Energy and Nutrients in Slimming
Picking the Right Combinations
A combination of all three energy nutrients is essential to maintain optimum health and to provide us with all the energy we need for everyday life. What we need most of is carbohydrate, which should make up approximately 50-60 per cent of our diet, depending on our activity levels; next in line is fat which should make up 25% per cent maximum; and lastly protein, which should make up the remaining percentage, approximately 15%.
If you think of your favourite meal (roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and vegetables, or lamb chops with chips and peas, for example), you probably list the protein element first and foremost and plan your meal around that. When you look at your plate, foods from the carbohydrate group should take up most of the room – vegetables and rice, for example. The smallest portion should be from the high-protein foods such as meat and fish. If this is what you see then it is likely that you are achieving the correct balance between carbohydrate, fat and protein – well done! If most of the space on your plate is taken up by the meat or fish, you definitely need to make some changes. People rarely achieve the correct balance however and the protein often makes up at least half of the meal. Because many protein sources such as meat and cheese, are high in fat (often saturated), the balance is tipped the wrong way and the majority of the meal is then made up of fat calories. This not only increases the size of your fat cells, but also increases your risk of suffering from heart disease or attack.
Food and Fibre
Dietary fibre comes from plant foods and is the only component of food that cannot be broken down by the gut. This means that it comes out of the body the same as it goes in. Fibre keeps the gut mobile, which is very important; research has indicated that this may be cancer-protective. By eating more fibre you can also decrease your cholesterol level, which helps to reduce the risk of heart disease. Good sources of fibre include:
- fruit
- vegetables
- legumes
- whole grains
Processed food loses much of its fibre content, often because the skin is removed from fruit and whole wheat flour milled into white flour. The brown varieties of bread and rice generally contain more fibre than their white counterparts.
If you are eating a wide variety of non refined carbohydrate foods you will automatically be getting enough fibre. Diets which are too high in fibre can be harmful, as food passes through the gut before the digestive system has had time to extract all the nutrients; however, to achieve this you would need to be eating vast amounts of fibre. It would also require an increase in the amount of water consumed, as water is absorbed into the fibre. If you do eat lots of fibre and don’t drink enough water you may develop extreme stomach cramps.
Category: Weight Loss Tips
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