Diet and Nutrition


by Mark Snow - Date: 2006-12-10 - Word Count: 418 Share This!

There is a lot of controversy about diet. Our society tends to equate a thin body with health, and therefore there are a lot of diets and diet supplements which are used by the public that are harmful.

To be sure, they will usually help you loose weight, however they will not promote good health. The fact is that our bodies need three macro nutrients on a daily basis. They are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Carbohydrates have really been given a bum rap lately, and that is because of the "impostor carbs". I call these impostor carbs because they have the same chemical structure as carbs accept that they are much much shorter, and they do not have the same nutritional value as "real carbs". impostor carbs are simple processed carbohydrates that we get in so many of our foods now. These are the bad guys, not complex carbohydrates that we get from raw fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads and pastas. Our diet should be 50% complex carbohydrates.

I remember years ago that fat was the number one enemy. All kinds of fat free diets were around, and all kinds of food additives came out to "cut the fat". The problem is that fats are essential to the health and function of our bodies. They are used to produce certain hormones, and they make up the cell membranes of each of our cells. Without fats, we do not absorb vitamins A,D,E, or K. Like with the carbohydrates, we need to consume the proper kinds of fats. These should be non-saturated, sis fatty acids. We get these from olive oil, sesame oil, avocado, nuts, cold water fish oils, real butter, and eggs. Healthy fats should make up about 30% of our diet.

Now we get to Proteins. There are many healthy sources of proteins. Nuts, lentils, beans, deep green leafy vegetables, and lean animal products. We want to avoid animal products that are high in saturated fats. Healthy proteins should make up about 20% of our diet.

Even with a careful, well rounded diet it is difficult to get all of the micro nutrients that we need because of soil depletion. Therefore it is necessary to supplement our diets. We need to seek out supplements which are food based, and not synthesized in a laboratory. If we take nutrients which are not derived from food sources, and do not have all of the synergists associated properly we are likely top create deficiencies.

If you have any questions, write to drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com or call 955-1555.


Related Tags: health, nutrition, diet, carbohydrates, fats, protiens

http://www.westvalleyfamilyclinic.com

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: