The terms ‘body building blocks’ refers to those categories of food whose intake in the diet helps the body to build more muscle tissues and hence also help the body to grow. The main body building blocks in the human diet are the amino acids and proteins. The proteins are made up, in addition to oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen, of tiny units known as amino acids that assist the body to regenerate itself. They also help the body to repair damaged tissues besides helping in growth of essential body tissues that are important in helping the body fight or resist infections. A lack of or a deficiency in the intake of proteins normally results in a condition called kwashiorkor that mostly affects children with less protein intake in their diets. The main sources of body building blocks are animal meat, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables and oily seeds.
Interpretation of the Cholesterol/Lipid Panel
A lipid panel is a medical test that is used to measure the total levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), indicating the ratio of, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to high-density lipoprotein and the ratio of cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein.
A high ratio of cholesterol to protein in the diet is considered in medical practice to be dangerous and has serious health implications. For, high cholesterols or lipid levels block blood vessels leading to less blood being pumped from the heart to the body organs and back due fat deposits. Thus, it is advisable that one keeps the levels of cholesterol in their diet by reducing the intake of fatty food and increasing the intake of body building foods such as proteins and amino acids. This should be supplemented by regular body fitness physical exercise. High cholesterol levels in the diet increases risks of contracting heart or cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, coronary heart disease and type2diabetes (Tanasescu, Cho, Manson & Hu, 2004).
Reference(s)
Tanasescu, M., Cho, E., Manson, J. E., & Hu, F. B. (2004, June). Dietary fat and cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease among women with type 2 diabetes. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(6), 999-1005. Retrieved May 28, 2016, from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/6/999.full
