#fitnspiration

More or less everybody acknowledge that eating in moderation and balanced is a key for health, weight management, and overall wellness. However, eating balanced is a quit a general term and people tend to get confused when referring to a good nutrition. For instance many think that fat is bad for your body and should be excluded from your diet. While this is partially true, fat is absolutely necessary for our bodies to function properly. But did you know that under normal circumstances our diet should include 20-35% fat? It’s a surprisingly high percentage compared to what people think.

Generally food can be broken into different groups. These are macronutrients, micronutrients and water and each one of them is to be consumed in larger or smaller amounts and they are necessary for the proper function of our bodies.

Macronutrients

Protein, carbohydrates and fat are what is called macronutrients and they are needed in large amounts.

·         Carbohydrates should consist of 45-65% in the diet of healthy adults. They are the main energy source for our bodies and they are the only energy source for brain and blood cells. Each gram of carbohydrates forms 4 calories. Foods that include large amounts of carbohydrates are pasta and rice.

·         Protein should consist of 10-35% in the diet of healthy adults. It is the main structural component of our bodies which means that our muscles, skin, hair and other are made by protein. Each gram of protein forms 4 calories. Unlikely to carbohydrates and fat protein cannot be stored. Thus excessive consumption of protein doesn’t mean that it will be utilized, but it will transform to fat and then stored as fat.

Unfortunately excessive consumption of carbohydrates and protein is converted to fat and it is not utilized as their initial purpose.

·         Fat should consist of 20-35% in diet of healthy adults. Fat is responsible for important structural and metabolic functions of our body like insulation, nerve transmission, cell structure, vitamin absorption and hormone production. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories, which means that it is a valuable source of energy but should consumed in moderation. Besides the importance of fat, wrong sources of fat like chips (trans-fats) could play a damaging role in our bodies (clogging arteries). In contrast there are good sources of fat, like fish (omega-3 fatty acids) that actually help our bodies (reduce blood clotting and dilate vessels).

Micronutrients

Minerals & vitamins are what is called micronutrients. They are needed in small amounts but their importance is high. They are responsible for hormone and enzyme production and other elements that are essential for growth and development.

·         Vitamins are organic and non-caloric that are essential for our bodies’ function. Vitamins as it falsely believed do not give energy but assist in other functions. For example Vitamin C aids for iron absorption which in turn assist to carry oxygen which is responsible for energy production in the body cells. Evidently it is not an energy source but important enough to be necessary in daily nutrition.

·         Minerals regulate enzyme activity and maintain acid base balance to assist strength and growth. Iron is an example of mineral. Similarly to the previous example in vitamin C, iron plays a critical role in our bodies and when lack of it we feel weak.

Water

Water of course is the basic element of life itself. Although water is inorganic and non-caloric is equally important as oxygen. Our bodies are consisted 50-70% by water, and it important for several functions of our bodies like regulation of body temperature, transferring essential nutrients to cells, chemical and metabolic reactions, and many other.