There are Six Essential Nutrients our bodies need on a daily basis:
Water is the most essential nutrient the body needs. Approximately sixty percent of your body weight is water. Muscle composition is approximately 70% water. It is vital that while you exercise you continually drink water to ensure that your body does not dehydrate. Drinking water can also help prevent overeating, because that “hungry” feeling you get isn’t always for food it’s your body telling you it’s dehydrated. Water consumption post workout can also help flush out the lactic acid buildup in your muscles which cause you to be sore.
Carbohydrates, the bodies preferred source of energy, are usually referred to as sugars or starches. Complicated carbohydrates are the carbohydrates that we keep hearing about that we should improve our food intake of. These carbohydrates are found in such foods such as potatoes, bananas, pasta, bread, cereals etc. Carbohydrates are converted into sugars by the body. Carbohydrates come in two forms:
Simple Sugars
Simple sugars are sugars like processed sugar and sugar from fruits. This kind of sugar is used almost immediately during exercise. Just eating these sugars would not give you endless amounts of instant energy because as your sugar level in your blood increased, more insulin would be released to grab the sugar and dispose of it because there is too much. All this insulin grabs all the sugar and more as well so eventually you would have even less energy than you started with. This is why when you eat a chocolate bar you feel great for about 15 minutes, your body will then loose energy and become slightly fatigued.
Complex Sugars
This kind of sugar is taken from foods like potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, vegetables and fruits. The difference between these sugars and simple sugars are that the sugars are released at a slower level so you do not get this insulin rush. As the sugar is released a lot slower it also lasts a lot longer because it takes the sugar a lot longer to be broken down. It should be obvious to you that these complex sugars or carbohydrates as they are better known are a 100 times better for you than the simple sugars. We need to be looking at around 55 percent of our daily intake of complex sugars.
Protein is composed of amino acids, which help to build muscle mass. Cells in the body are being replaced all the time. Every day, 365 days a year. So we need to give the body the tools to complete the task of keeping our body’s fit and healthy. Protein is found in such foods such as meat, fish, eggs, beans, and dairy products, etc. The bigger and leaner your muscles are the higher your basal metabolic rate is. Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories the body uses just to live for the day, so even doing such things as sitting watching television your body will be burning more calories which means burning away more body fat. One pound of muscle burns fifty calories, so the more lean muscle you have the more calories you will burn.
Fat is another term for lipid. Too much fat in your diet can lead to obesity, heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Fat does have its uses though, the body needs some fat to process vitamins and minerals and to insulate its inner systems. Fat is also used by the body to provide energy to the body during exercise. There are more than one kind of fat, here are the three:
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is the worst fat for the body. Saturated fat causes the arteries to clog which in turn can cause strokes, heart attacks and coronary heart disease.
Polyunsaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated fat has fewer fatty acid molecules than saturated fat, so is a lot better for you than saturated fat. A type of polyunsaturated fat is Omega 3, this is found only in fish oils. This fat helps with the developments of the nervous system and a host of other bodily functions.
Mono Unsaturated Fat
Mono unsaturated fat has even fewer fatty acid molecules than polyunsaturated fat, and for this reason is the best of all three fats. You should have a higher intake of mono unsaturated fat than the other two fats.
Unsaturated |
Saturated |
Sunflower oil |
Beef |
Olive Oil |
Bacon |
Rice Oil |
Cheese |
Nuts |
Butter |
Rapeseed Oil |
Biscuits |
Oily fish - Sardines |
Crisps |
Vitamins are needed in small amounts to help the body with chemical reactions within its cells and are organic. Vitamins come in two forms, they are fat soluble and water soluble. Fat Soluble Vitamins (A, D, E, K) are stored in the fat tissue and can build up high levels of toxins in the body if they are not utilized. Water Soluble Vitamins (B, C) are excreted by the body if your daily amount of intake is too great.
Fourteen vitamins have been identified to play key roles in the metabolism of the healthy body. These vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, K, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cyanocobalamine), C, biotin, folic acid, niacin, and pantothenic acid. With the rare exception of vitamin D, the human body is incapable of making vitamins, and they are thus essential. Vitamins function primarily as cofactors (helpers) in various metabolic (energy-producing) processes of the body.
Minerals are inorganic (not made by living things) substances that are essential for the proper functioning of the body. Minerals are divided into two general categories: electrolytes and trace elements.
Electrolytes must be consumed in relatively large quantities, but trace elements are needed in very small amounts. Electrolytes are the more important of the minerals and include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous. Sodium is the primary electrolyte of the blood and the fluid that baths the tissues (extracellular fluid). Low blood sodium can result in confusion, seizures, erratic heart rhythm, and possibly death. Potassium is the main electrolyte present inside the cells. Potassium deficiency results in weakness, erratic heart rhythm, and death. Calcium and phosphorous are the main mineral components of the human bones and teeth.
The trace elements include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, fluoride, iodide, sulfur, molybdenum, and a few relatively unimportant minor elements. Iron is the most important of all the trace elements because it is essential in the structure of hemoglobin, the red blood cell molecule that carries oxygen to the tissues. Iron deficiency-mainly from prolonged or extensive bleeding, such as in women with heavy periods-causes anemia. Fluoride is crucial for healthy development of teeth in very young children and is added to majority of city water supplies. The deficiencies of most of the other minerals have never been demonstrated in humans, but animal studies have shown that these deficiencies are possible. Similar to electrolytes, trace elements are present in more than adequate amounts in a balance diet.
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