FOOD ISSUES

NUTRITION

Information: food issues. Nutrition plays a great role in your health. Read this nutrition information to learn the basics of good nutrition facts and understand the role of different vitamins, nutrients and minerals in keeping you healthy. Nutritionists categorize vitamins by the materials that a vitamin will dissolve in. There are two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.

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CARBOHYDRATES

Information: food issues. Carbohydrate-rich foods are the primary source of energy for all body functions. Your body breaks down carbohydrates, or carbs, into fuel for use by your cells and muscles - that's why eating a moderate amount of carbohydrates is necessary for most people. There are two types of carbs - sugars and starches.

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FAT & CALORIES

Information: food issues. Fat is the body's major energy storage system. When the energy from the food you eat and drink can't be used by your body, the body may turn it into fat for later use. Your body uses fat from foods for energy, to cushion organs and bones, and to make hormones and regulate blood pressure. Some fat is also necessary to maintain healthy skin, hair and nails, so you shouldn't cut all fat out of your diet. Too much fat can lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes and many other health problems.

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PROTEIN

Information: food issues. Along with carbohydrates and fat, your body needs protein, a nutrient made up of essential and nonessential amino acids, for good health. Your body manufactures 13 nonessential amino acids, which aren't available from food. For the body to process protein properly, the foods that you eat must contain the nine essential amino acids that are available only from dietary sources.

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MINERALS

Information: food issues. Minerals help the body perform numerous functions, such as building strong bones, transmitting nerve impulses, making hormones and maintaining a regular heartbeat. There are two types of minerals - macrominerals and trace minerals. Your body needs larger amounts of macrominerals like calcium, sodium and potassium.

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CALORIES IN FOOD

Information: food issues. Fat is a high calorie food. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat. Fat contains more than twice the number of calories in protein or carbohydrates. From a weight loss/calories viewpoint, all fats are equally 'bad.' Low-calorie diets are usually low in fat. If you are trying to lose weight, it is best to reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods like butter (80 percent fat), mayo (75-80 percent fat) and oil (100 per cent fat).

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COUNTING CALORIES

Information: food issues. A calorie is a unit of energy. We tend to associate calories with food, but they apply to anything containing energy. Specifically, a calorie is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). One calorie is equal to 4.184 joules, a common unit of energy used in the physical sciences. Human beings need energy to survive - to breathe, move, pump blood - and they acquire this energy from food.

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VITAMINS

Information: food issues. Vitamins are a group of unrelated organic compounds that are not manufactured by the body. They are required in relatively small amounts from the diet and are essential for cellular metabolism, growth, and maintenance of health. There are two kinds of vitamins; water and fat-soluble.

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ANTIOXIDANT

Information: food issues. Antioxidants are powerful substances that can neutralize free radicals before they damage your body's cells. Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances that travel around in the body and cause damage to your cells. Many experts, in fact, believe free radical damage is one of the most prominent causes of devastating diseases that are responsible for killing many people in the Western world, such as cardiovascular disease, which can manifest as heart attacks, and cancer.

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EATING DISORDERS

Information: food issues. It is an obsession that one's whole self-esteem is hinged on what one weighs and how one looks. An Eating Disorder is an illness that encompasses all aspects of a sufferer's life. It is an unsuccessful attempt to make one's life better through food and eating (or lack of). It is way of reacting to an array of external and internal conflicts, such as stress, anxiety, and unhappiness.

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