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Nutrition Basics




Source of Recipe


Internet


List of Ingredients




Essential nutrients are those substances vital to growth, development and body function.
They include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, energy (calories), water, and fiber.

PROTEIN Contains the essential amino acids, the building blocks of the body. Yet Americans tend to eat "fat rich" protein foods, such as beef and pork, while minimizing other "healthier" sources such as chicken and fish. You should strive for variety in your protein intake.

CARBOHYDRATES Have been much maligned, yet they are a key part of the body's nutritional needs - for energy and for their role in the nucleic acid molecules that form genes. Most Americans tend to get more carbohydrates than we need, and eat far too much sugar in our carbohydrate intake. We should get more of our carbohydrates from complex sources such as cereals and potatoes.

FATS Together with protein and carbohydrates, these three are the basic foodstuffs. Not only do Americans usually get enough of these nutrients, we usually get too much - which makes for excess calories. Part of the problem of fat intake is the quality. Fats are widely distributed in our body and give us more energy than any other foodstuff. However, we need to have a balance of saturated and unsaturated fats. We need to eat less of the visible fat seen on meat and of butter and butterfat products. We need to eat more polyunsaturated vegetable oils, such as corn oil. Among other benefits, these oils provide us with essential fatty acids.

MINERALS Many are essential to human health, the major ones being calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride. Enough are usually in the American diet to support life, but there can be dramatic exceptions. Those on fad diets or using certain medications, for example, may risk potassium depletion - which can produce sudden death without a great deal of warning.

VITAMINS Again, if you are eating a balanced diet, you are probably are getting the vitamins you need. The much publicized vitamin supplements usually are a waste, with the excess vitamins passed out through urine - money down the drain.

- Les Kincaid

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