protecting us from certain diseases, such as heart
disease, high blood cholesterol, some cancers and bowel
conditions. It also can keep us leaner (people who eat a
lot of fiber are less likely to be overweight). Fiber is
present in the cell walls of all plants, but is NOT found
in any food obtained from animals. It can be found in all
foods of plant origin like fruits, vegetables and nuts.
It is also found in unrefined breads, cereals, brown rice,
corn kernels and beans. Cellulose and pectin, found in all
stringy vegetables and apples (and other fruit) cannot be
digested, but they are important as roughage.
Water Our bodies are about two-thirds
water, and we need to ensure that we keep up this balance
in order to remain healthy. That's why it is recommended
that you drink at least eight glasses of water every day.
This will keep all your organs hydrated so that they can
function properly, and water also helps to flush toxins
and other impurities out of your body. Water serves many
other crucial functions including: respiration, digestion,
metabolism, body temperature regulation and excretion. Water
is also responsible for dissolving and transporting nutrients
through the body. Only oxygen is more important to sustaining
human life than water. So, drink a tall glass of water and
stay healthy!
Every single cell in
your body is made up of protein. Hair and fingernails consist
of fibers of protein called keratin. Collagen is the protein
that strengthens your skin, blood vessels, bones and teeth.
Even your muscles are held together by the protein fibers
called myosin and actin. In fact, about one-fifth of your
body weight is protein. Every chemical reaction that takes
place in your body -- that is a lot -- is dependent on proteins.
These important nutrients help us build new cells and repair
damaged body tissue. Because your tissues are constantly
being destroyed and rebuilt, and because unlike carbohydrates
your body has no means to store protein, you must make sure
you get enough of this important nutrient to keep all your
vital processes functioning. During digestion, large molecules
of protein are broken down into smaller, simpler units called
amino acids. The body requires 22 amino acids in specific
patterns to make human protein and thus do its necessary
functions. Your body can produce all but nine of these amino
acids. The nine that can not be produced are called essential
amino acids because they must be supplied by your diet.
In order for your body to properly use proteins, all of
the essential amino acids must be present in your system.
A food that contains all the essential amino acids is called
a complete protein. Examples of foods high in protein include:
meats, fish, lentils, nuts, dairy products such as cheese
or yogurt and beans.
Most of our energy comes
from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are chemical compounds
of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They provide us with calories
which can be converted into energy. There are two types
of carbohydrates: simple, which are sugars, or complex,
which are starches. It's a good idea to try to eat more
complex carbohydrates because your body get longer sustained
energy from these foods. Examples of complex carbohydrates
include: potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, lentils, cereals
and fruits and vegetables. Compare these to the simple carbohydrates
such as cookies, candy bars and other sugar foods which
provide a quick jolt of energy, but then leave your body
craving more. These simple carbohydrates are known as "empty
calories" because they lack vitamins, minerals, fiber
or anything of value to your system.
While
too much fat is bad for your health, we do need some to
survive. By cutting down on your fat intake you can reduce
your chances of developing heart disease or cancer, not
to mention staying in better physical shape and maintaining
a healthy weight. There are three types of fat: saturated,
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats are
the worst type because they raise the cholesterol level
in your blood, which can lead to heart disease. The more
saturated the fat is, the more solid it will appear at room
temperature. This includes animal products such as butter,
cheese, milk and meats. Monounsaturated fats are the types
in nuts and fruit and polyunsaturated fats are found in
oils. If you are trying to reduce the fat content in your
diet, try broiling rather than frying your food, use skim
milk rather than whole milk, use low-fat salad dressing
or yogurt, and cut down on red meats.
Okay, you are right,
there is no nutritional value in fiber. But we do know that
fiber absorbs water, helping both keeping away hunger pangs
and to keep the colon healthy by allowing bowel movements
to be regular, softer and easier to pass. Fiber has an important
role in protecting us from certain diseases, such as heart
disease, high blood cholesterol, some cancers and bowel
conditions. It also can keep us leaner (people who eat a
lot of fiber are less likely to be overweight). Fiber is
present in the cell walls of all plants, but is NOT found
in any food obtained from animals. It can be found in all
foods of plant origin like fruits, vegetables and nuts.
It is also found in unrefined breads, cereals, brown rice,
corn kernels and beans. Cellulose and pectin, found in all
stringy vegetables and apples (and other fruit) cannot be
digested, but they are important as roughage.
Our bodies are about two-thirds
water, and we need to ensure that we keep up this balance
in order to remain healthy. That's why it is recommended
that you drink at least eight glasses of water every day.
This will keep all your organs hydrated so that they can
function properly, and water also helps to flush toxins
and other impurities out of your body. Water serves many
other crucial functions including: respiration, digestion,
metabolism, body temperature regulation and excretion. Water
is also responsible for dissolving and transporting nutrients
through the body. Only oxygen is more important to sustaining
human life than water. So, drink a tall glass of water and
stay healthy!