...What Is a Balanced Diet? The topic of what makes a balanced diet has undergone radical changes since the 1920's four food groups and then again with the release of the food pyramid guide in 1992. Today, the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes for Health make the following statement: "A balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development." It may be helpful to you to break it down into the following categories: carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fiber. These four groups make up the necessary components for healthy nutrition What is a Balanced Diet? Eating a balanced diet means choosing a wide variety of foods and drinks from all the food groups. It also means eating certain things in moderation, namely saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, salt and alcohol. The goal is to take in nutrients you need for health at the recommended levels. Where to Begin Two examples of a balanced eating pattern are the USDA Food Guide at MyPyramid.gov and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH Diet). Both eating patterns emphasize fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as low or no-fat dairy products, and lean animal proteins. Fish is recommended at least two times per week, beans, nuts and seeds are encouraged, and unsaturated fats are always the fats of choice - like olive oil. What...
Words: 415 - Pages: 2
...------------------------------------------------- Overview[edit] Nutritional science investigates the metabolic and physiological responses of the body to diet. With advances in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, the study of nutrition is increasingly concerned with metabolism and metabolic pathways: the sequences of biochemical steps through which substances in living things change from one form to another. The human body contains chemical compounds, such as water, carbohydrates (sugar, starch, and fiber), amino acids (in proteins), fatty acids (in lipids), and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). These compounds in turn consist of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and so on. All of these chemical compounds and elements occur in various forms and combinations (e.g. hormones, vitamins, phospholipids, hydroxyapatite), both in the human body and in the plant and animal organisms that humans eat. The human body consists of elements and compounds ingested, digested, absorbed, and circulated through the bloodstream to feed the cells of the body. Except in the unborn fetus, the digestive system is the first system involved in obtaining nutrition. In a typical adult, about seven liters of digestive juices enter the digestive tract.[citation needed] These break chemical bonds in ingested molecules, and modulate their conformations and energy states. Though some molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream...
Words: 8834 - Pages: 36
..."Nowadays, a balanced diet is when every McNugget weighs the same." (Harvey Kurtzman, 1983). Do you think the majority of people are really aware of what they eat? In fact, ask yourself if you think you are in good shape or not. It is expected that your honest answer will disclose that you do not know your own body- or what you put in it, too well. Many people might even give some excuses, like “It says `low fat` on the box!” It is important to catch these marketing techniques targeting the unaware or ignorant. It is vital to understand the true meaning of proper nutrition as well as its importance and benefits. What many individuals in the U.A.E. are not aware of is the effects junk food has on their health. Are all marketed “healthy” foods really healthy? The purpose of this research paper is to enlighten the reader of the nutritional lifestyles of people in the United Arab Emirates as well as to explain the negative effects of globalization and its link to the importance of knowledge regarding basic nutrition. In contrast to the past, the U.A.E. is currently facing various negative effects of globalization, especially regarding the expansion of fast-food chains. By way of contrast, there are undoubtedly many positive effects as well. Yet, many believe the negative effects overflow the positive ones. Most professions in the Emirates usually start off at 6 am and continue to late hours in the night Consequently, people are therefore very reliant on food for energy and...
Words: 2021 - Pages: 9
...Balanced Diet: A balanced diet is one that contains the correct proportions of the seven food groups that the body needs to function healthily and grow and the diet should also be correctly proportioned to the activity level of the individual. The seven components of a balanced diet: Carbohydrates - The main source of energy the human body needs. Provides a relatively quick source of energy and is used in general life processes. The human diet should comprise of around 60% carbohydrates. The carbohydrate food group contains both simple and complex sugars. Glucose for instance is a simple sugar that can be used quickly in the body. Examples of foodstuffs containing carbohydrates: potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, sugar. Fats - There are many types of fats the main ones being unsaturated which are the ones that our body needs are most beneficial for it. Saturated fats found in animal products can lead to problems like heart disease. Fats are mainly used by our bodies to fuel low impact exercise and they should make up around 25% of our daily diet. This form of energy is more slowly released and therefore is better suited to sustained low level exercise. Examples include: dairy products, nuts, oils and fish. Proteins - Proteins are used to build muscles and to repair muscle damage. Proteins help the body at high intensity performance. They are complex structures made up of amino acid chains, they are essential to growth and tissue growth in the body. Proteins are contained in...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...Jessmar A. Viola English 13 B.S. ChE- 1 Ma’am Mayme Olegario How I Achieve a Balanced Diet Balanced diet has become a very crucial step to attain a healthy lifestyle. Several conducted studies show that many people who are inactive to daily tasks and physically unfit are associated to poor diet. In this case, I used to be one of them. When I was in High School, I used to eat only minute amounts of protein and carbohydrates every breakfast and to skip lunch. Because of these improper habits, my health almost deteriorated and eventually, my Body Mass Index lowered from normal to underweight. Later on, I decided to alter my daily routines in my diet. Now, to achieve a balanced diet, consuming food groups at right proportions, partaking junk foods and soft drinks very seldom and controlling my fat and oil intake are ways that I habitually do. First, I always eat the right amount of Go, Grow and Glow Foods. Every meal, these three components are present on my table. I base my Go food diet on starchy foods such as sweet potatoes and rice to get carbohydrates for energy. For my Grow food diet, I make sure there are fishes, less pork and eggs present in any cuisines to get enough protein for body build up. Also for my Glow food Diet, there must be plenty of fruit and vegetables, especially citrus fruits and leafy vegetables in the menu to get vitamins and minerals for body resistance. With the right amount of these components I eat, I always feel healthy...
Words: 535 - Pages: 3
...prior assignments. 1) This topic is important to me because throughout my life I have constantly researched different diets, hoping to find one that will help me lose weight and keep it off. With this research I hope to find one that not only help me lose weight, but also begin a new life style. 2) As a result of the on again, off again weight gain I began to see myself as a failure, and also as a fat person who could not keep the weight off. Through this research I am hoping to find not a diet but a life style that is healthily. I hope to be able to recognize a Fad diet as soon as I see one, and be able to educate my friend and family on this matter. Who is your primary audience or reader? Why? Be detailed in your answer about your audience. 1) The targeted audience would be people looking for a quick fix diet, maybe the girl that needs to get into that little black dress this weekend or the boy that will go swimming for the first time with a new girlfriend and wants to look slimmer fast. 2) I believe my secondary audience would be people like myself that just want a diet that works and are looking for new ways to lose weight. Not a quick fix, but a diet that is not very difficult and keeps the weight off. 3) I think the majority of my targeted audience would agree with me, even though the truth hurts. Fad diets are not healthy and are indeed a quick fix. But, people sometimes want to believe otherwise, even though the proof is presented to...
Words: 2478 - Pages: 10
...Life Science Project. Stephanie Behnke 1. What is the difference between the Banting Diet and the Historical Balance Diet..? Banting Diet: • This is a diet with high protein, low and carbohydrates to lose weight. 1 FOOD TO BE EATEN WHEN BANTING: • A large amount of fats are to be eaten… such as: butter, cream, oils. • Large variety of nutritious low carb vegetables, like: spinach, broccoli and cauliflower. 2 ADVANTAGES OF THE BANTING DIET: • With Banting Diet, the weight you lose, you will not pick it up again, if you maintain your intake of food and keep on Banting. • It reduces your appetite, which leads to lowering the amount of calorie intake. • A Banting Diet forces you to cut out all sweeteners • Makes you cut out all starch products. •...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...Maria Arriola Allegra Hyde English 101 16 November 2014 The American Diet Getting a fat whopper from McDonalds, large fries and a coke is seen as an average meal for Americans. There are many diets out there like the Paleo diet, and the Atkins diet and the standard american diet which all revolve around the consumption of meat, dairy and fats. The very thought of an American eating a vegan plant based diet is seen as extreme and often questioned. Eating no meat, or products derived from animals automatically makes one an extreme animal rights activist that solely lives on salads. Nutrition is often overlooked by doctors but it may be the underlying issue of a spectrum of problems. Thomas Edison once stated “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but will rather cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” Many do not realize the great importance of nutrition and its correlation to health. What enters the body may greatly affect the overall individual physically and mentally. Americans have become unhealthier by the years due to the vast number of processed products sold in our grocery stores today. Many do not take notice of their daily consumption of food while others obsess over the very thought of their next meal. There is a great epidemic in America where more people die from the effects of overeating rather than starvation. Many resort to drugs, and surgeries as a quick fix in hopes of improving their health which leaves many wallets...
Words: 1974 - Pages: 8
...The Skinny on Fad Diets Jessica Johnson DeVry University FAD DIETS You had to stay over at work, pick up the kids, taking them to their various activities, running through the drive through for a quick meal, and begin to unwind on the couch. You could have gone for a walk on your lunch break, hit the gym after work, and made a well-balanced meal for all to eat at the dinner table but with deadlines, a demanding job, and a family to raise with an even crazier schedule; by the end of the day you are beat. However, those extra thirty pounds are just sitting there, waiting to be shed. One day, a thought occurs to seek out a solution, naturally this leads to the internet. A quick Google search and you are now being overloaded with a list of diets, pills, and drinks that will completely change your life around. All without having to rearrange your daily planner to make the life style changes needed for healthy weight loss. Sites with stories of “I lost 20 pounds in the first 2 weeks on diet ABC.” or “Diet XYZ gave me energy to accomplish everything I wanted in the day, while becoming and looking like the person that I want to be.” In other words, the search has brought up results on fad diets. As the schedules of Americans become more and more jam packed, the rate of becoming an unhealthy adult is rising. Currently 69% of Americans are overweight or obese (Jadhav, 2010). Stress from family life, a job, and a tight schedule has a way of causing one to gain weight and having...
Words: 3033 - Pages: 13
...Surname 1 Name: Professor: Course: Date: Are Fad Diets good or terrible? Fad Diets allude to a weight loss arrangement that is exceptionally basic for short periods of time. With this diet plan, it is said one will get more fit by routines other than calorie limitations. A few fads diets, for instance, the Grapefruit diets, the profits of a specific food and base an individual's entire diets on that one sustenance. Other Fad Diets limit the utilization of one nutritional category while underlining the utilization of other nutrition type proteins. Individuals that had tried fad diet say that many of these diet plans can result in antagonistic health issues over the long haul, while other individuals that have likewise attempted fad diets guarantee that fad diets have ended up being an exceptionally extraordinary weight-loss procedure. Presently it’s an individual to choose what is right. Great and powerful weight loss systems are weight control plans that confine or avoid certain foods and concentrate on healthier ones. About whether it is said that a low-carb diet plan live up to expectations pretty much and additionally a low-fat diet at losing some weight. In a two-year study both enhanced cholesterol that included group counseling. The low-carbohydrate diet got a greater support in their frequently called great cholesterol, about double the measure of those on low-fat. The low-carb diet has improved at weight loss in six months. As per Gary Foster, chief of Temple...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...Fad Diets: Positive or Negative? Keith Daugherty DeVry University Fad Diets: Positive or Negative? Chad, a middle aged man, goes to work every day of the week to provide for his wife and three children. He wants nothing more than to live a full and healthy life and to always be there for his family, just like his father was there for him and his mom, growing up. Chad attended his annual check-up with the family care provider that he has seen for many years. He has always felt fine and thought he was as healthy as can be. While Chad was with his family care provider, he was told that his cholesterol levels were high, that he has high blood pressure, and that he has an increased chance of experiencing a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack. His family care provider decided that Chad needed to lose some weight and start eating healthier in order to lower his blood pressure, lower his cholesterol levels, and decrease his chance of suffering a myocardial infarction. Chad agreed to make his doctor’s recommended lifestyle changes because he wanted to be there for his family no matter what the cost. After leaving his family care provider’s office and speaking with this wife about the bad news, he realized that he did not have a plan of action as to how he was going to lose the extra weight that was the source of his health problems. He didn’t know many things about eating healthier or maintaining a healthy lifestyle so he was unsure of where to begin. Later that...
Words: 3070 - Pages: 13
...resolution to begin a strict diet to lose weight and be healthier. Every year, many of those same people chose a one-size-fits-all fad diet and flunk out with in just a few short months, with some calling it quits within weeks. The truth is there is no such thing as the perfect diet for all consumers, yet we still follow the media, celebrities, and coworkers down the road of the most popular fad diet that promises the quickest gains. In the end we spend billions of dollars on these diets and all the accessories that come with them, such as expensive gym memberships and hyped up supplements, and the results are minimal at best. Dieting in America has become a mainstream, profit generating habit that can be unhealthy and costly; educating the public on alternative eating habits and supplemental lifestyle choices can lead to healthier individuals and outweigh the marginal benefits of dieting alone. American’s are competitive by nature, and never want to be left behind. Mainstream dieting has been around for decades, growing more and more popular as our ways to reach out to more consumers grow. I can remember being a child, listening to my mother and aunts discuss New Year’s resolutions that always included dieting. Back then we only had the evening news, newspapers, and telephones. Today we cannot escape the onslaught of social media, and one would be lucky to maneuver the checkout line at CVS without picking up a magazine listing the hottest diet, offered by the hottest model...
Words: 2688 - Pages: 11
...» April 22, 2011 — Ritual fasting has been part of religious traditions for thousands of years, from Muslims who fast during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan to Mormons who take a regular break from food the first Sunday of each month. But a recent growing body of research shows that abstaining from food intermittently may have physical as well as spiritual benefits — the latest, a study from Utah researchers that found that occasional fasts (defined as extended periods of time in which people generally abstain from all food and drink except for water) may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Google “fasting for health” and you’ll get more than 7 million hits, ranging from doctors who recommend it in their practices to treat a range of diseases, spas that promise detoxifying food-free vacations, and message board postings from devotees who say that fasting makes them feel clearer mentally and more fit. “I fast whenever my body feels like it needs a reboot,” says Yoli Ouiya, 31, a New York City blogger who writes about eco-friendly living. She fasts once every few months. But is fasting a good idea for your health? Possibly, says David Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University. Every day, organs such as the liver, kidney, and spleen work to remove and neutralize toxins from the body to keep our cells healthy. “When you fast, you eliminate input of additional toxins from food,” says Dr. Katz, “and there is a potential biological...
Words: 3269 - Pages: 14
...At first i just thought that dieting only meant you lost weight, now i know that isn't completely true. not only would a diet of only Double QTR. Pounders with cheese make you gain weight, but if you're a male, it could potentially determine the lifespan of your future sons, son. As a woman, pregnancy could mean changing your diet completely if you really care about your child and know bout this. And in changing your diet, of course that means something further than just stop smoking or drinking so much. When it comes to genes expressing themselves or showing themselves so much, your diet is one of the key factors. As the paper stated, a males’ efficiency or consistency of your eating habits will actually effect your sons offspring through their lifespan. i don't think you get it. The fact that I eat so often means my sons children will live less. now that I know this, every time I eat ill effectively be killing my grandchildren. So no more fun in food anymore. Also (kind of) related to dietary habits is your consumption of products contained inside of polycarbonate plastic. Just drinking a water bottled with this plastic will have an effect on your children. Through the mice it made the offspring yellow like ones eyes during liver failure. through the mice experiment it was shown the offspring birthed from the mothers that were not fed the BPA in the plastic were brown and healthy. As it turns out, if the mother is fed BPA but still fed methyl rich foods, thus giving the fetus...
Words: 402 - Pages: 2
...people going on the outrageous fad diets and then later hear them complaining about how they gained all the weight back and then some. Then there are those ‘fad diets’ which scare me, as do the dieting pills. I mean they can be helpful for some, but losing weight really quickly cannot be healthy for anyone. I believe that healthy eating and exercising are the best way to stay healthy. There are endless amounts of diets that we may choose from. Some of the most popular diets are the Atkins Diet, Mediterranean, Vegan, Weight Watchers, Raw Food, and the list goes on. The food choices people make isn’t only about filling up, it can also be an expression of who we are, when we are, and sometimes what we value in a sense. The expression, “You are what you eat” now takes on another meaning in this world of carnivores, herbivores, fat free fanatics, raw food, and junk food junkies. In today’s world, we are fascinated with the latest diets celebrities are following and with what other people are eating. Commercial advertisements and reality TV often showcase people with these crazy food cravings and uncontrollable obsessions. It is like our new entertainment. Meanwhile, there’s diet propaganda that encourages young women to ‘starve’ themselves while others promote endless amount of pizza and beer. As a species, the human race is getting fatter. Obesity rates have increased by 214% since between 1950 and 2000. Yet there are daily dieting ads, diet books in every bookstore, dieting tips...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
