Nutrition Information

Sources of Protein

Animal sources of foods, such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, and yogurt contain all the essential amino acids. For this reason they are called complete protein foods. Legumes, seeds, and nuts are the best source of plant proteins. However, no single plant protein has all the essential amino acids in adequate amounts. For this reason they are called incomplete protein foods. Plant proteins can be combined with either animal proteins or certain other plant foods to make a complete protein food. These combinations are called a complimentary protein food. Following are some of these combinations: Legumes and seeds (peanuts mixed with nuts) Legumes and grains (beans, and rice, peanut butter on bread, tortilla and refried beans, tofu vegetable stir fry over noodles) any plant protein and dairy product or eggs (macaroni and cheese, rice pudding)

Sources of Fats

Almost every food has some fat-at least in very small amounts. Some have much more fat than others. Visible fats-butter, margarine, vegetable oil, and the fat layer on meat and poultry-account for about 40% of the fat in our diets. Many fats also are hidden in foods, for example, fat marbled in meat. Chocolate, seeds, nuts, egg yolks, ice cream, cheese, cream soups, croissants, and doughnuts all have hidden fats. Some food preparation methods-frying and cooking with sauces-add fats to food, too.

Calories

Calories are the measure of the energy value of foods. A diet balanced in exercise and calorie intake leads to a healthful diet and good nutrition.

Why Do We Need Carbs?

Carbs are found mainly in plant origin foods. They are your body's most important source of energy and health experts recommend that people get anywhere from 55-65% of their calories from carbs. A balanced diet should include complex and simple carbohydrates but the majority should be from complex carbohydrates.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance. In many ways cholesterol resembles fat, but its structure is quite different. Because the human liver can make the cholesterol it needs, cholesterol is not considered a nutrient. Cholesterol is an essential part of each cell membrane in the human body. The body uses cholesterol to produce certain hormones, vitamin D (in the presence of sunlight), and the protective sheath around nerve fibers. The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids that aid in digestion. The terms dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol often are confused. Dietary cholesterol comes from food. Serum, or blood, cholesterol circulates in your blood. Dietary cholesterol is present only in foods of animal origin-meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Egg yolks and organ meats are especially high in cholesterol. Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and other foods from plant sources are by nature, cholesterol-free. Unsaturated fats help keep your blood cholesterol lower than saturated fats do. In some people, the body makes too much cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is a major risk for heart and other circulatory diseases. Consuming too much cholesterol may contribute to elevated serun cholesterol, limiting cholesterol intake may reduce the risk.

Fiber

Dietary fiber is another form of complex carb, but it is not a nutrient in the true sense. Fiber is the tough stringy part of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Because it cannot be digested, fiber serves other functions. It helps move waste through your digestive system and helps prevent constipation, appendicitis, and other intestinal problems. Cellulose is the fiber that provides the bulk necessary to exercise the muscles of the digestive system. Eating enough fiber throughout your life may help protect you from some cancers and heart disease and can help you control diabetes. Just how fiber is involved is not yet clear, though some types of fiber are known to lower blood cholesterol and control blood sugar. If you are watching your weight, fiber has other benefits. Fiber-rich foods are bulky, so they offer a feeling of fullness. They tend to be lower in fat and calories, and they may take longer to chew. Most Americans may benefit from eating more high-fiber foods. To increase the amount of fiber in your diet, eat vegetables and fruits, those with edible skins and seeds; and whole-grain products, including whole wheat breads and pasta, whole rye bread, bran, brown rice, oatmeal, corn tortillas, and popcorn.

Roles of Fats

Fats are an important source of calories. Ounce for ounce, fats provide more than twice the energy of carbs or proteins. For good health, fats should supply no more than 30 percent of your daily caloric intake. Fats carry fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K into your blood. Without fats, our bodies could not use these nutrients. Fats provide essential fatty acids. The body cannot make linoleic acid, a fatty acid essential for growth and healthy skin. It must come from your diet. Dietary fats offer other benefits, too. Fats add flavor, and they help satisfy hunger because they take longer to digest than carbs and proteins do. Body fat, or adipose tissue, is a form of stored energy. IT accumulates when people consume excess calories from any source-carbs, fats, or proteins. Your body needs some body fat. It surrounds and cushions your vital organs, protecting them from injury. The fat layer under your skin insulates your body from heat and cold.

Minerals

Minerals are inorganic substances that the body cannot manufacture. Like vitamins, they are micronutrients and act as catalysts, regulating many vital body processes. Minerals are nutrients that regulate many of the chemical reactions in your body. Despite the small amounts our bodies need, each mineral has its own unique function in health.

Nutrients: How Much Do You Need?

No matter what age, everyone needs the same nutrients. The only significant difference is the amount needed. Howeverk at your age, without the nutrients needed for growth and development, your body will not reach its full potential. Age and gender are two factors that determine how many nutrients you need. Teenagers, who are growing rapidly, have the highest nutrient need. Compared to females, males tend to be bigger, and their body composition is different so they usually need more nutrients. For females, pregnancy and lactation or nursing require extra calories and nutrients to support the needs of both mother and baby.

Nutrients

Nutrients furnish body fuel for energy, provide materials needed for building and maintenance of tissues and supply substances that function in the regulation of body processes.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Vitamin B complex and C are water-soluble vitamins, meaning they dissolve in water. For this reason they pass easily into the blood in the process of digestion. However, water-soluble vitamins are not stored to any extent in the body tissue. Instead, any excess is excreted in urine. Since there are no reserves, your diet needs an adequate supply of foods that contain water-soluble vitamins every day. Foods need to be cooked carefully so that water-soluble vitamins are not destroyed by heat or lost through steam or in cooking water. To retain water-soluble vitamins in fruits and vegetables, follow these tips: -cook fruits and vegetables quickly. -Steam them, or use only small amounts of cooking water. -Cover food during cooking. -Use leftover liquid in soups and stews.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning that are absorbed and transported by fat. The body stores fat-soluble vitamins in fatty tissue. Excess buildup of these vitamins can have a dangerous toxic effects such as headaches, fatigue, and stomach issues. People who take nutrient supplements with very large doses of fat-soluble vitamins are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects.

Vitamins

Vitamins are known as micronutrients because they are needed in small amounts. Vitamins help regulate many vital body processes. They work with enzymes by triggerin specific chemical reactions that allow the digestion absorption, metabolism, and use of other nutrients. Contrary to popular belief vitamins do not supply calories. Some, however, do speed up reactions that produce energy in body cells. Vitamins are classified into two groups: water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. Their solubility determines certain characteristics: how they are absorbed and carried in the blood, whether they are stored in the body, and what may happen during food preparation.

Carbohydrates

For most body functions, carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy, or calories. Carbohydrates are converted into glucose, the body's main source of energy. There are several forms of carbs including sugars, starches, and fiber. Sugars are really the simplest form of carbs. Sugar types include fructose found in fruit, lactose found in milk, maltose found in grain, and sucrose that is found in table sugar. They are given the name simple sugars because they have a very simple chemical structure. Complex carbs types are starches. They have a more complicated chemical structured, hence the name complex carbs. Digestion breaks them down into glucose, or blood sugar (a simple sugar) which is absorbed into the blood and carried throughout the body to provide energy.

Food Sources of Carbs

Good sources of complex carbohydrates include vegetables and legumes (especially peas, beans, and potatoes), pasta, seeds, and nuts. Sugars, or simple carbs, are present naturally in many foods, including fruits, some vegetables, and milk. Table sugar, syrups, and molasses are examples of processed sugars. Processed sugars are added to many foods, including sweet desserts, candies, and soft drinks. Not very good for you, especially if you have in excessive amounts.

Recommended Dietary Allowances

How much of each nutrient does your body need every day? The Food and Nutrition Board of National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences, has developed nutrient guidelines for people in the United States. The recommendations are listed by age and gender, and for females during pregnancy and lactation. The amounts recommended are considered to be adequate to maintain health for everyone, from infancy through adulthood. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (USRDA)suggest the amounts of 19 essential nutrients that most people need daily to stay healthy. The USRDA also include guidelines for calories and estimated intake for vitamins and minerals. Your own nutritional and caloric needs may be slightly more or less. Every few years scientists update the USRDA. Each new edition reflects the latest research on nutrition and health. USRDA were first published in 1943.

Proteins

Proteins are a vital part of every body cell. Muscle, bone, connective tissue, teeth, skin, blood, and vital organs all contain protein. The term protein comes from the Greek proteius, meaning,"of prime importance". The name fits because without protein, life could not exist. A protein deficiency during childhood may stunt growth and slow mental/cognitive development. A protein deficiency in adulthood may result in fatigue and depression. Proteins actually are made of chains of building blocks called amino acids. Just as letters of the alphabet are arranged to make different words, amino acids are arranged in countless ways to make different body proteins. Your body can make all but 9 of the 20 different amino acids. These 9 are called the Essential Amino Acids, because they must come from foods you eat. An incomplete protein food lacks one or more essential amino acids. The rest your body can make if you eat enough protein-rich foods. Vegetarians can obtain all the essential amino acids by eating complimentary protein combinations. Complementary proteins are two or more incomplete protein sources that together provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids.

Electrolytes

Sodium, chlorine, and potassium are important minerals in the body. They are present in realtively large amounts when compared to many other minerals. They are unique amoung nutrients because they become electrically charged when in solution as they are in the body fluids. Because of their electrical charges they are called electrolytes. Sodium and chlorine combine to form table salt. Potassium is found in most foods, particularly bananas, oranges, prunes,and meats. Electrolytes also are found in water and other liquids. These and other electrolytes must be present in the body and must be present in certain concentrations. Electrolyte balance requires that the intake of water and electrolytes is equal to the amounts of water and electrolytes eliminated from the body in perspiration, feces, and urine.

Water

Water is your body's most essential nutrient. It aids in all body processes. Only oxygen is more important to life. Flesh feels solid, but the human body actually is about 2/3 water. Water is a regulator and is vital to every body function. Mainly through the plasma in your blood, water carries nutrients to and transport waste from your cells. Water lubricates your joints and mucous membranes. It enables you to swallow and digest foods, absob nutrients, and eliminate wastes. Through perspiration, water helps your body cool down and prevents the buildup of internal heat. Most people use about 10 cups (2.4 liters) of water a day. If they sweat a lot from fever, hot weather, or strenuous exercise, they use more. Some water can be replaced by drinking fluids (juice,milk, water)-about 6 to 8 cups (1.4-1.9 liters) daily.

Fats

With all the talk about fat these days, some people wonder why they really need it. The nutrient fat has several important functions in health. Fat is known by the scientific name "lipid". Lipids are fatty substances that do not dissolve in water. Fats are composed of the same three elements as carbohydrates-carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The chemical makeup of fats determines their type: saturated or polyunsaturated. Fats are made up of fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule. Each fatty acid is a long chain of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. A fatty acid is saturated when the carbon chaining holds all the hydrogen it can. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, have two or more missing hydrogen atoms on the carbon chain. There are about 30 different fatty acids. Fats are neither totally saturated nor totally unsaturated. Instead, they are a mixture. Animal fats some vegetable oils (palm oil, palm kernel, and coconut) have a high proportion of saturated fats. Fats in beef, pork, egg yolks, and dairy foods are higher in saturated fats than fats in chicken and fish. Fats high in saturated fatty acids are usually solid or semisolid at room temperature. Many fast foods, or mass produced foods that can be served quickly are high in saturated fats. These foods may also be considered empty calorie foods because they lack nutrients and are high in calories. A diet high in saturated fats increases the likelihood of heart disease and cancer. Vegetable fats, including soybean, corn, cottonseed, and olive oils have a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. Fats high in unsaturated fatty acids are liquid or oils at room temperature. Processing can change the characteristics of fats. By adding missing hydrogen to fatty acids, hydrogenation makes fats more saturated and firmer in texture. For example, margarine is hydrogenated vegetable oil. As a general rule, firmer fats are more saturated. the talk about fat these days, some people wonder why they really need it. The nutrient fat has several important functions in health. Fat is known by the scientific name "lipid". Lipids are fatty substances that do not dissolve in water.

Roles of Proteins

Your body uses proteins mainly for building and maintaining all body tissues. During periods of growth-infancy, childhood, adolescence, and pregnancy-amino acids build new body tissues. Throughout life new proteins form constantly to replace damaged or worn-out body cells. Proteins in enzymes, hormones, and antibodies also help regulate many body processes. Enzymes are substances that control the rate of thousands of biochemical reactions in your body cells. Hormones regulate reactions. Antibodies help identify and destroy bacteria and viruses that cause disease in the body. If you do not get enough calories from carbs and fats, proteins from food provide the necessary energy. However, proteins are a less efficient energy source than carbs and fats. When proteins are used for energy they are not available for building and repairing body tissue. Proteins should supply only 10-15% of the calories in your diet.