Things You Should Know About Nutrition

 

Nutrition is the main key element for good mental and physical health. Important part of good health for everyone is eating a balanced diet for everyone. Amount of food you eat affects the way You will feel and how your body works.

What are nutrients?

Nutrients are the main ingredients in food that

• Help you Grow
• Help you Repair body tissue
• Help to Build new muscle tissue

Not a single food will provide you the right amount of nutrients. By combining all groups of different foods, you can meet your body’s help.

Eat a healthy diet

• Eat a variety of healthy foods from each different group and stay within the suggesting servings listed.
• Choose healthy foods that are low in fat and sugar.
• Choose and prepare healthy foods that are low in salt.
• Learn to read and understand healthy food labels.

Let's begin the discussion of basic health concepts and explaining how nutrition affects our bodies is a good strategy.

Explaining Organ Functions

• Lungs: it provides oxygen to blood
• Heart: it circulates blood throughout the body
• Stomach: it helps to digest food
• Intestines: it absorbs nutrients from food
• Liver: it removes toxins from blood and processes nutrients from food
• Kidneys: To filter blood of waste and extra fluid

Nutrition

Basically, nutrition is how much food affects the health of the body. Mostly, Food is more essential for providing vital nutrients for survival, and helps the body function and stay healthy. Food is composed of both macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients foods include protein, carbohydrate and fat that not only helps to offer calories to fuel the body and give it energy but it plays a specific role in maintaining health. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that don't provide calories but help to assist to ensure the body operates optimally.

Macronutrients: Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat

Protein:

Basically proteins are found in beef, pork, chicken, and wild meats, fish and seafood, eggs, soybeans and other legumes included in American cuisine. Always protein provides with amino acids. So, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins which help for growth, development and repair and maintenance of body tissues. And also proteins provide structure to bones and muscles. It also repairs the tissues when damaged and also helps immune cells which fight inflammation and infection.

Carbohydrates:

The most important role of carbohydrate is to provide energy for the functioning of the body. Like gasoline fuel helps for cars the same way carbs help to fuel the body.

Carbohydrates helps for energy, carbs foods include corn, chayote, beans, plantains, rice, tortilla, potatoes and other root vegetables such as yucca, bread and fruit deliver sugars or starches.

Mainly energy allows the body to do daily activities from simple to critical activities like walking, talking, running and moving heavy objects. Energy acts like a fuel which helps for growth, also includes sufficient fuel especially important for growing children and pregnant women. Even when you are at ideal or at rest, the body needs calories to perform important functions such as maintaining body temperature, keeping the heart beating and digesting food.

Fat:

For healthy eyes and lungs, Fats are essential elements. Dietary fats are foods like oils, coconut, nuts, milk, cheese, meat, poultry and fish. These dietary foods provide structure to cells and cushions membranes to prevent damage. Oils and fats are important for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins including Vitamin A.

Micronutrients: Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are the important food components that help for overall health and it also plays an important role in cell metabolism and neurological functions.

Vitamins mainly assist in energy production, wound healing, bone formation, immunity, and eye and skin health.

Minerals help to maintain cardio health and provide structure to the skeleton.

By consuming a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein foods and whole grains helps to ensure the body has plenty of nutrients to use.

Few examples of specific micronutrient functions will enhance the effects of nutrition:

• Vitamin A helps the eyes to see and healthy
• Calcium and magnesium help muscles and blood vessels relax, preventing cramps and high BP
• Vitamin C helps for wound healing and the body’s ability to fight off germs
• And Iron helps for the blood transport oxygen throughout the body and prevents anemia

Nutrients as Building Blocks

Proteins, calcium and iron are the building blocks of growing babies in the uterus, for child and adolescent growth and also for damaged skin, blood and other body parts in adults which are not grown. Basically, some parts of the body are replaced regularly like blood and skin, even adults also building new body parts regularly. And another element is Calcium which helps for building blocks for bones. Iron is a building block for blood. Thus blood cells last a few months, the body standardly needs more iron and protein to make new blood.

Nutrient-Rich Foods for a Healthy Body

1. Carrots

Nutritional Value of Carrot

Raw carrots (100 grams):

• Calorie: 48
• Protein – 0.9 g
• Carbohydrates – 10.6 g
• Dietary fibre – 4.4 g
• Fat – 0.2 g

Carrots are the richest plant-based source of beta-carotene, with 8285 micrograms of beta-carotene per 100 grams.

2. Mushrooms

Nutritional Value of Mushrooms

One cup of mushrooms (100g) contains:

• Calories: 22 Kcal
• Fats: 0.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 3.3 g
• Protein: 3.1 g
• Dietary fibre: 1 g

3. Peanuts

Nutritional Value of Peanuts

100 grams of Peanuts contains:

• Calories: 567 kCal
• Carbohydrates: 16.1 g
• Protein: 25.8 g
• Dietary fibre: 8.5 g

4. Kale

Nutritional Value of Kale

100 grams of Kale contain:

• Calories: 49 kCal
• Carbohydrate: 8.8 g
• Protein: 4.3 g
• Fats: 0.9 g
• Fibre: 3.6 g

5. Citrus Fruits

Nutritional Value of Lemon

• Calories: 29
• Water: 89%
• Protein: 1.1 g
• Carbs: 9.3 g
• Sugar: 2.5 g
• Fibre: 2.8 g
• Fat: 0.3 g

6. Spinach

Nutritional Value of Spinach

• Calories: 23 kcal
• Water: 91%
• Protein: 2.9 gm
• Carbs: 3.6 gm
• Sugar: 0.4 gm
• Fibre: 2.2 gm
• Fat: 0.4 gm

7. Sesame Seeds

Nutritional Value of Sesame Seeds

• Energy – 563 kcal
• Carbohydrates – 25 g
• Dietary Fiber – 16.8 g
• Fats – 43.3 g
• Protein – 18.3 g
• Calcium – 1450 mg
• Iron – 9.3 mg
• Phosphorous – 570 mg
• Copper – 2.29 mg
• Zinc – 12.20 mg

 8. Oysters

Nutritional Value of Oyster

• Carbohydrates: 6.09 g
• Proteins: 3.31 g
• Fats: 0.41 g
• Water content: 89.18 g
• Dietary fibre: 2.3 g
• Energy (calories): 33 kcal
• Zinc: 53mg

9. Tuna Fish

Nutritional Value of Tuna

• Calories- 144 kcal
• Total fat-4.9 g
• Protein- 23.3 g
• Sodium 47-mg
• Potassium-522 mg

10. Soy Milk

Nutritional Value of Soy Milk:

• Calories: 54 kCal
• Fat: 1.8 g
• Carbohydrate: 6.3 g
• Protein: 3.3 g

11. Green Grams/Mung Beans

Nutritional Value of Mung Beans

• Calories: 334 kCal
• Fat: 1.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 56.7 g
• Fibre: 16.7 g
• Protein: 24 g

Conclusion

Vitamins and minerals are important and essential nutrients. Because they provide crucial compounds required for healthy body functioning. Vitamins like A, D, E, K, C are some essential vitamins that help the immune system and help to regulate other body functions.