One of the most important aspects of health is what you eat. Our food affects everything in our bodies. In order for our bodies to function properly it needs certain amounts of different kinds of nutrients. We need Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to perform at our best level. When shopping and eating, look at the nutrition labels for the amount of carbs, fats, and proteins our foods have.

Carbohydrates provide us with energy. We should make carbohydrates about 50% of our diet. These are found in grains and sugars. There are 2 kinds of carbohydrates: simple, and complex. Simple carbohydrates are found in sugars. Sweets and fruits are sources of simple carbs. These are less desirable because our bodies break them down quickly, and gives us a short spike of energy. Afterward, our bodies slow down even more than before we took in the carbs. Complex carbs on the other hand, break down very slowly after we take them in, giving us lasting energy throughout the day. Complex carbs are much better for our bodies. They can be found in vegetables and whole-grain bread, pasta, and rice.

Although fats have a very bad connotation in these days, they are vital to our health. Our diet should consist of about 20% of fats. Our organs and bones need fat to serve as padding. Depending on age and gender, our body fat should be between 6 – 15%. In some cases, more or less than this could still be healthy. As with carbs, there are 2 kinds of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated is the bad kind. Saturated fats are the fats that are solid at room temperature, like the grease from bacon that solidifies itself after you take it out of the heat. Our bodies have no use for this, so they just turn it into the fatty jiggly stuff that we’re always trying to get rid of. Unsaturated fats are in things like oils, which stay liquid at room temperature. This is the kind of fat that our bodies can use for good purposes.

Proteins are what our bodies use to make tissue. This is why body-builders take in so much protein. Because they need it to get bigger. All of us, whether big or small need protein to stay healthy. Our bodies use it to fortify us, give us strength, repair damaged tissue, and so on. Protein should make up about 30% of our diet.

There are many other aspects of nutrition that we need to understand to keep a healthy, balanced diet, but this is one of the most important. Try paying attention to it as you eat. If you follow this, you will feel a big difference in your overall well being. thanks for reading!

Good luck!