Sex, Health, Diet Info

You should already know that nutrition is very important to your quality of life. If you want to have a healthy life and lifestyle, you will need to have a healthy diet with proper nutrition. You might hear all the time that your nutrition greatly affects the way you live and your quality of life but have you ever really thought about why? Do you really understand why it is so important? 

If you really want to take the steps to live the long life that you deserve and to be as healthy as possible and enjoy those years, than you need to learn all you can about the importance of optimal nutrition.  What you eat really affects your body and health.

1. What is optimal nutrition?
2. What nutrients do you need to be healthy?
3. What foods give you these nutrients?

Importance of Optimal Nutrition

Optimal nutrition is very important to your overall health and fitness. Studies have shown that people can actually live longer if they have healthy nutrition. It is proven that there is a link between optimal nutrition and long life and long term health.

If you take a look at society, you will notice an increasingly large number of people that are overweight and obese. You will also see problems such as poor teeth and acne, dry, brittle skin, dry hair and other problems. You will find many people on medications for headache, stomach problems, acid reflux, constipation, heart disease, high blood pressure and more. What may be more alarming than the high amount of medications is the fact that most people receive very little information about what is actually causing their disease or condition. Instead, they get a pill.

What many people never know is that what they are eating (or not eating) can be causing these health problems.  You also need to understand that you will have to make changes and adjustments to your intake over the years and stages of your life. Just like toddlers need a different diet from teenagers, you also need to alter your diet as you continue through all of life’s stages. Understanding what is best for you through each stage of your life is the best way to remain in optimal health.

Micro and Macronutrients

Many people hear that they need proper nutrition but just what does that mean exactly? What nutrients do you need to be healthy? Optimal nutrition will include a variety of different micronutrients and macronutrients. Micronutrients include certain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fats that make up the foods you eat.

There is too often a lot of myth surrounding the nutrients, our bodies and how we use these nutrients. This is why it is very important that you get all the facts when planning to change your lifestyle and diet. Many people are suffering from malnutrition and may not even know it. Many overweight individuals may be suffering from malnutrition. Just because you are eating does not mean you are eating the right things.

Micronutrients are the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your body needs to be healthy. The specific ones and amounts of each will depend on your body, sex, age and other factors. Every person is different so there is not one set plan that works for everyone. You need to learn what works for you. As you change, grow older, etc. this will change again and you will continue to have to adjust this.

Macronutrients are the carbs, proteins and fats that you get from foods. The amounts of these that you need will vary as well. This is where many myths come in about what you should or should not eat. The facts are that too much of anyone can be bad and not enough can be bad. It’s all about finding a balance. This means those “All-Carb” or “No Carb” diets that are so popular on the market are really not the best thing for you.

What you choose to ingest in your body has a big impact on your overall health and your general well-being. People now eat more fast foods and frozen dinners and other quick meals that are not very nutritious at all. Some of these foods even have additives in them that can make them addictive so that you want more and more. People typically eat out of hunger and many of these foods do not work to satisfy your hunger leaving you wanting more or something else. Yet, they still have many calories and fat and other things that your body does not need.

Make the Committment

If you are serious in obtaining optimal health to the best of your ability, then take a look at your lifestyle in general. Are you eating the right foods? Are you exercising? Are you getting plenty of fresh air on a daily basis? Do you have positive relationships? If you find yourself answering “no” to these questions, then make the commitment to change. Talk with your family, friends, or a nutritionist. Check to see if there are support groups in your area related to health and lifestyle changes. Look into joining your local gym. Do your research and then purchase the right nutritional supplements that will help you achieve your goals.
 
If you at least try to make a change in one area, more are sure to follow! You are now on your way to optimal health.

Ever since humans switched from nomads and their hunter-gatherings roles, to that of an agrarian-based society, western cultures have looked to the carbohydrate as a primary food staple. For example, an average person in America cannot envision a day without pastries, potatoes, corn, bread, cereal or rice. The media has made us well aware that the excessive intake of carbohydrates has a detrimental effect on our waistlines, but how much do we know about the effect they have on our health? What adds to the sad situation is these carbohydrates are consumed in a highly processed form. What do we get from eating processed starches? Well 65% of Americans are overweight and 30% of them are clinically obese.

These refined carbohydrates in our diets are causing numerous diseases like diabetes in epidemic proportions. The symptoms are very simple, if you experience fatigue, sleepiness, fogged thought process, bloating of the abdominal area, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure levels or low sugar level (hypoglycemia), this is a sign you are consuming excessive refined carbohydrates. Now, I do not want to rag on complex carbohydrates such as vegetables. You can never go wrong with eating raw and cooked vegetables, good lean protein and you will balance blood sugar and lose body fat every time, but the more refined food we eat, the worse off we are.

Insulin and Sugar

Keep in mind that unlike, say fat, the human body does not need refined carbohydrates in any amount. The human body stores only a limited quantity of carbohydrates for brain function, muscles and other uses. The excess carbohydrates are converted into (triglycerides) or fat (by the use of insulin) and stored in adipose (fat) tissue. When a person consumes high level of carbohydrates, the body has no choice and reacts by secreting increased amounts of insulin into the blood stream to lower glucose (sugar) levels. The end results are a blood stream full of toxins and the body survives by placing excess amounts converting it to fat. Effects of excessive sugar on human body

Sugar consumed in high levels can lead to many complications in the human body. One is to suppress the natural immune system. This often leads to a variety of digestive disorders and promotes allergies. Some chronic illnesses like thyroid issues and diabetes have their roots in excessive carbohydrate consumption, so start thinking about it now. Excessive levels of carbohydrates coupled with over-secretion of insulin causes heart disease and a load of other health disorders. Once a period of low/high blood glucose or sugar sets in, it can cause massive damage to most organs in the human body. In such circumstances, any treatment procedures would be impeded and most dietary and medical restrictions would apply. Moreover, once a condition of imbalanced sugar sets at a high level, you can develop diabetes and it is not possible to survive without regular doses of insulin from external sources.

Body building and insulin

Excessive secretion of insulin is also detrimental in another way since it suppresses the levels of growth hormones and glucagon’s. These two important hormones are important in burning fat and sugar and they promote muscle building. So insulin not only promotes fat accumulation but also impedes the body’s ability to lose fat by burning.

To gain better muscle mass, many people resort to ingesting more proteins. Although this is good, it is important that complex carbohydrates form at least 40% of a body builder’s diet. Ingesting some simple carbohydrates are okay as a recovery meal after a workout, but I’m talking about a banana, not ten chocolate chip cookies.

Regulating carbohydrate intake

With the above reasons it is easy to infer that we need to regulate our intake of refined carbohydrates to practice better body growth, to keep us free of diseases and promote better psychological health. It will help us avoid a foggy memory and depression. Although the role of carbohydrates is very important in our diet due to their energy generation capabilities, regulating and knowing how much to consume is a very important factor. Lower levels of refined carbohydrates can also prove to be dangerous since in such cases the blood glucose levels would fall and the body will start resorting to proteins in order to fill the gap. This will result in a decrease of muscle mass. Research says that about 45% of our body’s energy requirements should come from complex carbohydrates. This will ensure proper functionality of insulin and keeps the body away from disease.

Sugar and weight loss

Since the condition of sugar imbalance needs a special diet, practicing weight loss under such conditions could be very difficult. Since excessive insulin and low blood sugar impedes production of glucagons, the body’s ability to burn fat is substantially reduced. In this scenario, weight loss would be almost impossible unless the sugar balance is restored.

So, be careful about how many carbohydrates (especially refined) you consume despite the mouth-watering French fries or pizzas that have become a staple of the diet in today’s society.

David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditioning Coach and holds multiple certifications including three from the prestigious C.H.E.K. Institute: Level II Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popular selling e book, “Firm and Flatten Your Abs,” which teaches you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Visit his site at http://www.flattenyourabs.net/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/refined-carbohydrates-and-sugar-enemy-1-for-weight-loss-1484292.html