Food is a necessity of a man. Currently exists the understanding that the food provides a considerable influence on a person. It gives energy, strengths development, and health. You can be sure that human health is 70% dependent on the food. Food is the main source of most diseases, however, with its help it is possible to get rid of long-term illnesses. Elevated levels of blood cholesterol, obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, impaired fat metabolism, hypertension, constipation, increased uric acid in the blood or gout - this is an incomplete list of so-called "diseases of civilization" that were caused by malnutrition. (Bordo) With the help of a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle (sports, avoid stressful situations, quit smoking), you can:
- prevent possible disease;
- preserve the health and attractive appearance;
- stay in a good form and youthful;
- be physically and mentally active.
In general, what is a healthy diet? It includes:
- A variety of products;
- A balanced diet;
- It is cheap.
1. Healthy eating trend
A few years ago, few people would have thought about the benefits of proper nutrition, they were performing simple daily exercises. In a society appeared a trend to love a healthy lifestyle and it is becoming wide-spread. If previously were preferred hard diets in vogue, that not only affected the health, but did not bring the proper result, now we have to admit: the younger generation has become much more competent in terms of an active and healthy lifestyle. Teens finally began to realize that in order to maintain a healthy mind in a healthy body a person should use several important components: nutrition, exercise, restful sleep (Baechle, T.R., Earle, R.W., 2000).
Healthy eating is becoming increasingly important for the modern people, it is surrounded by easily accessible and delicious fast food, which is so easy to eat at any time that it is becoming a habit soon. Such food has a big energy value, contains a lot of fat and salt, that, as everybody knows, leads to metabolic disorders, obesity, and then to many bad diseases (Bordo)
2. Healthy food
Therefore, experts in the field of nutrition emphasized that a healthy diet in the form of a balanced diet significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Importance of the problem is so great that the world formed a group of experts, that designs and develops the principles of healthy eating. Firstly, a healthy diet should be based on a variety of products, that do not have animal, but plant origin. Secondly, the basis of the diet of a healthy person should include bread, a dish of cereals and pasta, potatoes - they can be used several times a day. These products are an excellent source of energy and an important source of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium) and vitamins (C, B6, carotenoids, folic acid). Do not forget about the various of dietary fiber in bread, cereals and potatoes - they work fine and prevent constipation and hemorrhoids, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and even some cancers. A variety of vegetables and fruits is also important, because they should be consumed several times during the day and in the amount of more than 400 grams per day. This is the source of vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates! Vegetables and fruits will also protect you from diseases of the cardiovascular system, and cancer, as you enrich antioxidants - carotenoids, vitamins C and E. Antioxidants are known to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals and, consequently, on the deposition of cholesterol in the vessel wall and the development of atherosclerosis. You also should not neglect milk, yogurt, cheese and yogurt. They are rich in protein, calcium and many other nutrients. Healthy eating also prescribes to replace meat and meat products with a high content of poultry fish and legumes. Only small portions! But even without them the vegetarians cannot live, because these products are an important source of protein. And you need to cook the meat, removing the pre-visible part of the fat, and the best steamed, boiled or in the microwave. An exception is made only for olive oil and other vegetable oils, they have something just to protect you from the deposition of cholesterol and vascular lesions and heart. The sweets (sugar, sweets, jams, confectionery), and sugary drinks should be on the lower level, because they are not significant for a healthy diet, but cause calories very well. If we want to drink, it must not be a lemonade, but a normal water. (Schaefer, A., 2010).
Also, the salt problem - its total consumption that contains in the bread and other products, and must not exceed 1 teaspoon (6 grams) per day. Canned, salted, smoked foods should not be eaten every day, and their number should be small. Food should be prepared with a minimal amount of salt, and should improve the palatability add herbs and spices. It is best to use iodized salt, that will simultaneously solve another problem - iodine deficiency, which is especially prevalent among women and young children. Another bad habit is an alcohol. Its consumption should be no more than 20 grams per day. Alcohol is a high energy product, but it does not provide the body with nutrients. And at the same time it does not have the most positive effect on the brain, liver, heart and pancreas.
And one of the main criteria - healthy eating has to maintain an ideal weight, a body mass index that equals 20-24,9. For large numbers of people the chance of contracting hypertension, diabetes, arthritis increases. In order to avoid this, a preference for healthy eating should be given to foods that are rich in helpful nutrients - vegetables and fruit (fresh, frozen, dried), bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and other grains as the basis of the diet (Allen, W., & Wilson, C., 2012).
And so you not only get the optimal amount of calories, but also you need to lead a more active lifestyle, even walking distance 30-60 minutes a day can significantly increase energy consumption. Other types of physical activity (jogging, swimming, cycling) are also recommended. It is the best to have as a form of physical activity, that can easily fit into your daily schedule and can be maintained for many years.
Stable operation of the whole organism, full assimilation of nutrients and elements, quick and correct course of metabolic processes in the digestive system is a pledge and guarantee of good health and high immunity. Proper nutrition means a definite and constant eating a meal. Also be sure to take into account a set of dishes and their number. The nutrition specialists recommend mature and physically healthy people to eat three or four times during the day.
During some diseases people should eat five or six times a day. Daily eating is divided as follows: a light breakfast, equal to about a third of the entire daily meal; hearty lunch and dinner, amounting to a quarter of the daily value. Most nutritionists agree that the 4 meals a day is a right choice. Such system of proper nutrition allows the body to optimally absorb nutrients and vitamins (Baechle, T.R., Earle, R.W., 2000).
Distribution of the products highly depends on the composition and energy potential. For example: foods with in protein - meat, fish should be eaten for breakfast or lunch. Such products increase the activity of the central nervous system. Before going to bed you should eat dairy products, fruits and vegetables. They do not burden the digestive organs. You should not drink tea, coffee, spicy seasonings before the night. So you can activate the nervous system and disrupt sleep. Too much food or the lack of sleep is also bad. The food reception should start with salads or vegetables. So you activate the activity of the stomach and increase the secretion of gastric juice. In this case, it is worth making dishes not hotter than 50 degrees and no colder than 10 degrees. Conversations, television, books greatly detract from the proper dinner. Such food is harmful and spoils the digestive system (Insel, P., & Turner, R., 2007).
Proper and systematic meal helps to prevent the gastrointestinal tract. Eat moderately and within reason, overeating leads to the accumulation of fat mass and causes a wide variety of diseases, reduces the activity of the immune system. What do we achieve by eating right? Adjusting the diet, we can reduce the appearance of chronic diseases. For example, reducing the amount of pepper in your favorite dishes, you easily can forget about heartburn and gastritis (Smith, D., P. Fehling, D. Fernandez, C. McArdle, S. Burns, and S. Healy, 1994).
There are certain limitations that can be ignored at a young age and that should be the "bible" for the older generation. Young man with a healthy digestive system can eat any products. I recommend just to know when to stop and not to prefer any one type of product. People over 50, especially women, need to eat more foods that contain calcium, that is a necessary prevention of osteoporosis (brittle bones and frequent fractures in old age) (Farrell, M., & Nicoteri, J., 2007).
3. The proper nutrition
The basis of proper nutrition is the optimum proportion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. It is not difficult to learn how many of them should be in the food for each person. It depends on kind of activities in which people are engaged. The brain absorbs a lot of energy, so their diet should be 100-110 grams of protein, 80-90 grams of fat and 300-350 grams of carbohydrates per day. The people who are engaged in physical labor expend more energy muscle, so they need 115-120 grams of protein, 80-90 grams of fat and 400 grams of carbohydrates. In addition, each person should receive daily vitamins and fiber (Smith, D., P. Fehling, D. Fernandez, C. McArdle, S. Burns, and S. Healy, 1994).
Optimal diet consists of meat, fish, dairy products, vegetables and fruits. Carbohydrate-rich food well satisfies hunger (flour dishes, sweets), but there not many benefits of such food. Consumption of sugar and flour products should be minimized. And if you really want sweet, it is better to eat honey than candy.
General framework of proper nutrition:
1 Food should be fresh. Cooked food should not be left for long. It started to go through the processes of fermentation and putrefaction. It is better to eat food immediately after cooking.
2 Proper diet should be varied and balanced. If you eat in the workplace, it is better to ask for the delivery of ready meals in the office. This will allow you to maintain a varied and balanced diet. The more different foods included in the diet, the more biologically active substances enters the body.
3 The raw vegetables and fruits should be present in the diet. The life-giving force is concentrated in raw vegetables and fruits, they still have much more vitamins and minerals than the cooked meals. Raw vegetables and fruits increase the rate of metabolism. For overweight people, phlegmatic it will be useful to include raw vegetables and fruits in the diet, to increase the rate of metabolism.
4 The dietary restrictions. Weight gain always develops on the background of energy imbalance, so weight loss necessary limits the energy value of the diet. In addition, overeating reduces efficiency causes fatigue.
5 Some products combination. You cannot have incompatible dishes, and it is a mandatory rule. If we take into account the fact that about 90 percent of people over the age of 40 years suffer from bloating, heartburn, bitter taste in the mouth, constipation, etc., then all of them should think about changing the food that they eat.
6 We need to get the most pleasure from the food. First of all, we must abandon the rush during the meal unpleasant conversation and reading. And sums up: proper nutrition as a lifestyle includes varied, fresh foods, and eating as a pleasure (Insel, P., & Turner, R., 2007).
Any person who is seeking to lose weight, certainly knows that success in this business depends on two components: physical activity and nutrition. And the second aspect is crucial. You can train like an Olympic champion, but if you continue to overeat, then all your efforts will be wasted. Powerful stimulus for sports progress include a training plan and training diary. They help to better achieve the goals and do not stop halfway. The same effect and food diary has. Keeping such a diary will help not only to become aware of their eating habits, but also easy to fix them (Allen, W., & Wilson, C., 2012).
Unlike their prehistoric ancestors, the modern man often eats when he is not hungry. We eat because "time has come" for the company, with grief or joy, just nothing to do, in search of new taste, and so on. Regarding the composition of the received products, for the majority of people, unless, of course, there are no strict contraindications related to health, they do not pay any attention. Keeping a food diary allows you to reflect on these issues, analyze the bad habits and take steps to correct them (Insel, P., & Turner, R., 2007).
5. Macronutrients
Macronutrients are nutrients that provide energy or calories. Nutrients are needed for metabolism, growth, body functions. The macronutrients are nutrients needed for people in large amounts. Three macronutrients include: protein, carbohydrate, fat.
Protein is the most important material for the process of restoration and replacement of old cells with new ones. These processes constantly occur in the human body. Development of this substance in our body is impossible without amino acids, that are rich in plant and animal protein. The protein is carrying out the construction and function of cells that are different compounds and hormones, together with glucose they are an excellent food for the brain. Hair, nails, muscles, internal organs - all of our body works on the protein. The main sources of protein are animal and vegetable products, such as cheese, fish, meat and eggs. In the process of digestion and processing it will be different from that obtained. It is a fact that the digestive process cleaves proteins into amino acids, that are used by the body to produce its own protein. The digestibility of vegetable proteins is somewhat below the body naturally, compared with animals (85% and 97%). Total proteins are able to synthesize up to 30 kinds of amino acids, while 22 of them are considered to be indispensable. And the other amino acids are interchangeable (Farrell, M., & Nicoteri, J., 2007).
Regular consumption of proteins helps to speed up metabolism. If we exclude them from the diet, the processes of growth and development will be slowed, there will occur multiple changes in the body, including: changes in the structure of the liver, reducing digestibility and mineral nutrients, change in hormonal levels, the deterioration of the heart muscle, decreased performance and memory problems (Schaefer, A., 2010).
In addition, the insufficient amount of substances in the human body decreases the immune system, that occurs due to the decrease of antibody production, also causes beriberi, gives rise to the development of inflammatory processes. On the other hand, an overabundance of protein, too, does not cause the positive consequences (Farrell, M., & Nicoteri, J., 2007).
Since our bodies cannot store this excess "reserve", the liver has to work hard and develop it into glucose, urea and other compounds for elimination from the body. It is important to know the required rate of a protein. The average level of protein in the daily diet of an adult should be between 100 to 120 g, in a case where exercise is sufficiently high, it should be increased to 160 g.
Standard view about fats is very negative, they are considered to be enemies of the slim figure, but they are simply necessary for our body and its normal functioning. Fat is one of the most powerful sources of energy. Body uses fat to protect the body from injuries, damages, prevent heat loss, as well as serve as the primary source of food, as loss of appetite or you cannot eat. Dietary fats are a combination of esters of glycerol and higher fatty acids (there are two types: saturated and unsaturated). Saturated fatty acids are contained in solid animal fats, unsaturated - in seafood and liquid oils. Average fat content in the body - 10-20%, in case of problems with metabolism, this figure rises to 50%. The fats contains in cell membranes, membranes of nerve fibers involved in the synthesis of hormones, acid and bile vitamins (McKinley Health Center, 2014).
It is necessary to eat fat. Here comes the digestion of protein and vitamins (A, B, D and E), normal functioning of the nervous system, maintains the elasticity and firmness of the skin, absorption from the gut of useful minerals. Assimilation of animal fats occurs worse than vegetable, but the body needs both. With a balanced diet an adult person must consume 100 to 150 g fat, and the ratio of vegetable fat for the animal should be 30-40% 60-70%.
Lack of fat in the body can lead to deterioration of the skin, disruption of cholesterol metabolism, to the risk of developing atherosclerosis, stunted growth and development of children, depression of the central nervous and reproductive systems. Excess fat should be avoided, otherwise there is a risk of pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, and the development of gallstone disease. The excess of fat accumulation also suffers figure and here appears the overweight, since this component contains too many calories: 1 g - 9 kcal (Schaefer, A., 2010).
Carbohydrates are a major source of energy and building blocks that make up the organism. In combination with proteins, they form the most important compounds, enzymes and hormones, that are necessary for proper operation. Simple carbohydrates are quickly absorbed by the body and entering the blood, saturate it with the necessary materials, in case if there is a need. If this is not necessary, the overabundance of carbohydrates (30%) is processed by the body into fat and is considered to be a reserve. The active participation of these substances take part in the activities of the digestive system, provide a beneficial effect on the absorption of micronutrients in the synthesis of DNA, RNA and ATP, provide about 70% of the energy. The sources of complex carbohydrates include pasta, potatoes, a variety of cereals, breads, fruits and vegetables, sugar and all products based on it. The ratio of simple and complex carbohydrates should be 20% to 80% (Baechle, T.R., Earle, R.W., 2000).
Conclusion
Finally, healthy food is one of the most important components of beauty and health. Proper nutrition will not only help to be in great form, but will help a person to feel more energetic, easy and efficient. The transition to a healthy diet begins gradually. Knowing the basic rules of food, each person can make his own balanced diet, choose the right foods, develop a healthy menu for the family, taking into account the financial capabilities. For the proper and healthy diet it is not necessarily to buy expensive products, it is much more important how you cook these foods.
Whatever menu you would use, remember that food should be healthy, varied and balanced. Optimal diet includes products from different food groups - meat, fish, cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy products. Follow the diet, try to eat always at the same time, make regular intervals between meals. Not eat on the go. Do not eat too spicy food, do not drink the tea and coffee before going to bed. This may activate the nervous system and disturb sleep. Healthy eating is a good state of health, vitality, young body and radiant appearance. Now of berries and pieces of fruit smoothies in beautiful glasses are looking at us from instagram accounts, blogs pages and magazines. It turned out that adhere to a healthy diet does not mean boring and tasteless, rather the opposite: a useful diet involves a variety of nutritious meals that are tasty.
Work Cited
Allen, W., & Wilson, C. (2012). The good food revolution: Growing healthy food, people, and communities. New York, N.Y.: Gotham Books.
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Farrell, M., & Nicoteri, J. (2007). Nutrition (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Schaefer, A. (2010). Healthy food. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library.
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Smith, D., P. Fehling, D. Fernandez, C. McArdle, S. Burns, and S. Healy (1994). Caloric Balance in Advanced College Dancers. Impulse: The International Journal of Dance Science, Medicine and Education. Volume 2(3). Page(s) 176-183
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Baechle, T.R., Earle, R.W. (2000). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. p232-241.
McKinley Health Center (2014). Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat. The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, р1-2.
