EAT RIGHT

Advice from The First Lady of Fitness, Fashion, and Fun and Pittsburgh fitness trainer and life coach, Jackie Omotalade:

Healthy eating requires you to eat a number of nutrients every day. Nutrients are any substance that can be metabolized by an human/animal to give energy and build tissue. There are 40 different nutrients your body needs to ingest in order to stay healthy.

40 may seem like a lot of nutrients to know about, but luckily, you can break down all of these nutrients into smaller categories in order to keep them organized in your mind and make sure you get all of the foods you need.

First and foremost, everyone needs water in order to live a healthy life. Without water, we become dehydrated, and eventually die. You lose water when you sweat and through daily bodily functions, so water must be replenished. Drinking about 8 glasses a day is recommended. Of course, water is found in food as well as in drinks. Most foods have some amount of water in them. You can easily get about 20% of your daily fluid need from the foods you eat. Fruits, like watermelon tend to have more water and something dry like toast would have much less. The other 80% of fluid you need comes from the beverages you drink.

Of course, we need much more than water every day to survive. Another group of nutrients we can’t do without is proteins. Unlike fats or carbohydrates, which can be good for you or bad for you based on their natural biochemistry, all dietary proteins are about equal. The quality of a protein for the most part depends on how the food source is prepared or what fats naturally accompany the protein.

It may help to understand a little protein biochemistry first. Proteins are made up of different combinations of 20 tiny building blocks called amino acids. Of those 20 amino acids, your body manufactures 11 of them. The other nine amino acids need to come directly from your diet, so they are called essential amino acids.

When you eat, your digestive system breaks down the proteins into the individual amino acids, absorbs, them and your body uses them to make new proteins that you need for muscles, organs and components of your immune system. Proteins are found in foods such as meat, eggs, and soy products. They provide the amino acids needed to build muscle tissue as well as help make some of the hormones in our bodies. Red blood cells and hair is also made from protein.

Along with proteins, a body also needs adequate amounts of fats and carbohydrates in order for us to have enough energy during the day. Fats are primarily used for energy during intense activity, like exercising, while carbohydrates are primarily used for energy during less intense activities, like standing, sitting, and other movements. The American Heart Association recommends that you get less than 30% of your total calories from fat.

A good carbohydrate is (complex carbohydrate with lots of fiber) verses a bad carbohydrate (table sugar or high fructose corn syrup). And bad fats (saturated fats and trans fats) verses good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats). Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains are healthier choices for carbohydrates than candy, sodas and pastries. Both the fats and the carbohydrates that we eat in a day can be stored for later use as fat, so it is important to eat enough for energy, but also important to regulate intake in order to stay slim and healthy. In the event that you are not eating enough fats and carbohydrates, your body can also provide itself with fuel from proteins.

Vitamins and minerals are also important nutrients for our daily lives. We get these from fruits, vegetables, milk, and most natural sources of food. Some of our foods, such as bread products, can even be enriched so that we get more vitamins and minerals in our bodies. There are dozens that you need to ingest regularly, such as iron, thiamine, vitamin C, and vitamin D. If you are eating a healthy diet, you can most likely get enough vitamins and minerals from your foods, but you can also take vitamin supplements to make sure that you are getting the right amounts you need to maintain body function. Supplements may also be available to help with other nutrients as well, so if you are worried, talk to your doctor about how you can be sure to be eating a healthy amount of nutrients.