Harness the Power of Daily Nutrition for Optimal Health and Vitality
Are you confused by all the conflicting daily nutrition advice out there?
Don’t be.
I’ll provide an easy-to-understand guide to help you start eating better.
I believe that optimal health begins with having a good understanding of your daily nutrition. After all, you are what you eat and drink. What goes into our body determines our physical and emotional well-being. Some people don’t realise that the quality of our life depends partly on the quality of our nutrition. Food can have a significant effect on our overall health. It can cause problems, or it can protect our health.
Nutrition means to nourish. To nourish means to keep alive and well by food. So, having a good daily nutrition plan should be of utmost importance.
Daily nutrition plan
A good daily nutrition plan should accomplish three things simultaneously:
1. Improve your body composition
Lose body fat, gain muscle or generally be more confident with the way you look.
2. Improve your health
Not only look better but feel better. Maybe you have some health issues that need to be resolved.
3. Improve the quality of your life - longevity
Better energy levels. Being able to perform better with your exercise, sports, or workouts. Greater longevity.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a nutritional expert to understand the basics of nutrition. You just need to know what is good and what is not so good in order to make better decisions about what to eat and what you should limit or try to avoid.
Once I understood the basics, I quickly got into the habit of making better food and beverage choices. Practising the basics of good daily nutrition has kept me healthy and lean my whole life.
Daily nutrition can be grouped into two different categories, macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients
Proteins, carbohydrates and fats are called “macronutrients” because we need these in large amounts in our diet. Our body needs water and a certain amount of energy from carbohydrates, fats and protein daily to function properly. This energy is measured in calories.
Protein
The body uses protein to build and repair muscles, bone, tissue, skin, internal organs and blood. So we must get an adequate amount of protein in our diets daily.
The recommended protein levels that international organisations advise are anywhere from 0.8 grams to 2.0 grams or more per kilogram of body mass.
For sedentary, generally healthy adults, about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass is enough to cover basic daily requirements. This translates to about 56 grams of protein per day for a 70 kg (154 lb) person.
Protein can be found in red meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, vegetables, soy, legumes, nuts and seeds.
If you are eating enough calories from the protein foods above, you should be getting enough protein.
Daily protein intake: The Benefits of Protein for Muscle Growth, Weight Loss, and Optimal Health.
Protein for weight loss: Ignite Your Fat-Burning Potential with the Power of Protein.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of energy. When eating carbohydrate foods, your body digests them and breaks them down into the bloodstream as glucose.
Glucose is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. The rest gets released into circulation and taken into our cells.
Glucose provides the essential energy for our brain and nervous system.
Carbohydrates are essential in your daily diet so that vital tissue-building protein is not used up for energy when it might be needed for repair.
Carbohydrate intake can also vary from person to person. Some people function best with more carbohydrates (myself included) than average, and some will function better with less than average. For example, a young athlete or very active individual will do best with a higher carbohydrate intake, and a sedentary individual will need fewer carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not all created equal and are classified into two different categories:
Simple carbohydrates: Understanding the Impact of Sugars and Refined Grains on Your Health and Weight.
Complex carbohydrates: Fuel Your Body and Supercharge Your Health with the Power of Nutrient-Rich Whole Grains and Fibre.
Carbohydrates and weight loss: Unveiling the Truth Behind the Role of Carbs in Achieving Your Ideal Body.
Fats
Fats are also an essential macronutrient for optimal health. So it’s essential to know how much fat you eat, but it’s also important to know the types of fats you are eating.
There are two types of fats, saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are broken down into monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Most people refer to unsaturated fats as “healthy fats.” Yet humans have consumed a diet of unprocessed saturated fats such as eggs, wild game, organ meats, blubber from marine life and coconuts for their entire life.
A better definition of “healthy fats” might be “unprocessed fats from whole foods.” Unhealthy fats would be those that are processed, like trans fats and hydrogenated fats. These fats are artificially produced and designed to be nonperishable. They are found in processed foods and long-life shelf foods such as fast foods, cookies, crackers, margarine and vegetable oils like soybean and corn oil.
Humans evolved by consuming a diet of unprocessed whole foods with an equally balanced mix of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Dietary fat: The Truth About Fats for Optimal Health and Weight Management.
Micronutrients
A healthy, well-balanced diet must consist of proper amounts of macronutrients and very small amounts of micronutrients.
Micronutrients include vitamins, minerals, and compounds such as phytonutrients (plant nutrients), myconutrients (mushroom nutrients), and zoonutrients (animal nutrients). These nutrients are just as essential as macronutrients. They help our body function properly. They work at the cellular level, which is where optimal health begins.
Vitamins
Vitamins are natural substances required in small amounts and are necessary to sustain life. They assist in regulating metabolism and releasing energy from digested food. Vitamins help to promote growth and to maintain optimal health. Vitamins are produced by living materials such as plants and animals. To promote and maintain good health, they must be obtained from our food, as the body does not make them in sufficient quantities.
There are two groups of vitamins, fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble. They need a sufficient supply of minerals and fats to be absorbed into the digestive system. These vitamins are stored in the liver.
The B vitamins and vitamin C are water-soluble and need to be replenished often because any excesses are excreted in the urine, not stored in the body.
Minerals
Minerals are also required in small amounts and are as important as vitamins. Unfortunately, the body does not produce any minerals. They must be obtained from food sources such as plants, animals and water.
Minerals are a vital part of our body structure, for example, calcium for teeth and bones. Minerals also help regulate our body fluids, for example, electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, to help contract and relax our muscles.
There are two groups of minerals, major (macrominerals) and minor (microminerals) or trace minerals.
Major minerals like calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium are required in larger amounts. On the other hand, trace minerals like chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese and selenium are needed in smaller amounts.
Other vitally important essential nutrients and non-nutrient for optimal health
Water
Water is one of the essential nutrients and is overlooked by many people. Water makes up around 60 to 75 per cent of our body weight. You can survive several weeks without food, but you can only survive a few days without water.
Water and health: Discover the Transformative Benefits of Water for Optimal Health and Wellness.
Fibre
Fibre (fiber) is only found in plant foods and is a type of complex carbohydrate that comes from the cell wall of plants. Fibre cannot be digested or absorbed into the bloodstream and therefore is not considered a nutrient but still vitally important to health.
Benefits of fibre: Unveiling the Incredible Benefits of a High-Fibre Diet.
For more information on daily nutrition, click to view an article from Precision Nutrition - 5 Universal principles of good nutrition, according to science.