Lets Keep it Simple.
So I understand that if your new to this world of being more aware of what you eat. Then I want to keep things simple.. I feel that to help keep you focused. We have to not overwhelm you and then can cause frustration and give up. Now I’m not saying thats what you’ll do. But with all that being said lets get into it!!
So how do you know what types of foods you should be trying to eat? Well to keep it real simple if it came from the ground or something that moves lol. Its generally better to eat. There are a few exceptions lol..The thing is there are SO many trend diets. So be careful and cautious of those. Why? Well multiple reasons. One is they could potentially be harmful to you. Every one’s body is different so we could all potentially react different to these trend diets. Some people have died from some of them so just be cautious. Secondly is that a lot of them aren’t safe long term. Some are extreme and can cause issues with your organs overtime.
Let me share a great article to break down all kinds of diets and potential issues that can be caused from them.
Ok now that we got that out of the way lets continue. So I think we all know by now that the less a food is processed the better an option it is for you. If it can sit in the sun for days and be ok I would stay away! lol. Look at it this way. If you need to fill up your car and there are two gas stations next to each other. Same price for gas but one has had reports of dirty fuel and issues. The other has always been a reliable company with no issues or reports. What would you choose? Seems obvious right? Well your body is the most reliable remarkably made machine on the earth. So why wouldn’t you give it the best fuel possible. Don’t you want to feel energized and healthy? Don’t you want to have stable hormones? Also not be on medication but still choose to eat the same crap that got you on the medication?! We have to get real REAL with ourselves. Wake up in there! Take action!
The Building Blocks of Nutrition.
Here is a great article on understanding a Nutrition Label and how to understand it.– https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/Howtoreadanutrtionlabel.h12-1590624.html
FATS:
Fat has 9 calories per gram, more than 2 times the number of calories in carbohydrates and protein, which each have 4 calories per gram. All fats are made up of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Fats are called saturated or unsaturated depending on how much of each type of fatty acid they contain. So for the average woman trying to eat healthier should track in the beginning. Have around 25%-35%of your daily calories be from fats. For men you should get around 20%-35% of your calories in your day from fats.
Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are ‘healthy’ fats.
They can help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood. Saturated fat and trans fat are ‘unhealthy’ fats.
Monounsaturated fats are found in many foods, including red meats and dairy products too. About half the fats in these foods are saturated and half monounsaturated.
Many plants and plant oils are high in monounsaturated fats but low in saturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fats in food
The two categories of polyunsaturated fats are omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-6. Sources of omega-6 fatty acids include:
The Benefits of a diet high in omega-6 fatty acids, especially when they replace saturated fats, may be linked to:
Lower bad cholesterol
Higher good cholesterol yea thats a thing lol.
Better blood sugar control
Omega-3. Sources of omega-3 fatty acids include oily fish, seeds and nuts:
Diets high in omega-3 fatty acids may have health benefits, including:
Lowering the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases.
Lowering levels of triglycerides in the blood.
Cholesterol
Its a waxy substance found in your blood that’s essential for building cells and producing hormones. There are 2 main types.
LDL- Which is often referred to as the BAD cholesterol. It can lead to a plaque like buildup in your arteries.
HDL- Good cholesterol. Just remember the H in the beginning means healthy.
Tips for lowering cholesterol from foods and drinks
Eat more healthy, unsaturated fats. Try replacing butter with extra virgin olive oil in cooking, buy lean cuts of meat, and snack on nuts and seeds instead of french fries or processed snack foods
Pay attention to the saturated and trans fats on your food labels, as well as added sugars. The less of these you consume, the better. No more than 10 percent of your daily calories should come from either saturated fats or added sugars.
Don’t worry about eating enough cholesterol. Your body makes enough whether or not you consume it.
Sodium
Despite what many people think, most dietary sodium (over 70%) comes from eating packaged and prepared foods—not from table salt added to food when cooking or eating. The food supply contains too much sodium. Even though sodium may already be in many packaged foods when you purchase them, you can lower your daily sodium intake by using the Nutrition Facts label.
Carbohydrates
Carbs should make up 45-65% of total calories.
Ok so think of carbohydrates as chains of sugars. Our digestive system is designed to break these chains down and absorb the “links” which are sugars that transfer to our blood. Our cells need sugar to carry out their processes. It’s why regardless of our fasting/fed state, our blood sugar is tightly regulated at around 100. In fact, our liver can take proteins and turn them into sugars to maintain that number. If a lot of sugars enters the blood from a meal, our pancreas spits out more insulin which knocks on the doors of our cells and tells them all to remove the excess sugar from the blood.
With this information. We can now look at carbs from a dietary perspective. Simple carbs like a piece of candy, already have the carb chains broken down. Which is also why those foods taste sweet). So when you eat it, your blood sugar rises quickly and your pancreas releases a lot of insulin at once which causes your blood sugar to drop relatively quickly. That’s why you don’t feel satisfied long-term when eating sweets.
Complex carbs like whole grains have long branching chains of sugars that are also encased in fiber. So your digestive system takes a lot longer to extract all of the sugars from the food resulting in a a slower steady supply for a longer period of time. So your insulin doesn’t spike, you are satiated for much longer, and you’re at a lower risk for diabetes because your cells aren’t hit with as high of concentrations of insulin.
Fiber
Women should aim for about 25 grams of fiber per day, while men should target about 38 grams, or 14 grams for every 1,000 calories.
Fiber is a substance in plants. Dietary fiber is the kind you eat. It’s a type of carbohydrate. You may also see it listed on a food label as soluble fiber or insoluble fiber. Both types have important health benefits
Dietary fiber adds bulk to your diet and makes you feel full faster, helping you control your weight. It helps digestion. Most people don’t eat enough dietary fiber. But add it to your diet slowly.
Sugars
When you consume sugar or carbohydrates, the pancreas releases insulin to help the body effectively use the glucose for energy.
When you eat, food breaks down into glucose and then insulin takes the glucose to the cells, where it is used for energy.
But when you consistently overeat sugar and carbohydrates, that’s when problems can occur.
To avoid these health issues, it’s important to consume sugar and carbohydrates in moderation and stick to whole-food, unprocessed sources when possible.
Proteins
Best rule of thumb is get around 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So for example lets say you weigh 165lbs or 75 kilograms. You should consume roughly around 60-70 grams of protein. 1 kilogram is equivalent to roughly 2.2lbs. Use that metric to help you calculate the amount of protein you’d need. Now if your active. I would recommend you bump your protein up more. Anywhere from 1gram to 1.5grams per kilogram of bodyweight.
Proteins are molecules that are made of amino acids. your body decomposes proteins into these amino acids during the digestion process. nine of them are called “essential amino acids” because our body cannot synthesize (produce them by itself) them, so we need an external intake of these.
Those who should increase their intake of proteins are people who exercise a lot like athletes, as well as older people, as our daily recommended intake changes with age.
Even though eating more than the daily recommended intake won’t be a problem, eating too much proteins has downsides (kidney strain, dehydration, digestive issues, weight gain… let’s leave aside nutrient imbalance) that are also important to keep in mind.
Lets Wrap Up
Ok so I understand this may have felt like a lot. But just read it in sections then to full understand it if you need. But I wanted to give you a very important tool on your potential new journey or maybe your modifying your journey you’ve already been on. But having a solid foundation of knowledge is very important. Especially since we know that its 75% nutrition aspect that determines so much for your health and goals. So now that the foundation is set its time for you to take YOUR next step my friend! I’m here rooting you on and if you have questions also I’m here.
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