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A nutritious diet is fundamental to your good health. Although you hear a lot about nutrition in the media, you may be confused about nutrition basics. Learning some key facts about nutrition will help you plan a healthful diet.
FOOD GROUPS
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced "Choose My Plate" to replace the food pyramid. This new tool was designed to make it easier to understand nutrition basics and what you should eat. The five main food groups are grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy and protein foods. Oils are another form of food that you typically obtain when consuming foods from the main groups. If you eat well, you can usually can get all the nutrients your body requires without supplements. In fact, it is best for your body to absorb vitamins and minerals directly from food rather than from a pill. Each vitamin, mineral and nutrient you absorb has a particular job to perform.
CALORIES
The energy in food is called calories. Everyone talks about them as if they are the last things you would want to put into your body. But the truth is, you need them. You need calories because your body is always using energy, whether you're running, walking, standing still or sleeping. Cut back on calories too much and your system slows down. Lay off them altogether and you will die. More people in the world die from too few calories than from too many.
Although you need calories to survive, consuming too many causes weight gain and increased body fat. You gain fat if you take in more calories than your body uses. To avoid gaining body fat, you have to eat as many calories as you need and no more. An important point to remember is that all calories are the same. The calories in a piece of chocolate cake are no more fattening than the calories in a strawberry. The cake is more fattening than the strawberry because it contains more calories, not a different kind of calories. In other words, foods vary greatly in the number of calories they contain, so it's not only the amount you eat that matters but the number of calories in the foods you choose. You could, for example, eat one piece of chocolate cake and end up consuming many more calories than you would get from eating several bowls of plain, fresh strawberries. Many overweight people complain that they get fat even though they don't eat very much; this can be true. Often, they're not eating big meals, but the foods they eat are very high in calories.
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates contribute the bulk of the calories in a normal diet. Potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, cereal, fruit of all kinds, honey and sugar are all carbohydrate-rich foods. What makes carbohydrates alike is the fact that they are made of sugar. Sugar comes in different forms, so the sugar in a potato or a piece of spaghetti tastes different from the sugar in a candy bar or a soda. Different forms of sugar not only have different flavors but, more importantly, have different effects on your body.
Of all the nutrients, carbohydrates are the best source of energy. It takes a while for the energy from protein and fat to get into your system. Your body can use the energy from carbohydrates right away. Many carbohydrate-rich foods, especially fruit and grains, contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Fiber is the rough stuff in food that keeps your bowel movements regular. Not all carbohydrate-rich food, however, are healthful. Plain sugar, honey, corn syrup and molasses add little to your diet other than yummy flavor and calories.
FROM YOUR PLATE, NOT A PILL
You can buy vitamins and minerals in bottles, but the best source is the foods you eat. Since different foods have different vitamins, the best way to make sure you're covered is to eat a variety of foods every day. This is another time when "Choose My Plate" comes in handy. Half your plate should be fruit and vegetables. And the other half protein and grains. At least half of the grains in your diet should be whole-grain foods. Eating with these guidelines in mind can help ensure a healthful diet that will keep you well and full of energy. If your life is hectic and you don't eat well, a vitamin and mineral supplement can help make up for what you may be lacking in your nutrition. This situation, however, is not ideal. In certain situations, a vitamin and mineral supplement is recommended, such as when you are healing from surgery or a wound. Vitamin supplements are important, at times, for a variety of medical conditions.
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