Understanding Healthy Diets and Essential Nutrients
Diets
The amount and type of food a person consumes daily is called diet or alimentary pattern. For a diet to be healthy, it should be balanced, provide the required energy, structural and functional nutrients in the appropriate ratio. It is necessary to diversify foods. “It’s advisable to make several meals a day.” It is necessary to cook food and avoid unduly refined items. Unsaturated fats should be included in an appropriate proportion, and consumption of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol should be reduced. It is necessary to consume fiber-rich foods daily.
The Mediterranean Diet
Designating the traditional diet of southern European countries, including Spain, which is now considered one of the most balanced and healthy.
Special Diets
- Low Calorie Diets: Include a percentage of food energy less than recommended, and are appropriate for weight loss.
- High Calorie Diets: Characterized by their high energy content, are appropriate for people with thinness who need to gain weight.
- Low Cholesterol Diets: Are recommended for people with high blood cholesterol levels who are at increased risk of circulatory diseases.
- High-Residue Diets: Feature plenty of foods rich in fiber and are very suitable for people suffering from chronic constipation.
- Soft Diets: Due to the limited amount of fiber they include, these diets are recommended when there are problems with bowel obstruction or slow bowel movements.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the set of processes that allows organisms to use and transform nutrients to stay alive. Feeding is the process by which these nutrients are obtained from the external environment.
Essential Nutrients
- Carbohydrates: Are important energy substances in daily food consumption. Two groups are differentiated: simple carbohydrates (sugars) and complex carbohydrates.
- Fats (Lipids): Are a very diverse set of chemicals characterized by being insoluble in water and having an oily appearance. Within lipids, the following groups can be differentiated: fats, lipid components of cell membranes, and lipids with regulatory functions.
- Proteins: These nutrients are important structural molecules. Approximately half of the dry cell weight of our bodies is protein. All proteins, although different, consist of the same types of amino acids. To produce proteins, the body uses amino acids from food protein.
- Vitamins: Are substances of very varied chemical composition, essential for the proper functioning of the body. Vitamins are easily destroyed by heat, so they are found in raw or lightly cooked food. Vitamins are classified into water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins.
- Mineral Salts: Are inorganic substances that play several roles in the organism: some are structural, forming an important part of bones and teeth; others allow the proper functioning of the organs.
- Water: Is the most abundant molecule in our organisms. Water acts as a solvent for most immediate principles. Additionally, it performs other functions such as serving as a transport system for substances between different parts of the body, regulating body temperature, and so on.