Nutrients in Food

Nutrients in food we eat are made up of five main different groups:

• Carbohydrates,

• Proteins,

• Fats and oils,

• Vitamins, and

• Minerals.

When you combine various foods the right way, especially to include more vegetables and fruits, you will also be increasing the nutrients in the foods. Some nutrients help others to be taken in or absorbed more easily by your body. For example, vitamin C-rich foods or fruits enhance assimilation of some other nutrients.

So, what are nutrients really? Read this guide here which explains clearly.

Energy is measured in calories. Men need roughly about 2,500 calories of energy a day, while women require about 2,000 calories a day for their bodies to carry out its usual daily activities.

Of those calories, our bodies must get the required amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Fats intake for instance, should only be between 15 to 25% of your total diet intake.

Must Be in Balance

It’s all about the right balance.

If a person is consuming more calories or more fat than they need over time, the excess calories get stored as fat, which leads to weight gain. The excess fat gets stored in parts of the body like the stomach, thighs, arms etc. It doesn’t stop there, excess fat also gets stored around the arteries causing plaque to build and block the human arteries.

When we don’t get enough nutrients, our bodies react through a weakened immune system, mood swings, headaches, lack of energy, and so on.

How We Lose Nutrients

The problem we have though (that our ancestors didn’t have) is that, our foods nowadays are being produced or manufactured differently from the natural ways that are ancestors got theirs.

To add salt to injury, the ways with the ways we prepare and cook them as well make us lose even much more nutrients in our meals. Such that when we eat our foods on our tables, we do not get the right quantities of the different nutrients we need for our bodies to function correctly.

We consume too much fat, too much salt (sodium), too much sugar, too much calories, too little nutrients in food! What a shame.

After a while, this lack of proper nutrition usually end up leading to the lifestyle diseases such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease, stroke and digestive problems.

Athletes or runners, dancers, swimmers, are generally more active people will require more energy per day.

There are a very wide range of vitamins and minerals the body needs to function properly and in good health. These vitamins and minerals also, are found naturally in foods.

In fact all vitamins and minerals are available to get from our foods. If you’re eating a wide range or variety of foods, you should not need vitamin or mineral supplements. Don’t take them if you don’t need them, so that you don’t get reliant on them.

Even if you feel you have to take them because you are deficient in a certain nutrient, increase the amounts of foods you’re eating that will provide that particular nutrient too.

After a while of consistently eating the right foods, you wouldn’t need to take supplements anymore.

Vitamins

The different vitamins the body uses are:

• Vitamin A

• Vitamin B

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin K

Minerals

The main minerals the body uses are:

• Iron

• Copper

• Calcium

• Magnesium

• Phosphorus

• Potassium

• Fluoride

• Sodium

• Chromium

• Iodine

• Sulphur

• Selenium

• Zinc

Food Labels

When you buy certain foods from the supermarket, the food label is what shows each class of nutrient contained in it, and how much.

The food labels will usually state major nutrients available on basis of 100g or 100ml of the foods in question.

When reading food labels to get nutrients in food information, it is important to remember that any food labels on foods being sold will also have added nutritional information regarding any additives that are contained in the food in question too.

So in conclusion, the nutrients in food are invaluable and immensely beneficial to us. The body craves nutrients in foods to live, how you prepare and cook your foods determines how much nutrients you get from them. This in turn determines how well your body functions and how strong your immune system is, to fight and combat diseases.

The information here is for general guidance only.
Talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle.