Healthy Living

Saeed Link

Nutrients

Carbohydrates Food Sources

Carbohydrates are classified as simple or complex. The classification depends on the chemical structure of the food, and how quickly the sugar is digested and absorbed. Simple carbohydrates have one (single) or two (double) sugars. Complex carbohydrates have three or more sugars.

Examples of single sugars from foods include:

Fructose (found in fruits)

Galactose (found in milk products)

Protein

Every cell in the human body contains protein. It is a major part of the skin, muscles, organs, and glands. Protein is also found in all body fluids, except bile and urine.

You need protein in your diet to help your body repair cells and make new ones. Protein is also important for growth and development during childhood, adolescence, and pregnancy.

Food Sources

When proteins are digested, amino acids are left. The human body needs a number of amino acids to break down food. Amino acids need to be eaten in large enough amounts for optimal health.

Amino acids are found in animal sources such as meats, milk, fish, and eggs, as well as in plant sources such as soy, beans, legumes, nut butters, and some grains (such as wheat germ). You do not need to eat animal products to get all the protein you need in your diet.

Fat

Fat is one of the 3 nutrients (along with protein and carbohydrates) that supply calories to the body. Fat provides 9 calories per gram, more than twice the number provided by carbohydrates or protein.

Fat is essential for the proper functioning of the body. Fats provide essential fatty acids, which are not made by the body and must be obtained from food. The essential fatty acids are linoleic and linolenic acid. They are important for controlling inflammation, blood clotting, and brain development.

Fat serves as the storage substance for the body's extra calories. It fills the fat cells (adipose tissue) that help insulate the body. Fats are also an important energy source. When the body has used up the calories from carbohydrates, which occurs after the first 20 minutes of exercise, it begins to depend on the calories from fat.

Healthy skin and hair are maintained by fat. Fat helps the body absorb and move the vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream.

SATURATED FATS

These are the biggest dietary cause of high LDL levels ("bad cholesterol"). When looking at a food label, pay very close attention to the percentage of saturated fat and avoid or limit any foods that are high. Saturated fat should be limited to 10% of calories. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream, and fatty meats. They are also found in some vegetable oils -- coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils. (Note: Most other vegetable oils contain unsaturated fat and are healthy.)

UNSATURATED FATS

Fats that help to lower blood cholesterol if used in place of saturated fats. However, unsaturated fats have a lot of calories, so you still need to limit them. Most (but not all) liquid vegetable oils are unsaturated. (The exceptions include coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils.) There are two types of unsaturated fats:

Monounsaturated fats: Examples include olive and canola oils.

Polyunsaturated fats: Examples include fish, safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean oils.

TRANS FATTY ACIDS

These fats form when vegetable oil hardens (a process called hydrogenation) and can raise LDL levels. They can also lower HDL levels ("good cholesterol"). Trans fatty acids are found in fried foods, commercial baked goods (donuts, cookies, crackers), processed foods, and margarines.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is required for night vision, and for a healthy skin. It assists the immune system, and because of its antioxidant properties is great to protect against pollution and cancer formation and other diseases. It also assists your sense of taste as well as helping the digestive and urinary tract and many believe that it helps slow aging.

It is required for development and maintenance of the epithelial cells, in the mucus membranes, and your skin, and is important in the formation of bone and teeth, storage of fat and the synthesis of protein and glycogen.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is both a nutrient we eat and a hormone our bodies make. Fewfoods are naturally rich in vitamin D, so the biggest dietary sources of vitamin D are fortified foods and vitamin supplements. Good sources include dairy products and breakfast cereals (both of which are fortified with vitamin D), and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E's antioxidant properties are also important to cell membranes. For example, vitamin E protects lung cells that are in constant contact with oxygen and white blood cells that help fight disease.

But the benefits of vitamin E's antioxidant role may actually go much further. There is significant evidence vitamin E can protect against heart disease and may slow the deterioration associated with aging. Critics scoffed at such claims in the past, but an understanding of the importance of vitamin E's antioxidant role may be beginning to pay off. However, as with betacarotene, the effect of vitamin E in preventing heart disease may be both timing-sensitive and dose sensitive.

Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant in foods. The vitamin E in vegetable oils helps keep them from being oxidized and turning rancid. Likewise, it protects vitamin A in foods from being oxidized. This makes vitamin E a useful food preservative.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects cells against damage, helps wounds to heal, fights infections, promotes healthy bones, teeth, gums and blood vessels, and aids in the absorption of iron.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance is 90 milligrams a day for males and 75 milligrams a day for females. The Upper Limit of Intake (UL) is 2000 mg/day for adult men and women. The amount of Vitamin C found in food is generally regarded as safe. Vitamin C supplements are also regarded as safe, although side effects have been reported at high doses.

Fruits and vegetables are high in Vitamin C. The highest are red and green peppers, oranges, cantaloupe, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, baked potato, cabbage, and others.

Vitamin B1

Thiamin, also called vitamin B1, is used in many different body functions and deficiencies may have far reaching effects on the body, yet very little of this vitamin is stored in the body, and depletion of this vitamin can happen within 14 days.

Thiamin is also a miraculous nutrient, somebody suffering from beriberi, scarcely able to lift their head from their pillow, will respond quickly from injected thiamin, and will be on their feet within a matter of hours.

Thiamin may enhance circulation, helps with blood formation and the metabolism of carbohydrates. It is also required for the health of the nervous system and is used in the biosynthesis of a number of cell constituents, including the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). It is used in the manufacture of hydrochloric acid, and therefore plays a part in digestion.

It is also great for the brain and may help with depression and assist with memory and learning. In children it is required for growth and has shown some indication to assist in arthritis, cataracts as well as infertility.

Vitamin B2

Vitamin B2, or riboflavin, works together with the family of B-complex vitamins to provide the body with energy by metabolizing carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It also helps in the regeneration of glutathione, an enzyme that rids the body of free radicals.

Riboflavin may be able to decrease the number of migraine headaches a person has. It might also help to prevent cataracts. Riboflavin has helped to increase iron levels for those suffering from iron-deficiency anemia.

Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt, are excellent sources of riboflavin. Some meats and leafy green vegetables are also rich in this nutrient. "Enriched" breads and cereals have had riboflavin added to them.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Niacin is a B vitamin involved in energy metabolism and DNA repair. Niacin also helps remove toxic chimals from the body and assists in the production of sex- and stress-related hormones.

Niacin is widely distributed in plant and animal foods. Good sources are yeast, meats including liver, cereals, legumes, seeds, milk, green leafy vegetables, and fish.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 helps the body to:

Make antibodies. Antibodies are needed to fight many diseases.

Maintain normal nerve function

Make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen in the red blood cells to the tissues. A vitamin B6 deficiency can cause a form of anemia.

Break down proteins. The more protein you eat, the more vitamin B6 you need.

Keep blood sugar (glucose) in normal ranges

Vitamin B6 is found in:

Avocado

Banana

Legumes (dried beans)

Folate

Folate helps tissues grow and cells work. Taking the right amount of folic acid before and during pregnancy helps prevent certain birth defects, including spina bifida. Folate also helps prevent anemia.

 Folate deficiency may cause:

Diarrhea

Gray hair

Folate occurs naturally in the following foods:

Dark green leafy vegetables

Dried beans and peas (legumes)

Citrus fruits and juices

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12, like the other B vitamins, is important for metabolism. It helps in the formation of red blood cells and in the maintenance of the central nervous system.

Vitamin B12 is found naturally in a wide variety of animal foods. Plant foods have no vitamin B12 unless they are fortified.

You can get the recommended amounts of vitamin B12 by eating a variety of the foods including: 

Organ meats (beef liver)

Shellfish (clams)

Meat, poultry, eggs,milk and other dairy foods

Calcium

Calcium is one of the most important minerals for the the human body. Calcium helps form and maintain healthy teeth and bones. Proper levels of calcium over a lifetime can help preventosteoporosis.

Calcium helps your body with:

Building strong bones and teeth

Clotting blood

Sending and receiving nerve signals

Squeezing and relaxing muscles

Releasing hormones and other chemicals

Keeping a normal heartbeat

Many foods contain calcium, but dairy products are the best source. Milk and dairy products such as yogurt, cheeses, and buttermilk contain a form of calcium that your body can absorb easily.

Magneisium

Magnesium has an important role in at least 300 fundamental enzymatic reactions in the body. In addition, it functions in the activation of amino acids and synthesis and degradation of DNA and has a key role in neurotransmission and immune function.

 Good dietary sources of magnesium include legumes, whole grain cereals, nuts, dark green vegetables, and cocoa. Hard water and mineral water may be important sources of magnesium.

Iron

Iron is an essential nutrient that carries oxygen and forms part of the oxygen-carrying proteins, hemoglobin in red blood cells and myoglobin in muscle. It is also a necessary component of various enzymes.

 In the U.S., grain products are a principal source of dietary iron, followed by meat, poultry and fish, then vegetables, then legumes, nuts, and soy. Red meat is a rich source of iron that is well absorbed. Refined grain products in the U.S. are enriched routinely with iron. Iron-fortified formula or cereals are useful in preventing iron deficiency in infants.

Zinc

Zinc is an essential trace mineral that is a component of thousands of proteins in the human body. It is highly concentrated in specialized areas of the brain, pancreas, and adrenal glands, but is present in all cells, particularly in the nucleus.

Zinc is highly abundant in red and white meat and shellfish, and is also found in beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Sodium

The body uses sodium to control blood pressure and blood volume. Sodium is also needed for your muscles and nerves to work properly.

Sodium occurs naturally in most foods. The most common form of sodium is sodium chloride, which is table salt. Milk, beets, and celery also naturally contain sodium, as does drinking water, although the amount varies depending on the source.

potassium

Potassium is a very important mineral to the human body.

Your body needs potassium to:

Build proteins

Break down and use carbohydrates

Build muscle

Maintain normal body growth

Control the electrical activity of the heart

Control the acid-base balance

Many foods contain potassium. All meats (red meat and chicken) and fish such as salmon, cod, flounder, and sardines are good sources of potassium. Soy products and veggie burgers are also good sources of potassium.

fiber

Dietary fiber includes a variety of plant-derived compounds (complex carbohydrates and lignin) that are neither digested nor absorbed in the small intestine.

Foods that are rich in dietary fiber include whole grains (particularly the bran portions), legumes, and some fruits and vegetables. Most foods contain mixtures of both insoluble and soluble fiber. Examples of foods rich in insoluble fiber are wheat bran, nuts and barley; soluble fiber is found in oat bran, melons, and dried fruits. Beans are good sources of both fiber types.