What Is Nutrition?
Before we can talk about nutrition, try to answer this question: What is food? It might sound like a silly question, but food is many things to people. Basically, food provides building blocks for growth and repair, and it is the fuel for your body to keep it going. Just as you need to put gas in a car to make it run, you need to put food in your body to keep it going. However, many people see food as a comfort, a way to reduce stress, a status symbol, a reward or punishment, or as an enemy. While it's normal to take pleasure in food and to eat it in a social atmosphere, there are many unhealthy attitudes about food that you should avoid. Food should never be a substitute for feelings other than hunger. To have a healthy body, you must give it all the nutrients it needs to grow and develop. But how do you do that? First of all, you need to understand that there are no good or bad foods. Foods supply nutrients your body needs to grow, have energy, and stay healthy, and all foods can be part of a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes grain products, vegetables, fruits, low-fat milk products, lean meats, fish, poultry, and dry beans. Choose fewer foods that are high in salt, sugar, or saturated fat. The fats from meat, milk, and milk products are the main sources of saturated fats in most diets. Many bakery products are also sources of saturated fats. Vegetable oils supply smaller amounts of saturated fat. For example, non-fat milk, lean meat, and low-fat cheese have lower saturated fat than fatty meat, whole milk, and regular cheese. It's the total amount and types of foods you eat over several days that make up a healthy or unhealthy diet. So eat a variety of foods to get the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need for good health. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) MyPyramid shows guidelines of how much food you should eat from the six food groups. How much exactly you need to eat depends on your age and activity level. Find out the specific amounts for you by filling out the MyPyramid Plan on MyPyramid.gov. It's important to know how to read food labels in order to know what nutrients you are getting from the food you eat. Food labels report on a variety of nutritional information, including calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, and different vitamins and minerals. You may have seen ads for meal replacements or dietary supplements that will help with quick weight loss and increased muscle size and strength. Never start taking these without talking to a doctor first. There could be serious risks depending on your health status and the products you want to use. You wouldn't want to accidentally take too much or use a product that could interact with other supplements or medications. Besides, you wouldn't want to waste your money on something that won't work! That's why it's best to talk it over with your doctor first. If you learn about nutrition now, you'll be less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits like eating giant portions of low nutrient, high calorie foods or restricting your eating so much you leave out important foods and hurt your health. The Food Guide Pyramid and the nutrition labels on food packages are good tools to help you guide and balance your food choices. Eating healthy isn't a chore! You can eat healthy and keep trying new foods your whole life-your body will thank you for it! Additional Resources:
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