"Nutrition" |
or "things that make you go bleurgh" |
This is all I know. You are free to disagree wildly, but..... you'd be wrong.
How do we get energy? The energy needed to fuel the human body comes from 4 main sources:
Or at least it should. In some people these percentages are wildly different.
What causes aging? Every cell in our bodies contains the same genetic code within coils of DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid). Unfortunately as we go through life this information is damaged by substances in the air known as free radicals. As the code is damaged we get older (this happens after childhood obviously) and eventually die. The good news is that the effect of free radicals can be reduced by antioxidants, a set of substances that "mop them up", and also by flavonoids (quercetin) and sulphur-containing compounds.
The antioxidants are Vitamin A, Vitamin C (found in fruit), Vitamin E (found in vegetable oil), and Beta carotene. Beta carotene is found in yellow vegetables eg. pumpkin, orange vegetables eg. carrot and dark green vegetables eg spinach. Antioxidants are also found in pepper, tomatoes and red wine.
Flavonoids are found in tomatoes, berries, olive oil, red wine, broccoli, tea, onions, cabbage and sprouts.
The body needs all of these:
As seen above, most of our energy comes from carbohydrates, of which many are more commonly known as sugar. The simplest sugar is glucose. Glucose is an example of a monosaccharide, (others are fructose and lactose, the latter is found in milk) and is an "ingredient" for respiration, which occurs in every cell of the body and ultimately gives us energy. Basically, respiration involves three steps, Glycolysis (in which glucose is split up glyco+ lysis), Kreb's cycle and the Hydrogen Transfer Chain where energy is produced.
Sugar:
Contrary to popular belief, sugar does not make you fat. It's really quite
simple, and I'm tired of telling people, but here it is again. Fat alone makes
you fat. Clear? Now despite this, sugar is not terribly good for you. Firstly,
it indirectly rots your teeth. Sugar itself does not rot your teeth, it would
be pretty silly if it did as it is found in every respiring cell in the body.
No, what happens is this: all food contains bacteria whether you like it or
not. These bacteria get stuck on your teeth and they feed on sugar, producing
an acidic waste product which rots your teeth. Also sugar is bad because it is
already fully broken down so it does not stay in the stomach for long and
therefore is not much good if you are hungry. It is far better to get most of
your carbohydrates in the form of "complex carbohydrates", in
particular starch. This way you not only save your teeth, but also the food
remains in the stomach for longer while it is broken down first to maltose,
then to glucose, removing the need for you to eat more. So there is really no
need to eat any sugar, you can get all you need from starch.
Insulin/ Adrenalin/ Diabetes
Now, too much sugar in the body can lead to brain damage and ultimately death,
so when the levels get high, a substance called insulin converts some of this
excess sugar to glycogen, which is a complex carbohydrate and so is inert. This
is stored in the liver and muscles. If you suddenly need energy or run low on
glucose in the bloodstream, this is converted back in one of two ways. If you
just run low on glucose a substance called glucagon converts the glycogen back
to glucose. If however you need a lot of energy in a hurry, adrenalin is
secreted which converts it back much faster, giving you a rush of energy. This
is all well and good, but if you stuff your face with sugar all your life there
is a slight chance that you will develop late onset diabetes, in this case
diabetes mellitus, which means that you cannot create insulin. If this happens
that's you up the creek. SO DON'T.
Fibre is found in vegetables and wholegrain (eg. brown rice) and can help to prevent bowel cancer.
Protein is needed to build new tissues and repair injury. Protein is made of strings of amino acids, of which there are twenty. Ten of these can be manufactured by the body, the other ten cannot and so are called essential amino acids.
Most people think they need much more protein than they
do. Unless you are a serious body-builder you do not need to be swallowing raw
eggs and actually need very little protein. Red meats are bad sources of
protein because the higher up the food chain you go the more damaged food is.
Meat contains too much protein and it is poor quality. The excess protein from
meat is converted by the liver into Uric acid which is then deposited around
the joints causing arthritis.
Better sources of protein are pulses (lentils, beans, peas), soya, nuts, seeds
and egg white. Red meat should be avoided but chicken and turkey are relatively
harmless and contain a lot of protein. Fresh fish are another excellent source.
The proper name for these is "lipids" and they comprise fats, oils, steroids and cholesterol. There are three main types of lipid:
| type | benefits | |
|---|---|---|
| metabolic catalyst, immune booster | Fish Oil | all bodily functions, healthy immune system, prevents heart disease, arthritis, cancer |
| metabolic catalyst | Evening Primrose Oil | improves skin, counteracts effects of smoking, pollution and heart disease |
Most of these are metabolic catalysts, and they are either water soluble or fat soluble. Basically, if they are water soluble it means that if you cook the shit out of the food you'll lose much of the vitamin content, and also if you go out in the sun a lot of water soluble vitamins in your body will be destroyed as they go close to the surface of the skin through blood-vessels. So if you're going sunbathing take vitamin pills or you'll die. And don't come crying to me when that happens.
| type | Vitamin Name | needed for | fat/water soluble | found in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| antioxidant | Vitamin A (retinol) | growth, vision, repairing skin, nails, hair, prevents mouth or lung cancer | fat | carrots, tomatoes, fish liver oil, green vegetables, milk, cheese |
| Vitamin B (all of 'em) | metabolism, prevent senile dementia | water | yeast, bread, milk, potatoes, eggs | |
| metabolic catalyst | Vitamin B1 (thiamine) | preventing Alzheimer's disease, sciatica, lumbago, heart disease | water | brown rice, asparagus, mushroom, milk, eggs |
| Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | growth, healthy skin, nails | water | yeast extract, liver, eggs | |
| Vitamin B3 (niacin) | healthy nervous system and brain function, detoxification, synthesis of sex hormones | water | wholemeal bread, eggs, milk, yeast | |
| Vitamin B5 | energy production, healthy nervous system, healing of wounds, reducing stress | water | most foods | |
| Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | healthy immune system, balancing sex hormones, relieves PMS and menopause symptoms (nice one) | water | eggs, liver, vegetables, fish, cheese, bananas | |
| Vitamin B9 (folic acid) | red blood cell formation, early development of brain and nerves | water | liver, white fish, bananas, oranges, peanuts | |
| metabolic catalyst, body builder | Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) | preventing anaemia. Boosts energy, counteracts depression and confusion | water | cheese |
| antioxidant | Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | healthy tissues, sperm, repairing skin, resisting infection, protects against cataracts, gum disease, Parkinsons disease | water | vegetables, fruit |
| Vitamin D (calciferol) | strong bones, healthy immune system | fat | margarine, fish liver oil, produced by exposure to sunlight | |
| antioxidant, immune booster | Vitamin E | fat intake, delays skin aging, protects cardiovascular system, boosts energy | fat | plant oils |
| Vitamin H | healthy skin, hair and nerves, protein synthesis | ????? | yeast, liver, nuts | |
| Vitamin K | blood clotting | fat | green vegetables, dairy products | |
| antioxidant, immune booster | Beta carotene | boosts immunity, protects against sun damage, lung disease | orange, milk, vegetables |
Watch out when popping those vitamin pills, high levels of vitamins A or D are toxic.
Minerals. Many of these are trace elements. In addition to these we have heavy metal deposits in our bodies.
| type | Chemical symbol | Name | needed for/ benefits | found in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | Boron | preventing calcium loss from bones | ||
| body builder | Ca | Calcium | creating new cells. strengthens bones, heart, prevents osteoporosis | bread, carrots, milk, nuts, fish |
| Cr | Chromium | involved in metabolism of glucose and synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol | unsaturated fats | |
| Co | Cobalt | |||
| Cu | Copper | |||
| Fl | Fluorine | strong teeth | ||
| I | Iodine | |||
| Fe | Iron | production of haemoglobin, strength, stamina, alertness | bread, liver, eggs | |
| metabolic catalyst, absorption aid | Mg | Magnesium | nerve and muscle functioning, calcium metabolism, prevents cancer, cardiovascular disease | vegetables, nuts, yeast, brown rice |
| Mn | Manganese | development of healthy bones, sex hormone production | ||
| Ph | Phosphorous | milk | ||
| K | Potassium | essential for nerve impulse transmission and muscle function, controls acid/alkaline balance of body cells | bananas, potatoes | |
| antioxidant | Se | Selenium | reduces free radical damage, aids in body growth and fertility, prevents cancer | nuts, tuna, liver |
| Na Cl | Sodium Chloride (salt) | virtually all foods | ||
| S | Sulphur | |||
| metabolic catalyst | Zn | Zinc | prevents cancer, raises libido/fertility, protects against loss of taste and smell | oysters, crabmeat, pumpkin seeds |
OK everyone knows this stuff is pretty vital to maintain life but why drink 6 pints a day? Well, doing so will eliminate waste from your body, raise your energy levels and make your skin smooth and healthy. Skin can also be improved by consuming fruit and Vitamin E.
Odds and ends:
| type | Name | benefits | found in |
|---|---|---|---|
| "aspirin" | prevents heart disease, colon cancer | blueberries, cherries, currants, curry powder, dried dates | |
| immune booster | Garlic | improves circulation, prevents against cancer, infection | |
| metabolic catalyst | mussel extract | prevents arthritis | |
| metabolic catalyst | Ginseng | testosterone booster, lifts libido, increases potency, increases mental efficiency, prevents balding (caused indirectly by testosterone) | |
| metabolic catalyst | Silica | removes aluminium which can cause Alzheimer's disease |
Nutrition Guidelines:
Because:
A good thing to do is eat carbohydrate at breakfast eg Shreddies, giving vitamins, fibre and carbohydrate for slow energy release over the morning. Then for the other meals a combination of protein and salad/fruit, with a bit of carbohydrate. Too much carbohydrate can cause a massive energy slump about an hour afterwards as the body converts the excess into glycogen (or fat if you follow that theory).
Every meal should be based on complex carbohydrates (either bread, potatoes, rice or pasta) with a source of protein. (eg. breakfast cereal and milk, bread and cheese, rice and beans etc.) and fruit and vegetables.
Avoid too much:
fruit, vegetables, olive oil, fish, bread, red wine
Soya: this is a complete food, containing starch, oil, protein, vitamins and minerals in generous amounts. It also lowers levels of bad cholesterol and increases levels of good cholesterol and conserves Calcium in the body. This miracle food reduces the level of insulin in the body, protecting against weight gain and age related diabetes. Apparently it also prevents cancer by inhibiting the enzyme which turns on genes used to create new blood vessels by cancerous cells. Soya can be found in tofu, soya flour, soya milk, soya beans and numerous other concoctions. Unfortunately they all taste revolting, but there you are, it is a sad fact of life that how good something tastes is directly proportional to the damage it does to the body.
Bananas and honey: excellent sources of energy and minerals (Potassium in bananas and lots in honey).
A word about cancer: of course you can never really prevent the disease but you can take steps outlined here to substantially reduce the risk. In any case, you can also never guarantee that you will get it if you eat trash; these "Smoking causes cancer" campaigns are a load of baloney.
written in 1998 by Ed (It came off the top of my head) |