How to get the nutrition you need in your diet
How to Get the Nutrition You Need In Your Diet
When it comes to getting the right nutrition in our diets, many of us don’t know the first place to start. Sure, we all realize that there are certain things we need to have in our diets in order to be healthy, but a lot of us don’t have a clue what they are. Millions of people in North America alone suffer from a number of health problems, including obesity, just because they do not have a good understanding about good nutrition and the role it plays in good health.
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is really important, not just for losing weight, but also for being healthy in general. And it is actually pretty easy to learn how to eat right. Basically, we all need to have three macronutrients, in certain amounts, in order to survive and be healthy. These macronutrients are proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
Aren’t Fat and Carbohydrates Bad Things?
In recent years, we have been taught that we should avoid fat and carbohydrates. But we need both of these macronutrients, it’s just that we need the right amounts and types of these macronutrients from the right food sources and prepared the right way. We also need to take into account our body types and lifestyles. Athletes and other very active people with high energy demands need more fat and carbohydrates than people that lead very sedentary lifestyles. When it comes to carbohydrates, the ones most of us should be avoiding or limiting are the sugary and starchy carbohydrates, especially those that come from processed food sources. This can include most breakfast cereals, breads, crackers, desserts, candy, cookies, store bought fruit juices, soda, energy drinks, white rice, noodles, pizza, etc. What we do need in our diets are low glycemic carbohydrates primarily from raw or lightly steamed leafy and cruciferous vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, and kale; low glycemic raw fruits, and in moderate or limited amounts from starchy or root vegetables such as beets or sweet potatoes, starchy or high glycemic raw fruits such as bananas and tropical fruits, and unprocessed whole grains such as brown rice or whole oats.
Fats are another supposed no-no. We need to have polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in our diets, and yes even to some extent some saturated fats as well from the right sources. If you look at the fat content from some healthy fat sources such as fish, eggs, nuts, avocados, or coconuts, they all contain in varying degrees all three different types of fat, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated. What we need to avoid are trans fats such as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, processed, over heated, and over cooked fats such as those in doughnuts, pastries, fried foods, and other desserts and junk food. Just because olive oil is healthy when it is raw, doesn’t mean it is still healthy if you deep fry something at high temperatures in it. The closer your fats are to being raw the better. Just use good judgment when consuming raw foods. Personally I do use raw eggs in my protein shakes, I’ll eat sushi to get my raw fish fats, I eat raw nuts, and I’ll use avocado and raw olive oil with my salads.
How to Find Out What You Need In Your Diet
If you are unsure about which foods you should be eating and which ones you should avoid based on special dietary needs or concerns, you may want to discuss it with your physician, who should always be informed when you are making any dietary changes. Your physician should be able to help you based on your medical history and lifestyle, and between the two of you, you should be able to come up with a diet that is healthy. Or, you can also make an appointment with a nutritionist or dietitian, whose job it is to help clients create diets that are not only healthy, but suit your lifestyle as well.
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