Life has a way of getting away from us. Work, school, kids, our schedules are full. We look for everything that is quick at mealtime. Many of us find ourselves choosing the fast food empty calorie options. Our bodies need the proper nutrition in order to function efficiently. Our diet is lacking nutritional substance and it is easy to understand the increase in ill health. I'm not just referring to diseases like cancer, although cancer is also a symptom. I am really referring to people who just never feel well. They complain of fatigue, body aches, headaches, colds, coughs and a myriad of other little symptoms, that point to an unhealthy population. Could a nutritional makeover be in order? Maybe we need to get back to the basics.
I think that we first need to understand food and nutrition by taking a look at Canada's Food Guide. Most people have a least seen the Food Guide. It explains the four different food groups, the number of portions of food from that group, and the size of those portions, that we should be consuming everyday. However, I have found that many people don't understand the importance of following the guide. I am perplexed at how little people actually understand about nutrition in general. It is my opinion that because of our crazy schedules and fast paced environments, it is more important than ever, to reinforce the value of good nutrition.
Canada's Food Guide has been around since 1942, and there have been many changes over the years. Originally the Food Guide had to work with wartime rations. As food became more abundant, the guide changed to reflect the new standard. As well, scientists began to research the effect that nutrition had on men, women, and children. As they grew to understand nutrition, they incorporated that knowledge into the guide. Over the years there have been significant changes to the information as well as the look, but the one thing that has always remained the same, is the division of the guide into the four food groups of Milk and alternates, fruits and vegetables, grains (carbohydrates) and meat and alternates. I would like to discuss each group and how provide for our body.
Milk and alternates is the category that affects the structure of your body. The calcium that they provide, strengthens our bones, which is especially important for children and maturing women. The deficiency of calcium causes the loss of bone density, leading to fragile and deformed bones. As we age, we lose density in our bones as a natural process to aging. You can see this effect by the loss of teeth in the elderly. Calcium on it's own, is very difficult for the body to absorb. Vitamin D is beneficial as it helps your body better absorb the calcium. Where can you get your supply of vitamin D? Well you can get a certain amount of vitamin D from milk, but you can also find it in fish, beef liver, eggs and cheese.
Fruits and vegetables are the powerhouse for vitamins A, C and E, all of which build your immunity to many chronic illnesses. They provide fiber for your body to aid in elimination, beta carotene for good vision, heart and lung health and immunity to disease, and anti-oxidants to protect from harmful chemicals. In some cases you can group fruits and vegetables together by colour to know what they provide for the body. Dark green leafy vegetables provide vitamins A, C, K and iron and folic acid that promote heart health and help to protect the body from some cancers. Orange vegetables like carrots and squash contain beta carotene (which the body changes to vitamin A as necessary) and red vegetables and fruit contain lycopene (an antioxidant that protects against heart disease). Of all the food groups, this is the one we should be reaching for the most.
Grain products are cereals, pastas, breads, bagels, and pretty much anything containing flour. We have to be careful with grain products because not all are equally as healthy. We need to look for complex grains in our foods. Cereals should be sugar-free and made from whole grains such as wheat, oatmeal and bran. When reaching for breads, bagels and pastas, make sure that they are made with whole wheat flour. This is the group that we get our energy from. The foods in this group break down into sugars which our bodies use for energy. However, if you are eating carbohydrates made from white flour, the carbohydrate burns off quickly and can convert too easily to fat. If you eat something from a whole grain, it takes longer to break down and therefore fuels the body for longer, regulating the sugar circulating the body.
Vitamins and minerals work synergistically to provide all the ingredients that our bodies need to function and be healthy. If you eliminate any one of them, it upsets the balance needed in the body to maintain this good health. It is important that we choose from each of these food groups on a daily basis. It might be a good idea to find a copy of Canada's Food Guide to know each food group and portion sizes for your daily intact. Good health resonates into your later life so following a proper nutritional diet early, is the best defense against disease.
I am an independent distributor of Nature's Sunshine Products. Our products go through rigorous testing right from testing the soil in which they are planted to the finished products. Nature's Sunshine is proud of the potency and quality of their products, and I am proud to sell them. For more information, please contact me at vikitree@gmail.com or at 905-630-6404.
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