What is my present diet strengths and weaknesses? How am I going to modify it to be healthy?

I, like everyone else, need to work on my diet. 

My strengths include: creating smoothies with lots of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. I make sure that I include some power greens in each smoothie. I use these smoothies for at least one meal a day. 
I use organic, cold pressed coconut oil, although saturated, for everything from skin treatment to cooking. I also use organic, cold pressed olive oil for cooking. I eat gluten free as I am allergic to wheat. I eat organic Chia seeds, flax seeds, lentils and other beans to make sure I get enough protein as I am cutting down on animal products. I try to purchase items that only have 5 or less ingredients in them.

My weaknesses include: sugar, which is very bad for me as I have cancer. Not getting enough fruits and vegetables. Eating processed foods. Eating dairy even when I have been told I need to avoid it for my health. I crave meat sticks and other nitrate meats now and then and I give into those cravings sometimes. Snacking on food I know is not good for me at times, like chips, late in the evening.  

My modifications: Currently I am working on incorporating more fruits and vegetables into my diet and to not eat processed foods. I try to make sure to eat fresh, organic choices whenever possible. 
I also watch for non-GMO products, which are very bad for you. I am keeping a food journal as it seems to keep me on track. If I have to write it down for someone to see it helps me chose better things. It also makes me aware of what I am actually eating and why. I am also keeping track of when I am eating, as well, because your body needs time to digest what I am giving it. I am adding 30 minutes per day of exercise to assist my body. I am taking whole food supplements so that my body will be getting everything that it needs to be able to use the nutrition I am feeding it.

This is a lifelong journey. 

I can make it hard or make it easy for myself. It is important for me to know what is healthy, what is the correct food to eat, how to eat it and when to eat it. Each day brings challenges but being better prepared will help me achieve the goal of better health and reach a state of well-being. 

You To Can Do It! 

Learn all you can about nutrition and what works for you and put that knowledge to use. Never stop learning and doing!

What is the role of diet in preventing underweight, overweight, and obesity?

Being underweight, overweight and obese can be traced back to our diet. But how can we prevent each of these through diet? 

Let's take a look at what can be done.

The most important thing to do to prevent underweight, overweight,or obese individuals is get to know them and find out what is going on in their life so that you can correct what is wrong. Then you can assist them with whatever needs they have whether physical, emotional, environmental or something else. Having a proper diet, access to healthy food, learning how to eat, when to eat and what to eat are all very helpful in preventing all three of these conditions.


Underweight: The first thing in preventing this is to find out what the circumstances are. Do you have access to good, healthy nutrient rich food to eat? Do you have any emotional problems that are causing you to be underweight? Are there any physical problems causing you to be underweight such as a disease, maybe cancer? Are you working out to much? Yes you can actually work out to much for your body to stay healthy.

Once the potential cause is established you can find a way to increase the caloric intake of the underweight person, help them find access to programs that can get them the food they need. If it is an emotional or physical issue then you can find them the help that they need in order to fix the cause, not just treat the symptom. You need to bump up the caloric intake if it is shown that the lack of calories is the problem but you need to make sure they are whole foods, full of nutrients to restore the body to health. 

Overweight: The same conditions as above would be a concern such as an emotional or physical issue. It may be that you do not have access to good, healthy food and you are consuming to many empty calories trying to fill up. Do you get exercise? So what is making you overweight? 

If it is emotional or physical you can find sources that can help get these issues under control. If it is a lack of healthy food then finding sources for them is essential. It may mean cutting calories or increasing exercise to balance the intake of calories and the output of energy. By getting this issue taken care of you can avoid the next one.

Obesity: We need to once again ask the same questions, is it emotional, physical or poor choice in food. Are you physically working out or are you unable to? Are there any diseases that could be bringing this to light?

It may be more than diet that is needed to take care of obesity. But educating the individual about proper foods, proper portion sizes, when and why they should eat is a good start. Cutting calories and increasing exercise as tolerated is very important. It may be that surgery, such as gastric bypass, may be needed to get this person to a healthy weight.

For each of the conditions it is vital to get a healthy, wholesome diet started. By eating foods that nourish the body instead of just fill it with empty calories each of these could be reversed.

A healthy lifestyle involves many choices. Among them, choosing a balanced diet or healthy eating plan. So how do you choose a healthy eating plan? Let's begin by defining what a healthy eating plan is.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, a healthy eating plan:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars
• Stays within your daily calorie needs (CDC, n.d.)

Eat new foods, you may be very pleasantly surprised. Make sure you are burning off the calories that your body isn't using so that you do not put on extra fat.

Reference:

CDC (n.d.) Healthy Eating for a Healthy Weight, Retrieved from: http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/nutritional_disorders/nutrition_general_considerations/overview_of_nutrition.html?qt=&sc=&alt=

What are these things they call macro and micro nutrients?

There are some confusing elements of food out there such as what are macro and micro nutrients? Well let's take a look and see what we can find. Nutrients are chemicals in foods that are used by the body for growth, maintenance, and energy. Nutrients that cannot be synthesized by the body and thus must be derived from the diet are considered essential. They include vitamins, minerals, some amino acids, and some fatty acids. Nutrients that the body can synthesize from other compounds, although they may also be derived from the diet, are considered nonessential. Macronutrients are required by the body in relatively large amounts; micronutrients are needed in minute amounts.

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Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, fats and water.

Macronutrients constitute the bulk of the diet and supply energy and many essential nutrients. Carbohydrates, proteins (including essential amino acids), fats (including essential fatty acids), macrominerals, and water are macronutrients. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are interchangeable as sources of energy; fats yield 9 kcal/g (37.8 kJ/g); proteins and carbohydrates yield 4 kcal/g (16.8 kJ/g).

Carbohydrates: Dietary carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and other monosaccharides. Carbohydrates increase blood glucose levels, supplying energy.

Proteins: Dietary proteins are broken down into peptides and amino acids. Proteins are required for tissue maintenance, replacement, function, and growth.

Macrominerals: Na, Cl, K, Ca, P, and Mg are required in relatively large amounts per day

Water: Water is considered a macronutrient because it is required in amounts of 1 mL/kcal (0.24 mL/kJ) of energy expended, or about 2500 mL/day.

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals (trace minerals) required in minute amounts.

Water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and 8 members of the vitamin B complex: biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin (vitamin B₂), thiamin (vitamin B₁), vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine), and vitamin B₁₂ (cobalamin).

Fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A (retinol), D (cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol), E (α-tocopherol), and K (phylloquinone and menaquinone).

Only vitamins A, E, and B₁₂ are stored to any significant extent in the body; the other vitamins must be consumed regularly to maintain tissue health.

Essential trace minerals include chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Except for chromium, each of these is incorporated into enzymes or hormones required in metabolism (Youdim, 2013).

By eating an array of multi-colored foods you will be able to get most everything needed. If you do need to supplement be sure to look for whole food vitamin and mineral supplements because your body will be able to absorb and use them more efficiently. 

 Reference:

Youdim, Adrienne, MD (2013) Overview of Nutrition, Retrieved from: http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/nutritional_disorders/nutrition_general_considerations/overview_of_nutrition.html?qt=&sc=&alt=

What are the nutritional requirements across our lifespan – from pregnancy to childhood, and from adolescence to adulthood.

Throughout our lifespan we have different nutritional needs. 

Knowing what these needs are can help up before we become pregnant, during the pregnancy and the for ourselves and our children in the course of our lives. As we go through life our health is a reflection of what we have eaten in our life up to that point.So from the beginning:

Pre-pregnancy: We need to get our body into the best shape possible, that will determine if we will be able to carry our fetus or not. If your body is struggling to keep itself alive it will not have enough energy or nutrition to support another life. Your weight is a vital factor in this stage as well. You do not want to be underweight or overweight for the sake of your pregnancy.

Pregnancy: You can expect that your nutritional needs are going to be different when you are pregnant. You need to make sure to eat the correct nutrients for not only your body but the baby you are developing too. You are going to experience the need for different energy levels as your pregnancy progresses. By the second trimester you will need an additional 340 calories per day and in the third trimester an additional 450 calories per day. Be sure to eat from all five (5) food groups and make your calories count. Variety will help you get better nutrition. Because your increased need for nutrition the doctor will put you on what is called "prenatal vitamins". These ensure you are getting everything you need for a healthy baby and a healthy mom.  For instance you need folate and Vitamin B12 for cell growth and to prevent disease, It is important to get your calorie dense foods from all five food groups. for bone growth you are going to have to make sure you get enough calcium and Vitamin D. There is an increase in demand for blood and that is where your iron comes into play. Zinc helps with protein synthesis and cell development. That is a lot to remember so we can be thankful they have the prenatal vitamins to help us. Diet is very important for you and the baby so make sure to choose your foods wisely. 

Infancy: Infants are amazing. they grow faster in this stage than in any other. So their dietary needs are different. Their weight doubles by five (5) months old and triples by12 months. They have a metabolism twice that of an adult so they need a higher caloric in take. There is a question that has been going on for many years, one you may have asked yourself. Do I breastfeed or bottle feed my
infant? There are many pro's to breast feeding. The biggest one is that your baby will get all the immunizations from you. So even breast feeding for as little as three (3) months is a big bonus for your baby. Breast feeding is beneficial to the mother as well. The con's are if you have conditions that would harm the baby from your breast milk. Remember what you are eating is what is fueling your baby as well. So it is vital to make sure your diet is full of all the nutrients the baby needs for proper growth. If you do have physical conditions or alcohol or drug issues it may be best to bottle feed your baby. The formulas that they have developed supply the nutrition that your baby needs. Just be sure to find one that is organic if possible and will few additives that you cannot pronounce. There are many reasons for and against each choice. Just remember that the nutrition the baby gets now will affect them the rest of their life. There is not a right or wrong choice here, just do what is best for your baby and you.

Childhood:What a wonderful age group this is. Everything is so new to children in this stage of life. Including what they are going to eat, what they like and dislike. they are on the move constantly and as a result they require a well balanced diet to supply the nutrition to give them the energy they will need. For example their brain is developing rapidly and supplying carbohydrates is vital for this. Be sure to include protein, fat and fiber. This is a great time to introduce all the different fruits and vegetables. Because eating a variety at this age will not only supply them with vitamins and minerals and nutrition but also form a good habit of consuming a variety in their diet later in life. Remember that they are watching you and if you do not eat vegetables and fruit then they are not going to either. If you eat empty foods, they will to. Get into a routine for yourself and for them to eat healthy and be healthy. Keep in mind that they cannot eat as much as you do so be sure to plan a smaller plate with all the right foods on it. Keep healthy snacks of fruit and vegetables available for them because as you may know, at this stage, they are grazers not a sit down to eat a meal kind of child and that is okay. 

Adolescence: What can we say about teenagers except that they eat a lot. By now hopefully they have learned to appreciate healthy food and that it has become habit to want it. My grandchildren can eat me out of house and home when they get up here. At least the teenagers can. At this stage peer pressure comes into play so having good nutritional food at home will help to counter what they are choosing when they are with their friends. They each will have different energy levels and so they will have different amounts of food. They are going through physical changes as well, especially the girls. They will hit growth spurts and their brains are growing so it is important to get enough of the five (5) food groups in each day along with vitamins and minerals. One very important one is iron, especially for the girls starting menstruation.Their bones are growing so calcium and Vitamin D is vital too. If acne becomes a problem, who hasn't had to deal with acne, then a close look at the diet and hygiene is important to help with health and social issues. Kids can be hard on each other.  Again keeping nutritional snacks around will help them make better choices and their friends may appreciate having something healthy to munch on when they come over.

Adulthood: As we age we tend to be less active, to some degree so our caloric intake should be adjusted as well. By now some of our health choices we made in our younger years can be showing up in the form of disease. So nutritional needs will vary greatly from person to person. Say for instance that you have diabetes your diet and needs will be different than someone that is in good health. As we age we need to make sure that we do not become malnourished because of food choices, availability or income. Fiber and carbohydrates are important as are vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D and Vitamin B 12 are important. Water in the diet is important as elderly tend to dehydrate more, something not everyone might think of as an issue (Sizer and Whitney, 2012).

 

As you can see, throughout the stages in life there is a pattern of what we need, there are times we need more or less but some things hold true in each stage. Knowing what our needs are will help us achieve better health, and that is something we would all like to achieve.Be sure to eat from the five (5) food groups, choose organic when possible, eat raw when you can and make sure your calories count. Eat a rainbow of foods every day. Because what you eat at each stage of life will determine your health in the future.

Reference:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2012). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (12th ed.). WADSWORTH: Cengage Learning