People require a healthy and well-balanced diet for excellent health. To achieve this one get to keep supplying the system at cellular level. you have to adequately look after your cell for appropriate health, with a reasonable everyday healthy and balanced diet, these include diets from the entire six primary food group, for you to maintain your energy levels and vigorousness boost your health, you just have to provide your health the nutrition that is required for healthy cells.
IMPORTANT FACTS:
• Our Nutritional Life Chain (six chain of life) dictates what we need to balance our diets with the following: protein. Carbohydrates. Vitamins. Mineral. Enzymes and Fatty Acids (Lipids and Sterols)
• A chain is as strong as its weakest link.
• These six links are of vital importance and with anyone missing Life is impossible
• The majority of people worldwide have a deficiency of one or more nutrients in their daily diet.
1. Protein
Protein is essential to human existence as water and oxygen. Solely protein can provide us with the particular element from which people are made. Protein is considered the most abundant component in our bodies and composes 18 to 20% of our overall body weight.
Together with water and oxygen, protein is vital to all life as the chief tissue builder and basic substance in every living cell. The world accepts protein {|as} muscle, skin, hair, eyes, and nails, however, protein is usually the main principals of blood, heart, tendons, ligaments, brains, genes, hormones and enzymes. The rate of metabolism that maintains the body functioning is controlled by certain proteins (hormones) and catalyzed by some other proteins, (enzymes) The body systems are unable to store protein, therefore we require a constant supply from our daily diet once the system gets protein it absorbs mainly what it really needs after that and convert the rest into fuel to be used as energy, Once protein has been converted. It can never be changed back no matter how great the body's demand for protein.
Protein is a combination of amino acids'
Protein is composed of a string of small chemical units known as amino acids. The body cannot absorb the whole protein molecule and must break it down into individual amino acids. These can be absorbed by the body and reassembled to form the new protein combinations of the body tissues, cells, enzymes and many others. While all amino acids have some characteristics in common, each has very distinctive properties that make it a separate chemical entity. Of the 22 different amino acids the body requires, 14 can be synthesized or 'constructed' by the body even if they are not present in the diet. The eight remaining are known as the absolutely essential amino acids as these can never be synthesized and has to be provided every day in the food we actually eat.
It is the presence of the essential amino acids that dictates the 'quality' of a protein.
A protein is only good as its least plentiful amino acid. The body constructs protein (tissue, etc.) using the essential amino acids. If it only receives seven of the eight, it may not be able to synthesize the particular protein it needs. Or, if it receives an abundant supply of seven but only a small amount of the 8tl" the body will construct proteins only until the S'" amino acids is used up. The remaining 7 will not be used for protein synthesis. Therefore, to be a high-quality protein, it must contain all the dietary essential amino acids in balanced amounts for the body to use.
High Protein foods are often high in fat and cholesterol
Today, from all sides, we are receiving the message to drastically reduce the fat and cholesterol in our diets. This poses a dilemma. The very foods that are highest in fats and cholesterol are some of our best source of protein-eggs, red meat, dairy products. If we stop eating these foods, we are likely to seriously reduce the protein content of our diet.
It's a kind of double-edged sword. If we reduce our intake of fat and cholesterol, we also reduce our dietary intake of protein. However, if we maintain our protein intake by not reducing the fat and cholesterol in our diets, we are taking a tremendous risk with our health.
We know that the body cannot store protein in the same way it can store fats. It must be supplied daily with proteins that contain all of the amino acids in proportions that match the body's needs. A protein deficiency can result in (1) some forms of disease, or (2) premature aging. To prevent these damaging effects, we need a high-quality, natural source of protein that is low in fat and cholesterol.
Protein Saving
The body puts its need for energy above all else. If the energy foods (carbohydrates and fats) are not present to supply these essential needs, the body will convert proteins into energy. It is important that some carbohydrates and fats be available to provide what nutritionists call a 'protein-saving' action. This conserves the protein for its special functions of maintenance, repair, growth, and stamina.
Protein and their rich sources
Eggs. Eggs. Whole eggs are among the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet. ...
Almonds. Breast. Chicken Breast. Oats, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt. Milk, Broccoli.fish, meats, beans
2. Enzymes
Enzymes processes are critical for good health. They can be regarded as the 'missing link' in health rejuvenating. In the fragile, complex electrochemical laboratory which is our bodies, every single element is essential for smooth-running and effectiveness. Enzymes are tiny elements that could be far more essential to human body and well-being compared to the other valuable nutrients and minerals. We know that enzymes are found in the living cells.
Enzymes enter into digestive functions to
• Help transform raw materials into body cells.
• Store glycogen in the liver and muscles.
• Change carbohydrates into fats,
• Then transform protein into sugar and fats,
• They work to help to dispose of the waste products of digestion and
• Enter into just every activity to help maintain life processes without enzyme life would cease.
Every cell of the body has over 1000 enzymes. Every moment, throughout your body, about two million biochemical reactions take place that requires the use of enzymes for motility. A deficiency in a single enzyme can cause dietary upheaval to damage and also crack the chain of interconnected health. Particularly, enzymes are body catalysts. meaning, they accelerate a biochemical reaction' that will normally carry on at a much sluggish rate when it should proceed at all.
Make sure you are getting enough
Nature has placed enzymes in raw foods-but most foods are cooked. Therefore, when the temperature of cooking water or heat reaches over 40c, the enzymes are destroyed. It is wise to eat as many raw fruit and vegetables as possible so as to obtain an adequate amount of enzymes. Many people do not eat enough raw foods and are thus enzyme deficient. Many others need supplements to help meet the challenges of daily living. Enzymes should be part of the supplemental program for improved health.
Enzymes and digestion
The digestive functions of the digestive tract are the ones that carry out the concluding details and also \finalized products before nutrients are generally assimilated. The main factors of these processes are biochemical is called enzymes
For intestinal digestion of food a, particular tissues in the pancreas make enzymes from amino acids and also secrete them into chime (partially broken down food from the stomach); here, they catalyze the effects that break our food down even more and free the nutrients that are in it.
Digestion Require 3 Types of Enzymes
The nutrients in our food come 'in complex structures bound up in proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The cooperative action of three general types of enzymes is required to release the nutrients in a form that can be absorbed.
• Proteins require protein-digesting enzymes to break them down into their absorbable amino acids components.
• Fats require lipid-digesting enzymes to break them down into absorbable fatty acid components.
• Carbohydrates need carbolic enzymes to break them down into their absorbable simple sugar ingredients.
Should any of these specific enzymes is not seen in the adequate amounts, a digestive function will never occur.
Sadly, just as the human body grows older, enzyme generation in lots of people starts to reduce. Additionally, eating too quickly, overeating or bad diet can potentially overburden the enzyme flow. Unfinished digestion of food could be the outcome. Nourishing substances is going to be wasted and gastrointestinal problems or medically associated diseases could surface.
3. VITAMINS
Vitamins are highly complex substances that are essential for our good health normal growth and reproduction. They may be chemically unrelated but all vitamins are organic, found only in things that are, or have been alive. Every cell in our body requires vitamins every day. Although plants can manufacture all the vitamins they need, the human body cannot. We must receive a constant supply through daily diet.
Vitamins come in two different categories
Vitamins are categorized as either fat-soluble (vitamins A, D. E and K) and water-soluble (vitamins B and C). The body can only store fat-soluble vitamins. But the water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored and any portion not immediately used is eliminated.
Vitamins, vital components of good health
• Vitamins perform a myriad of function in the body and are vital to life itself
• They are directly involved in such life-sustaining activities as enzyme production
• Bone growth and development
• Tissue repair
• Vision
• Digestion
• Glandular activities and much more
• They are even basic elements of our immune system where they can act as antioxidants against cancer-causing 'free radical' oxygen
• Support general immune function
• Prevent deficiency related diseases
• Improve recovery from encounters with virus such as the common cold
• Assist our organs in their detoxification process
• Stimulates wound healing
• Help with overall protection for optimum health
How much do we need?
The amount of supplemental vitamins needed by an individual depends upon a number of factors including food choices, digestive ability, and environmental exposure general health and even genetic background. In other words, each person has their own individual needs Research into disease leads to 'Recommended Daily Allowances' (RDA)
The significance of vitamins to human health became apparent through research into the disease. That research has identified dietary deficiency diseases related to vitamins, In fact, a prolonged deficiency of any vitamin will result in disease. Some of the most well-known are Beriberi (Vitamin B I). Pellagra (Niacin). Rickets (vitamin D) and Scurvy (vitamin C).
Current direction in vitamin research
Today there is increasing evidence that vitamins are heavily involved in the body's defense system. We are more than ever aware of the protective qualities of vitamins. Vitamins have the potential to protect us from a number of diseases or conditions common in our society today.
Concern about the vitamin content in our food
Growing conditions, abuse during harvest or in transport, storage, and refining, freezing, canning and cooking all are detrimental to the vitamin content of the food we consume. Today, the handling of our food supply is too often beyond our control. Since we must rely on others to provide and protect the nutrient value of the food we buy, we can never be completely sure we are receiving all the vitamins our bodies require.
Vitamins supplementation is one very positive step we can take to ensure that our bodies are receiving sufficient quantities of the vitamins necessary for good health.
Some of the vitamins and their rich sources
Vitamin A: Fruits and vegetables containing vitamin A are canned pumpkin, cantaloupe, mango, squash, sweet potato, spinach, and carrots.
Vitamin B: can be found in green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach or Brussels sprouts, fortified cereals.
Vitamin C: are oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries. Vegetables that have vitamin C are tomatoes, sweet red peppers, broccoli, and potatoes.
Vitamin D: known as the sunshine vitamin, Wild-caught fish. Beef or calf liver, Egg yolks, mushrooms, Orange Juice, Milk or yogurt, and cheese.
Vitamin E are mangoes, avocados, and apples. Vegetables with vitamin E are sweet potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, turnips, and spinach.
Vitamin G: Whole milk, fresh Eggs, evaporated Meat, liver (beef), Dried kidney, Skim milk, fresh spleen, dried heart (beef), Buttermilk, lean cuts of beef, Cheese Pack or lamb, Salmon, Green leaves, Mustard, Beet, Spinach, Broccoli Kale, Carrot tops, Cabbage, Lettuce, Wheat germ, Yeast.
Vitamin K: Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach, turnip, mustard greens, parsley, and green leaf lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Fish, liver, meat, eggs, and cereals.
4. Minerals
Minerals are essential
In the body, minerals work to trigger enzymes, which are the catalysts needed to convert dietary nutrients to readily usable forms. Without minerals, other nutrients like vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates would be wasted. Minerals, though needed in very small amounts, are absolutely essential for life processes.
Nutrient absorption potential
The amount of any given mineral, in any form, that you will absorb is influenced by many factors. What you eat, when you eat, how you eat, your age, sex, level of stress, physical activity, living and working environment and genetic considerations can all impact your nutrient absorption potential. It is a fact, however, that of all the minerals ingested through standard food supplies, only a small percentage is absorbed by the body; the vast majority are not absorbed and, thus, are lost. Therefore, mineral supplementation may be important even for those who feel that they maintain a healthy, balanced diet.
Chelation enhances absorption
Chelation increases absorption because chelating agents wrap themselves around the mineral ion, much like a protective overcoat. By doing so, they tend to neutralize the positive charge of the mineral. The neutralized metallic mineral is not attracted by the membrane wall. The neutralized chelate thus is able to pass through the villi and into the bloodstream.
Know your chelates
many products sold in health food stores as 'chelated minerals' are really mineral gluconates, citrates, etc. when they reach the intestinal tract for absorption, they are little better than many of the non-chelated simple metallic minerals.
Some Minerals and their rich sources
Magnesium: legumes, whole grains, wheat, soybean flour, whole-wheat flour, oat, spinach, green leafy vegetables.
Calcium: broccoli, dark leafy greens, dried figs, yogurt, sardines, canned salmon, oysters, cabbage, milk and cottage cheese.
Potassium: potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, orange juice, bananas, salmon, chicken and other meats contain decent amounts of potassium.
Copper: Enriched cereals, navy beans, lentils, soybeans, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and organ meats.
Selenium: shellfish, butter, fish, wheat germ, whole grains, brewer’s yeast, sunflower seeds and Brazil nuts.
Molybdenum: peas, lentils and beans, grain products and nuts.
Iodine: seafood, soybeans, sesame seeds, garlic, lima beans, and spinach.
Chromium: Brewer's yeast, oatmeal, mushrooms, asparagus, whole grains, organ meats, nuts, and prunes.
Sodium: table salt, milk, beets, and celery.
Phosphorus: eggs, dairy products, fish, meat, poultry, legumes, and nuts.
Chloride: Tomatoes, lettuce, seaweed, rye, olives, table salt and celery contain high levels of chloride.
Iron: beans and Dried peas, seeds and nuts, whole grains and legumes, lean red meat, shellfish, poultry, fish, liver and other organ meats.
Manganese: Pineapples, wheat germ, nuts and seeds, whole grains and legumes.
Zinc: Black-eyed peas, pinto beans, soybeans, lima beans, whole grains, pumpkin, mushrooms, cooked greens, tahini and sunflower seeds.
5. Lipids and Sterols
Lipids and sterols are part of the essential fatty acid family. Our food supply should be rich in them, but with today's advanced technology our food is robbed of these important nutrients, and this puts us at a risk in many ways.
Lipids and sterols are part of the structure of the hormones made by our endocrine gland system. Hormones make us what we are. They control our mood, energy, appearance, healing, sexuality and many other important aspects of life. Without a rich supply of our food, we have difficulty manufacturing these hormones, and we suffer in many ways. Lipids and sterols also become part of the cell structure. Every cell has a membrane surrounding it that has a layer of these fatty acids within. They keep the cell soft and pliable so that nutrients can readily pass through. Food processors eradicate lipids and sterols from grains for the reason that, whenever they mill the grain, it exposes the natural oils to the atmosphere, so they turn into rancid. Assuming we depend on white flour as our means of getting lipids and sterols we risk severe disorders. The endocrine system becomes hampered and can't produce the hormones that are needed this predisposes us to chronic fatigue, allergies, arthritis and other degenerative diseases. At the cellular level, the cell membranes are starved for lipids and sterols and become tough and resistant, making it more difficult for nutrients to get into the cells and wastes to be excreted. A toxic build-up pollutes our very being, leaving us fatigued and easy prey for a disease.
Though cholesterol is essential, eating excessive amount may raise the risk for heart problems. Foods with the topmost amounts of nutritional cholesterol are chicken liver, beef liver, squid, eggs, shrimp, veal, lamb, beef, chicken, pork, and lobster. Plant sterols are available in minimal amounts in veggies, fruits, nuts, seed products, legumes, cereals and vegetable oils.
6. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates (sugar and starches) are eaten in excess in our daily diet. Even if other links of the chain of life fail, our food will give us all the carbohydrates we need. Since this is mainly what we bring home from the market or grocery store,' they are not needed in a food supplement program. In fact, this excessive intake of carbohydrates is the major cause of disease. A cut back in the intake of refined carbohydrates is strongly recommended for the benefit of our health.
Although we can try our best to eat a well-balanced diet - a diet containing all 60 of these nutrients - it is highly improbable that we will achieve this (only 2%± worldwide consumes a well-balanced diet).
Some reasons why we should take Food Supplements
1. The soil has been depleted of trace elements and farmers use chemicals; fertilizers and pesticides which deplete valuable nutrients in fruit and vegetables
2. Fruit s & vegetables do not reach us fresh.
3. Storage & freezing depletes nutrient content.
4. Cooking methods destroy a large portion of nutrients.
5. The use of aluminum cooking utensils deplete the food from valuable nutrients
and is the major cause of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.
Thyme — There are many varieties of this perennial herb — which symbolizes strength, happiness, and courage. Thyme is pungent and sweetly fragrant; it is also strong and should be added to recipes with care. Thyme is as good dried as fresh. It is widely used in vegetable juices, soups, meats, and vegetables. A little thyme sprinkled on peas while they are cooking adds a savory touch. Thyme is a traditional ingredient of New England clam chowder. A little of this wonderfully tasty herb goes a long way.
Onions---The whole plant gives a distinctive flavor to many soups. Can be snipped raw in vegetable salads, omelets, and many egg dishes; sprinkled in soup; made into chive butter for steaks and hamburgers; and used in cheese dishes or with all kinds of potatoes. They’re also used in sauces and are an absolute must for garnishing and tasty jollify rice.
