Nutrition and Diet

Nutritious diets should contain a variety of foods while making an effort to shift from fatty foods to more carbohydrates, from simple to complex carbohydrates, from saturated to unsaturated fats and reduce total energy intakes to achieve an optimum weight. Cholesterol and salt intakes should be limted while fiber, fresh fruit and vegetable intakes should be increased. Fad diets based exclusively on one particular food or food component can have unhealthy and potentially dangerous consequences. Consult with your doctor before entering into any diet program that strays from a balanced approach to nutrition.

The human body requires about 40 nutrients be supplied in the diet for health. A healthy diet must provide energy substrate, essential amino acids, necessary polyunsaturated fat, vitamins, minerals, and undigestible fiber.

The energy necessary to power body functions varies with age, sex, activity level, and environmental temperature. Energy supplied by the diet in excess of that required to power bodily functions is simply stored.

Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) are government recommendations for nutrient intake that are sufficient to meet nutritional needs. A balanced diet consisting of 2-3 servings of milk, yogurt and cheese, 2-3 servings of meat, poulty, beans, eggs and nuts, 2-4 servings of fruit, 3-5 servings of vegetables and 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, or pasta each day will provide all the necessary nutrients for good health.