Excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet. You see, whether you have a normal weight or striving to reach your weight goal, the overall body health improvement as well as weight gain or loss must be factored in to the equation (good nutrition and good diets) or you could be heading for problems. Correct nutrition can help to reduce the risk of a myriad of health-related problems of which heart diseases and cancer are the most frightening ones. Good nutrition means eating many varieties of foods and monitoring your consumption of some food and beverage items and counting calories. Good diets offer balanced nutrition that reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and helps with weight control. So, for your body to function properly, you must have the correct combination of nutrients.
Your diet should be such that it will provide the following nutrients:-
Carbohydrates which the body uses to build glucose for immediate use or for storage in your body for later use. Carbohydrates can be simple or complex. Sugars are simple carbohydrates while starches and fibres are complex carbohydrates.
Proteins is another nutrient that helps your body to build and maintain muscles and other tissues in order. Proteins also function in the creation of hormones; hence they are needed in your food. Meats and vegetables are the two major types of proteins. However you should avoid too much meats (especial red meats) as they are high in saturated fat which can cause high cholesterol. But your body also needs some quantity of fat in unsaturated form.
Vitamins is a very good nutrient which must be included in your diet. Vitamins work with the body metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you need your body to perform. Some certain vitamins can also prevent disease. For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by keeping build-ups from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function. Vitamin B-2 is needed for normal cell growth while vitamin B-3 helps to detoxify your body. Vitamin such as folic acid assists with production of red blood cells. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps your blood clot. In fact, the importance of vitamin nutrients in our diets cannot be under estimated.
Minerals and trace elements are another nutrient your body requires. Both are used in many different body processes. Minerals like chlorine helps in making your digestion very easier and quicker. Some mineral and trace elements help a lot in building strong bones.
In general, you should follow several guidelines to create a well balanced, nutritional diet. First, try to consume two and one half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit each day. When making your selections for each day, be sure to choose a good variety. A good rough guide is to eat as many different colours as possible. This will help you to select from all five vegetable subgroups for at least four times per week. You should eat at least three ounces of whole grain products each day. At least half of your grain intake should be whole grain based. Milk should also be part of a healthy diet. Consume at least forty-eight ounces of low fat milk or milk products on a daily basis. Your total fat intake should only be between 10% and 30% of your calories. Most of the fats you consume should be in the form of unsaturated fats, as saturated fats can do much to damage your health. Meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products should all be lean, low-fat, or fat-free. Less than 10% of your calories should come from saturated fats, and you should always try to avoid trans-fatty acid. Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be a regular part of your diet as should potassium rich foods.
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