Role of Omega Fatty Acids in Good Nutrition

Omega-3s are termed essential fatty acids (EFAs) because they are critical for good health. Since the body cannot make them on its own, omega-3s must be obtained from food.

Key Functions

• Reduce hypertension. Studies of large groups of people have found that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids may aid in lowering overall blood pressure level.
• Improve heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids may play a part in keeping cholesterol levels low, stabilizing irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), and reducing blood pressure.
• Protecting the heart. Researchers now believe that alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), one of the omega-3s, may be particularly beneficial in protecting against heart and blood vessel disease, and for lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Food Sources

Key omega-3 fatty acids include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexanoic acid (DHA), and alpha-lineolenic acid (ALA). EPAs and DHAs are found in oily cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel, as well as fresh seaweed. ALAs are found primarily in dark green leafy vegetables, flaxseed oils, and certain vegetable oils.

Usage

There is no established recommended daily intake for omega-3s, but a healthy diet containing significant amounts of foods rich in this essential fatty acid is recommended.

Omega-3 fatty acids are very safe to consume. However, most experts recommend limiting fish consumption to two to three servings weekly because so many fish may be tainted with mercury and other contaminants. Fish oil capsules do not usually present this same risk.

Safety Evidence

There are no known side effects associated with increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids through foods, although fish oil capsules do pose the risk of a "burp" factor – a harmless, sometimes unpleasant, fishy aftertaste that occurs with some brands of fish oil capsules.

Ref Nutrilite

http://www.nutrilite.com/en-us/Nature/Nutrients/omega-fatty-acids.aspx?

Tight Hamstrings & Lower Back Pain

The hamstring muscles run along the back of your thighs to behind your knees. They connect to the bottom of your pelvis. If you have tight hamstrings, you will probably notice a consistent, downward, pull on your pelvis. And because the pelvis is the foundation of your lower back and spine, tight hamstring muscles contribute to lower back instability. This instability, in turn, can lead to greater risk of intermittent strains.

How do you know if you have tight hamstrings? A simple way of evaluating whether or not you have short or tight hamstring muscles is to lie flat on your back and have someone slowly raise one leg. Make sure that your leg is completely relaxed. Do not use your own muscles to help lift the leg. Generally, if your leg can be raised 90 degrees from the ground (straight up towards the ceiling) without any major tightness anywhere along your hamstrings from behind your knee to your pelvis, your hamstrings are of an appropriate length. However, if you start to feel tightness before 90 degrees, it is a good signal that you need to stretch (and often). .

If you have chronic low back pain, try stretching those hamstring muscles on a daily basis for a few months. Even if you don’t have lower back problems, stretching the hamstring muscles every day will help to keep your lower back and pelvis stable and balanced.

The Better Life Experts | May 11, 2009

Role of Protein in Good Nutrition

Protein is an essential nutrient whose name comes from the Greek word "protos," which means "first." To visualize a molecule of protein, think of a very long chain with links. These links represent amino acids, the building blocks of protein, which are essential for cell regulation, growth, and repair.

Key Functions

• The body uses protein to build new cells, maintain tissues and regulate cell function.
• About half of the protein consumed daily is converted into enzymes, the specialized "worker proteins" that regulate the speed of biological reactions in your body and permit it to perform functions such as digesting food and assembling or dividing molecules to make new cells and chemical substances. To perform these functions, enzymes often need specific vitamins and minerals.

To make all the proteins that the body needs, 22 different amino acids are required. Nine are considered to be essential, meaning they are not synthesized by the body and must be obtained from food. Our bodies can produce the other 13 from fats, carbohydrates, and other amino acids. So, these are referred to as non-essential amino acids.

Food Sources

Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, legumes, and soy

Usage

It is possible to consume too much protein. The amount of protein needed for good health varies.

• An average healthy adult man or woman needs about 0.8 grams of protein per every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight.
• As you grow older, new proteins are synthesized less efficiently, and muscle mass (protein tissue) diminishes while fat content stays the same or rises. This is why muscle seems to "turn to fat" in old age.
• Infants, adolescents, pregnant women, individuals with injuries, and athletes may often require more protein on a daily basis.

Check with your local market for the recommended daily intake of protein.

Safety Evidence

Several medical conditions make it difficult for people to digest and process proteins properly. As a result, waste products build up in different parts of the body. Check with your physician for individual safety concerns you may have.

Role of Carbohydrates in Good Nutrition

The word "carbohydrate" means "carbon plus water." Plants use sunlight (photosynthesis) to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen.

Key Functions

• When your body needs energy, it looks for carbohydrates first.
• If you are not consuming enough carbohydrates, your body will look for other sources of energy, such as proteins found in muscle tissue. Proteins, however, are not efficient sources of energy for the body.
• Carbohydrates also protect your muscles and help regulate the amount of sugar circulating in your blood so that all the cells get the energy they need.

Food Sources

Carbohydrates come in two forms: simple and complex. Both are composed of units of sugar. The difference is how many sugar units they contain, and how they link together.

• Simple carbohydrates are sugars that give you instant energy and typically have no nutritional value. These include sweets, candy, and soda.
• Complex carbohydrates release energy slowly and often contain fiber. These "healthier" forms of carbohydrates include bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals and legumes.

Usage

Carbohydrates typically consist of 45 - 60% of your total caloric intake.

• Research suggests that adult individuals should consume a minimum of 120 - 125 grams of carbohydrates per day to satisfy basic needs.

Check with your local market for the recommended daily intake of carbohydrates.

Safety Evidence

If you consume excess carbohydrates and participate in little or no physical activity, these excess carbohydrates will be converted and stored in the body as fat – which may lead to weight gain and other health risks.

Role of Vitamin C in Good Nutrition

Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. It is known to be a powerful antioxidant in the body. Vitamin C is a water-soluble essential vitamin that is quickly lost from your body, so daily intake is vital.

Key Functions

• Vitamin C is involved in a large number of biological processes, making it essential for health.
• It is used to create collagen in the body, a protein that makes the skin, joints and bones strong.
• Vitamin C plays a role in healing wounds within the body.
• The body utilizes vitamin C in the immune system by maintaining activity of the white blood cells.

Usage

Check with your local market for the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

Food Sources

Black currants, green pepper, mangoes, oranges, cabbage, tomatoes, and potatoes

• Water, cooking, heat and light all reduce the levels of the vitamin C available in food sources.
• Vegetables begin to lose vitamin C as soon as they are cut.
• Beta carotene is present in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables and dark, leafy greens.

Safety Evidence

Smokers, those who consume alcohol regularly, people taking medications regularly, and people who suffer from stress regularly all may benefit from taking adequate or slightly higher than daily recommendations of vitamin C.

Calorie Burn

There are several methods for estimating caloric consumption. Some of us may never come into contact with the acronyms used by health professionals, but it’s a good idea to acquaint ourselves with their definitions because learning should be part of our lifelong commitment to health.

MET = Standard metabolic equivalent of the amount of oxygen used by the body during physical activity. The higher the MET, the more calories burned per minute. Some examples of the low to high range of a MET score would be the difference between sitting on the couch reading a book (low MET) or jogging (high MET).

REE = Resting energy expenditure represents the amount of oxygen required by the body during a 24-hour period of inactivity. This method is generally used in hospital settings in order to determine what a bedridden patient needs to prevent malnutrition. It is also helpful in determining calories burned while leading a fairly sedentary life with low activity levels.

ACTIVITY CALORIES: Is the number of calories burned performing a specific physical activity for a precise period of time. For example: The treadmill report on your screen reports that, for the height and weight you provided during data setup, you burned 340 calories for jogging/running ½ hour.

TOTAL CALORIES: Net measurement of Activity calories burned less REE.

Okay, let’s make this easier to understand for all of us who exercise regularly and are unsure of how many calories we should eat to achieve weight loss and/or maintain a current weight. We burn calories as long as we are living. The amount of calories we expend depends to a large degree upon physical activity as well as diet. The more we exercise, the more likely we are to become fit. The less we eat over and above the calories our bodies require for mere existence, the more likely we are to maintain or lose weight.

Joe, for example weighs 180 pounds. Given that you can figure that a sedentary lifestyle requires about 12 calories per pound per day;

Example 1:

Total Calories Consumed 3200
Less REE (2160)
Less Treadmill (303)

Total Calories ‘stored’ 737

Example 2:

Total Calories Consumed 2400
Less REE (2160)
Less Treadmill (303)

Total Calories ‘stored’ (63)

From this example we can conclude that if Joe cut back on his calories and exercised at the same rate, he would begin to lose weight. It is inadvisable for Joe to cut his daily calorie levels below 2400 and maintain his current exercise routine. It would be far safer for Joe to increase his activity level slightly and keep the calorie count level at about 2400 calories per day in order to achieve weight loss without sacrificing important nutrients in his diet.

The Better Life Experts | May 4, 2009

Role of Fats in Good Nutrition

Fats are essential for good health. They aid in energy production, cell building, oxygen transport, blood clotting, and the production of extremely active hormone-like substances called prostaglandins.

Fats can be saturated, polyunsaturated, or monounsaturated. Our bodies can produce both monounsaturated and saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats, or essential fatty acids, cannot be produced in the body and must come from the diet.

Key Functions

• Fat is mostly stored in the body's adipose (fat) cells but is also found in blood plasma and other body cells.
• Fat insulates your body, cushions vital organs, and can be converted into energy.
• Fat is used to build new cells and is critical for normal brain development and nerve function.
• Fat is also needed to carry and help absorb fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K, and carotenoids.

Food Sources

Fat is twice as calorie-dense (1 gram = 9 calories) as carbohydrates or protein (1 gram = 4 calories). Although there are health benefits associated with olive and canola oils, they are still high in calories (1 tbsp = 120 calories). In addition, many processed foods and fast foods are high in fat, especially saturated fat.

• Mono-unsaturated fats are found in olive and canola oils.
• Saturated fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream, and fatty meats, as well as some vegetable oils – coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils.
• Polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean oils.

Usage: Upper Limits

Carbohydrates typically consist of 45 - 60% of your total caloric intake.

• Keep total fat intake between 20 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
• Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats.
• Consume less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol.
• Keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible. Any packaged goods containing "partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils," "hydrogenated vegetable oils," or "shortening" most likely contain trans fats.

Check with your local market for the recommended daily intake of fats.

Safety Evidence

All healthy people need some fats in their diet to aid in many bodily functions. The risks from fat intake come from eating too much fat on a long-term basis.

For healthy adults, 30% or less of total calories should come from foods high in fat, according to general guidelines. Of that 30%, 10% or less should come from foods high in saturated fats.

ref: nutrilite