Nutrition Basics

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Nutrition Basics

While most people have a basic idea of proper nutrition, we’d like to provide you with some key nutrition basics that will help you understand exactly what you’re eating, what you should eat, and why those foods are good for you. With a better understanding of good nutrition essentials, you’ll be able to develop a healthy diet that’s right for you, and that gives you the power to take on each day with energy and enthusiasm.

Learn more about the building blocks of a nutritious diet and how each one helps you. In addition, it’s good to know that if your busy schedule leads to skipping a meal, the same important ingredients can be found in BOOST nutritional energy drinks.

FoodPyramid ControlCalorieIntake BePhysicallyActive ChooseWisely KeepFoodSafeToEat alcohol Bmi

Control calorie intake to manage body weight.

A majority of Americans are overweight and find it difficult to lose the unwanted pounds, which is a major public health issue because being overweight can lead to serious health problems. Every year in the United States, about 300,000 adults die annually from causes related to excess body weight.

Being overweight increases the risk of developing a number of serious medical conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and many more. For those already suffering from such conditions, being overweight increases the dangers they can cause. To help stem the obesity epidemic, most Americans need to reduce the amount of calories they consume. When it comes to weight control, calories do count — not the proportions of carbohydrate, fat, and protein in the diet. The healthiest way to reduce calorie intake is to reduce your intake of saturated fat, added sugars and alcohol. All provide calories but they don’t provide essential nutrients. For most people, a reduction of 50 to 100 calories per day will prevent weight gain, but a reduction of 500 calories or more per day is a common goal in weight loss programs. Controlling portion sizes helps limit calorie intake, especially when eating energy-dense foods (foods that are high in calories). 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity per day is recommended to prevent weight gain, but 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity per day is recommended to sustain weight loss.

Source: www.health.gov, www.familydoctor.org, www.cdc.gov

Be physically active every day.

A regular exercise program gets you in shape to better enjoy the things you care most about by providing increased energy, better muscle tone, greater flexibility, and healthier heart and lungs. Regular exercise can also reduce your risk for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Mental and emotional benefits of exercise include lower stress, higher self esteem and an overall happier disposition.

At least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days provides important health benefits in adults More than 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days provides even more health benefits. Vigorous physical activity, such as jogging or other aerobic exercises, provides greater benefits for physical fitness than moderate physical activity, and burns more calories per unit time. Short bouts (e.g.10-minute bouts) of moderate activity can count toward total physical activity goals. During leisure time, it is advisable for all individuals to limit sedentary behaviors such as television watching and video viewing and replace them with activities that require more movement. Check with your physician prior to beginning any exercise program

Source: www.health.gov

Choose Wisely

Choose fats wisely for good health.
To decrease their risk of elevated LDL cholesterol, most Americans need to decrease their intakes of saturated fat and trans fat, and many need to decrease their dietary intake of cholesterol. Saturated fat consumption should be kept as low as possible. Dietary intake of saturated fat is much higher than that of Trans fat and cholesterol. Trans fatty acids are produced in the hydrogenation of vegetable oils and account for more than 80 percent of total trans fat in the food supply.

Recommended goals are less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day for adults with LDL cholesterol lower than 130 mg/dl. Trans fat intakes should be about 1 percent of energy intake or less. Intakes of all three fats should be controlled; however, decreasing intake of saturated fat is most beneficial because it is consumed in greater amounts.

A weekly consumption of two servings of fish is recommended, especially fish rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), two omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oils with potential cardio-protective effects. However, it’s advisable for pregnant women, lactating women and children to avoid eating fish with a high mercury content (which includes large predatory fish, such as shark and swordfish).

Total Fat: Recommended total fat intake is between 20 percent and 35 percent of energy.

Choose carbohydrates wisely for good health.
The recommended total carbohydrate intake is between 45% and 65% of calories. The Institute of Medicine set a Recommended Dietary Allowance of not less then 130 grams per day for adults and children.

Fiber Intake: Most Americans of all ages need to increase their fiber intake. The recommended intake of dietary fiber is 14 grams per 1000 calories. BOOST with Benefiber is a source of dietary fiber.

Sugar Intake: Reducing intake of added sugars (especially sugar-sweetened beverages) may be helpful in weight control and aid in achieving recommended nutrient intakes.

A combined approach of reducing the frequency of consuming sugars and starches (such as limiting snacking on foods that contain these carbohydrates) and optimizing oral hygiene practices is also advised to reduce dental cavities incidence.

Choose and prepare foods with little salt.
Nearly all Americans consume substantially more salt than is recommended, and decreasing salt (sodium chloride) intake is advisable to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. The general goal is for adults to consume less than 2400 mg of sodium per day. A majority of individuals will benefit from reducing their salt intake even more, such as hypertensive individuals, African-Americans, and middle- and older-aged adults. At the same time, individuals are encouraged to increase their consumption of foods rich in potassium. Potassium lowers blood pressure and blunts the effects of salt on blood pressure.

Source: www.health.gov, www.americanheart.org

Keep food safe to eat.

It’s important to do everything you can to make sure the food you feed yourself and your family is safe to eat. Bacteria and viruses are the most common substances that can make food unsafe, and this type of contamination can often be traced to preparation or storage. Even if you only eat a small amount of a contaminated food, you can still become very sick. Here are a few tips for taking precautions against food-borne illnesses.

Clean your hands and food contact surfaces. Use a vegetable brush to remove any dirt off fruits and vegetables. While shopping, preparing, or storing separate raw, cooked and ready-to-eat foods. Cook foods to a safe temperature.Freeze fresh meat, poultry, fish and shellfish if you’re not going to use it within a few days. Immediately after purchase, refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish and ready-to-eat foods. These foods should not be left unrefrigerated for longer than 2 hours — 1 hour if the air temperature is above 90°F.Thaw frozen meat, poultry, fish and shellfish in the refrigerator, microwave or in cold water that gets changed every 30 minutes. Cook foods immediately after thawing. (Never thaw these foods at room temperature.) Use refrigerated leftovers within 3-4 days.When in doubt, throw it out. If you’re not sure that a food is safe, don’t take a chance — even if it looks and smells fine. Foods that have been left out for longer than 2 hours may have grown toxins that cannot be killed by cooking.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

Alcohol consumption can have beneficial or harmful effects depending on the amount consumed, the age and other characteristics of the person consuming the alcohol, and specific situations.

Those who choose to drink alcoholic beverages should do so sensibly, and in moderation. Abstaining is an important option; approximately one in three American adults does not drink alcohol. Moderation is defined as the consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. One drink is defined as 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine (12 percent alcohol), or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits.

Source: www.health.gov

Body Mass Index

Use this tool to determine your Body Mass Index (BMI)

Instructions: Enter your weight and height using Standard or Metric measures

Standard
Metric
Height Feet/Meters:
Height Inches/Centimeters:
Weight Pounds/Kilos:

Your BMI:

BMI measures weight in relation to height. The BMI ranges shown are for adults. They show that health risk increases at higher levels of overweight and obesity. Even within the healthy BMI range, weight gains can carry health risks for adults.

Healthy Weight = 18.5 – 24.9
Overweight = 25 – 29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Source: Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000, pg 3.