What to eat, how to eat, and why can be a very complicated thing!

I am going to discuss the following 8 points to help make it a bit easier to choose the right foods so that you can live a healthy lifestyle. One point to remember, above all, is to eat a rainbow of color from your five (5) food groups, it will not only be fun but a new way of life.

1. Discuss the connection between nutrition and disease. Be sure to include information on chronic diseases, as well as malnutrition and other leading causes of death.
2. Describe the characteristics of a healthy diet and the challenges associated with choosing the right foods.
3. Describe the factors (e.g., social, psychological, philosophical, and physical) that drive our food choices.
4. Identify the names, functions, and sources of essential macro- and micro nutrients.
5. Explain the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of the macro nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat). Make sure to identify the parts of the body involved in these processes.
6. Describe the role of diet in preventing underweight, overweight, and obesity.
7. Discuss the nutritional requirements across the lifespan – from pregnancy to childhood, and from adolescence to adulthood.
8. Create a personal diet modification plan by analyzing your personal diet in terms of nutritional strengths and weaknesses and discussing the changes you plan to make in your own life to better meet the dietary guidelines.