A long list perhaps but not a lot of difficult things to
think of like calories, recipes, etc and no starving yourself. Where you cut
out the things suggested they are replaced by healthier options. In the
following chapters we will look at The Nutrition Diet in more detail and expand
on the ideas that will benefit you and your health.
Now back to the explanations. You have had a basic outline
of the digestive and other systems; so now you have a simplistic idea of how
the food we eat is dealt with and why nutrient rich food is important. We now
look at the food itself and how it is made up.
The main component of food is water. Just as the main
component of our body is water. Food also contains carbohydrates, fats and
protein as well as vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Starchy sugary foods are high in carbohydrates which along
with fats are our main energy source. Fats and protein provide the material for
cell growth and repair. So we do need some fat and sugars - but the right sort.
As well as providing the nutrients for the body's needs,
food also provides energy which is not just energy in the sense of our get up
and go but energy for the functioning of body cells. The energy is produced by
breaking down food molecules in various chemical processes. Glucose and fatty acids
are, in the main, chemical substances providing the fuel to produce energy.
Another important component of food is dietary fibre.
Dietary fibre is the part of the food not broken down by digestion. Dietary
fibre has its own role to play in digestion and bowel function. It also happens
to control blood sugar levels and may help reduce cholesterol levels in the
blood.
So as you can see, food and nutrition is important and
essential to health, a healthier life and better weight control. Each part of
the food we eat is equally important and has an effect on our metabolism. You
need a wide, varied, healthy whole food diet to get the wide varied mix of
nutrients. You need a wide varied mix of nutrients as they all depend on each
other to function fully.
One of my few technical details in this book gives an
example. Below shows how the functioning of the adrenal glands works to produce
anti stress hormones including adrenaline. There is a certain route starting
from the food we eat to the production of adrenaline. On the way certain
vitamins are needed for the system to function correctly.
Healthy Food Facts
The route starts with food and the dietary protein in that food.
ADRENALIN (finally!)
That is as technical as we will get, but you can see from
the above example how everything plays its part in a long and complicated
process which starts with the food we eat. If for some reason the process is
disrupted, say by lack of zinc the production of anti stress hormones may be
affected. And this is only one of thousands of processes going on in the body
all the time.
You might wonder, so what if I don't get all the vitamins
mentioned in the right quantity for them to carry out all their functions. And
you may well not notice any immediate effect anyway. However vitamin and
mineral deficiencies or mal function can in the long term cause problems for
health. The adrenal example is only one process and as I said there are many
more dependent on the same vitamins.
Sticking with adrenaline. You can get adrenal imbalance if
the process doesn't work properly and too much adrenalin can cause high levels
of stress and anxiety while too little can cause low energy, poor motivation
and poor concentration. So everything is relevant.
There are, depending on who you ask, 50-100 essential
nutrients required for good health, to promote physical and mental health and
for a long healthy lifespan. You can't get all the vitamins and minerals and
nutrients needed from a particular food or even a few foods. Some foods have
more than others. Cooking affects the nutrient content of some foods more than
others as does storage. The mineral content of foods are affected by modern
farming methods. Therefore the only way to get all the nutrients needed is to
eat a wide varied diet that includes plenty of different fruits and vegetables.
These have the widest range of nutrients and if eaten raw provide more benefit.
Later in the book is list of Vitamins and Minerals, where
they can be found and what they are used for in the body. Also later in the
book we will look at diet in more detail.
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