Nowadays, where the environment is more and more polluted every day, where civilization diseases such as overweight or hypertension affect more and more of the society, there is also a positive trend, the fashion for healthy food. The fashion for healthy eating is spreading the fastest among young people with a healthy lifestyle.
This is probably due to the growing awareness of young people and the fact that they would like to keep their youth, vigour and beauty as long as possible. In order to achieve this goal it is certainly necessary to take care of an appropriate diet, which can be helped by dieticians as well as by stationary and online health food stores.
The issue of healthy food is inseparably connected with the concept of organic food. What is it? How does it differ from conventional food? Is it better? Organic food is food produced by organic farming methods using as little artificial fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides as possible, i.e. plant protection products. Online stores with healthy food grow like mushrooms after rain. More and more often we choose vegetables and fruits instead of fast food. Even the largest chain of fast food restaurants in the world has introduced salads to its offer.
Instead of the popular and equally not healthy Kujawy oil, we choose olive oil, linseed oil or coconut fat. The fashion for healthy eating is also visible in supermarkets, where practically without exception, you can find separate stands and shelves with organic food.
The shelves are rich in products unknown so far, such as amaranth, one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world and an extremely valuable source of protein. The shelves are rich in spelt breakfast products and spelt flour, which is a separate, high quality cereal species, extremely resistant to adverse climatic conditions and diseases, so it does not require the use of fertilizers or plant protection products.
Organic food differs from conventional one and is definitely more expensive. Why? Certainly to some extent because of the aforementioned fashion, the fashion for what is healthy, ecological. But not only. Creating healthy and organic food simply costs more. Farmers do not use nitrogen fertilizers, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, they do not breed animals on a mass scale.
This is why an organic farm needs more workers, more expensive fodder, and the yields are lower due to not using spraying. This is reflected in the price of goods on the store shelf, whether it is amaranth, spelt flour or beans with the BIO stamp. Nevertheless, it is worth it. It is worth following this fashion today. It is worth taking care of your health, beauty and well-being by choosing healthy food as often as possible.
Nutrients
Starting from scratch, there is a division into nutrients. Almost every dish prepared by us consists of some solid ingredients.
The most important of them are:
- Proteins
- Carbohydrates
- Fats
Practically every recipe I present on Fitness Food is a dish consisting of different proportions of ingredients. In order to make it easier to navigate the topic of nutritional values, I will explain briefly what role the above-mentioned proteins, fats and carbohydrates play in the body and from which products they should be provided.
Proteins, otherwise known as proteins, are the basic building material for the body, they constitute as much as 50% of dry human body mass. It is using proteins that the body builds and rebuilds its own tissues and cells. This is why protein is such an important component of food, which must be supplied from food.
Of the products available to the public that are rich in protein, attention should be paid to such products as:
- chicken or turkey breasts,
- beef,
- eggs,
- lean curd.
Of course, you should remember that excess protein, just like carbohydrates, can simply be converted into fatty tissue. As a general rule, there is no point in consuming more than 30-40g of protein at one time because the body will not assimilate more. All this, of course, is also dependent on body weight and many other factors.
Carbohydrates are food products mainly of plant origin. Their main role is to provide energy, while the most important aspect concerning carbohydrates is their assimilability, and more specifically how the body draws energy from them.
Carbohydrates can be divided into those that can be converted very quickly into fuel in the form of calories and those from which the “release” of energy is gradual and much slower.
To sum up, carbohydrates should be delivered for the greater part of the day, however, attention should be paid to their glycemic index. Products with a high GI can be consumed calmly immediately after exercise, while those with a low and medium GI should be consumed for the rest of the day so that the energy is released slowly and gradually to ensure continuity of supply.
Among the products available to the public that are rich in carbohydrates, attention should be paid to such products as, among others:
- brown rice
- white rice, basmati and others,
- wholemeal noodles,
- wholemeal bread,
- buckwheat groats
Fats are divided into animal and vegetable fats and saturated and unsaturated fats according to their origin.
As you can see, contrary to the popular opinion among people “taking care of the line”, fats are an essential element of a healthy diet. In addition to the advantages listed above, they are also a source of vitamins A, D, E and K and contribute to the production of many hormones in the body.
The best fats for frying include: lard, coconut butter, coconut oil.
The best fats for cold consumption include: olive oil, linseed oil, liver, peanut butter
Vegetables play a very important role in nutrition. They provide ingredients that regulate the biological processes of the body, thus making an important contribution to maintaining health. They contain vitamins, minerals and fiber and have a positive effect on the rate of metabolism. They work well in reducing diets, satisfying the appetite and not contributing to fat.
The most important action we should take to prevent acidification is to balance our daily diet. The table available at this address contains examples of products and their acid-base equivalents (+ acid and -base reaction). When preparing your own diet, you should make sure that each meal is balanced by an “acidic” food, e.g. chicken and rice dishes should be supplemented with an appropriate amount of spinach or broccoli.
Water. While discussing the individual nutrients, one should not forget about water. Being the body’s main factor of action, it transfers nutrients to the body’s cells and also helps to remove substances that are no longer needed. Man is made up of 50-70% water – without it, most of the reactions taking place in our body would be impossible.
Long-term dehydration can even lead to death, and in the case of athletes and physically active people, even slight dehydration causes negative effects. Therefore, you should never allow this to happen by drinking mineral water regularly during the day. How much water should I drink? This of course depends on many factors.
Vitamins are essential for life. They ensure proper control of cell growth and regeneration processes by stimulating the production of vital energy. Our health would be at risk if any of the vitamins were not consumed according to the recommended quantities. Most vitamins are supplied to our body with food. A properly balanced diet should contain all vitamins necessary for the body.