Post 4: 6 Essential Nutrients

There are 6 Essential Nutrients that are needed to sustain life... water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and fat.  These all have various roles in the body and are crucial to maintaining a healthy body... your job will be to create a slide presentation that explains the function of the 6 nutrients and what happens if there is a deficiency or excess of the nutrient.  Please use Google Drive to create your slide presentation and share it with me.

Post 3: Nutrition Basics

Nutrition is the study of how the body uses food to sustain life.  Many of us think about food all the time.. we think about the way it looks, smells and tastes.. but we don't think about the way it makes us feel.  We don't think about what it does to our bodies.. how we extract energy from it.. we just eat it.  If we were to think about the effects of eating.. both good and bad, we'd likely make food choices based on that.  I'll give you an example.  Diet soda.. I used to drink it by the barrel full.  I loved it.. with lemon.. any time of the day.  I started getting headaches. Really bad ones, like where I couldn't open my eyes.  It felt like someone was jabbing me in the skull/eye socket with an ice pick.  They would last weeks at a time. I went to a holistic nutritionist (not on purpose.. just randomly) who told me to give up the diet soda for 2 weeks and see if its better.  It worked.. I was amazed.  Now, anytime I take even a few sips of diet anything (aspartame particularly.. I don't know about the effects of splenda or stevia yet.. not interested in finding out) I get a horrible headache and it takes about a week to get rid of.  I have had to consciously make the decision not to drink/eat diet products or I suffer.  I hate suffering.  My point?  Whatever you put in your body should in some way help you.. not hurt you.  So now lets talk about nutrition :)

There are 6 Essential Nutrients (substances in food that keep you healthy).  Water, Fat, Carbohydrates, Protein, Vitamins and Minerals.  You have to have them to sustain life.. that's why they're essential!

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are a major energy source. Along with providing fuel for physical activity, they also power the body's involuntary functions, including heartbeat, breathing and digestive processes. Food sources of carbohydrates include grains and grain products, vegetables, fruits, legumes, dairy products and sugars. Carbohydrates should supply 40 to 60 percent of the average person's caloric intake.

Proteins

Skin, muscle and bones depend on dietary protein for normal growth, development and maintenance. Getting enough protein is rarely a problem in industrialized countries such as the U.S. Complete proteins from animal sources contain all the amino acids your body needs for normal functioning. Plant sources only contain incomplete proteins, meaning some amino acids are missing. If you do not eat much meat, poultry, fish or other animal products, eat a variety of protein-rich plant foods such as beans, nuts and whole grains to ensure an optimal combination of amino acids.

Lipids (Fats)

You may think of lipids, or fats, as dietary enemies, but they are as necessary to the body's normal functioning as the other essential nutrients. Dietary fat helps the absorption of vitamins, supports cell membrane health and helps maintain the immune system. Not all fats are equal. Choose healthy unsaturated fats such as olive oil and nut oil instead of saturated fats from fatty meats.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are micronutrients, meaning the body needs them in small quantities. Vitamins are organic compounds produced by living beings, while minerals are inorganic elements that originate in the earth. Vitamins and minerals support the body's biochemical processes. Each of the vitamins and minerals has a distinct function, including regulating metabolism, guarding the cells from oxidative stress and synthesizing hormones.

Water

Comprising 60 percent of your body weight, water is vital for the normal functioning of all your body's systems. It helps cleanse your body of wastes and toxins, carries essential nutrients to your cells, lubricates your joints and helps maintain your body temperature.

(Adapted from www.livestrong.com)

Lets play a game: Fact or Fiction:
There are many misconceptions regarding the essential nutrients.. lets tackle a few.  I will make a statement and I want you to find the accuracy of each one and give an explanation for your opinion.  Be sure to include a link to where you found the answers!!  Please also comment on someone's post.

1.  Fact or Fiction: Carbohydrates make you fat.

2.  Fact or Fiction:  Skipping meals helps you lose weight

3.  Fact or Fiction:  Any liquid that you drink will fill your "8 glasses of water each day" requirement.

4.  Fact or Fiction:  Eating extra protein will help you build muscles.

5.  Fact or Fiction:  If a food is "healthy" I can eat as much as I want and it won't effect my weight.

Good luck!  :)

Post 2.. Why we eat what we eat...

Have you ever thought about what you eat and why?  Our food choices are based on several different things.. cultural background, social/special occasions, personal attitudes and preferences, media/social influences, individual needs and economic status.. to name a few.  Share with me why you eat what you eat.. cover at least 5 reasons (use the examples to guide you or come up with other reasons!)

Post 1: 3 things.. welcome to my world :)

Welcome!! This is going to be a fun year, filled with information that you'll use for the rest of your life.. I hope :) I need to teach you some basics, and would love to teach you want you want to learn.. so lets get started.

3 Things..  read and post your answers below.

First thing...tell me about your favorite food: Mine is meatballs... I am not sure why I love them.. delicious nuggets of seasoned meat.. preferably all beef (I see no real need for pork or veal.. if you use fatty beef you have all the flavor and tenderness you need!) with or without sauce.. no matter to me. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  I have to say.. I have been making mine lately with ground turkey and they're not too bad.. I have to admit.  I like the high test version better, but I guess the turkey ones won't kill me.  haha

Second thing.. what 1 thing do you want to learn how to make this year? uh.. I already know how to make everything I'm going to share with you.. so.. hmmm this is a hard one.  I've changed the way I'm eating over the past few months, and so I think I want to learn how to make healthier versions of the foods I already love.. one for example, I love thai lettuce wraps.. i know it sounds weird, but they are so delicious.. I think it's the crunch of the veggies and the dipping sauces that get me every time!  I just had some last week at The Cheesecake Factory in Syracuse and I fell in love with the Cashew Tamarind sauce.  I had to buy a quart of it and I've been using it on everything!!  Now I need to learn to make it without all the oil they used.. yikes.

Third thing... what food do you despise: I hate bland food. why waste the calories on something that doesn't even taste good. I hate restaurants that think they can cook (hence calling themselves a restaurant) and then their food comes out looking like barf (actual experience, no lie) and also tastes like it. cold to boot. disgusting. if you can't cook, you shouldn't be feeding people and making them pay. ok.. now a real food I hate... tofu. I can't like it. I even liked the little cuties ice cream sandwiches until I realized they were made with tofu. now they taste weird to me. sorry cuties.. i wanted to like you..

k, now share with me, read at least 2 of your classmates responses and comment on their post!

Total Points25
15 points for your initial post stating your 3 things
10 points for your comments on 2 classmates post.