Kim was filming a university nutrition class taught by the professor Dr. Heidi Dulay when she got this question:
What foods should they recommend to their clients seeking nutritional help? And how to decide these things, anyway? (The students are health practitioners in-the-making.)This Master's program nutrition course is about different dietary approaches.
And I mean a few that are REALLY different - like the raw milk diet, the coconut diet, the Inuit beast and blubber diet (meat, fish and fat which Dulay is personally testing for two weeks), along with the more well-known approaches such as Paleo, Mediterranean, and Atkins, among others.)
OK, good question, says Dr. Heidi. Here's a way to look at choosing foods for yourself and your nutrition clients...A normally functioning body uses what you eat (specifically, uses the biochemicals in the foods you eat), in three ways:
Function (hormones, enzymes, make antibodies, etc.),Then came the surprise.
Structure (bones/muscles/teeth; Cells/cell membranes, hair/skin/nails)
Storage (fuel and excess fat)
(okay, sounds simple to most of you but news to me)
Guess what kinds of foods the body uses for these three things?
FUNCTION: Protein and Fat.Yikes. Have you checked your storage bins lately? The love handles, the paunches, bulges and other lumpy places?
STRUCTURE: Protein and Fat. All except for connective tissue, which uses protein and sugar)
And then the bomb:
STORAGE BINS: Carbs, sugars (sweets) and fat. (Not the good fat you eat in say, butter. Stored fat is the sort the body makes from the excess carbs and sweets we feed it).
It's 4pm. About to have a quick snack fix? Are you considering...
Carbs, sugars or sweets: bread, rice, pasta, chips and crackers, cookies, cereal like corn flakes, corn, muffins, pizza crust, and all sweets, especially the big sweet caffeine drinks. (I love, love caffeine drinks-some things just are not fair).Maybe a better choice would be organic cheese or nuts.
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For the nutritionally and technically interested, here's Dr. Schwarzbein's table. The Schwarzbein Principle II.2002 p.17.
[P=Protein; F=Fat, S= Sugar]
Functional
Antibodies (P)
Cellular products (P & F)
Enzymes (P)
Hormones (P & F)
Neurotransmitters (P)
Structural
Bones/Muscles/Teeth (P)
Cells/Cell membranes (P & F)
Connective tissue (P & S)
Glands.organs (P)
Hair/skin/nails (P)
Storage
Glycogen (S) (good reserve fuel in the liver = KK)
Triglycerides (F) (fat molecules from fat and carbs = KK)
I found this to be a fascinating article if not a bit over my head with Dr. Schwarzbein's table (sorry but I am still a health nut wannabe and tables were never my thing in school-I was more concerned with who was dating who,wearing what, etc-you know all the important things that get you so far in life). The basic idea is that you really need to watch what you snack on and eat overall if you want to get rid of those love handles. To read more by Kim Klaver go here.
This ties in to the The Most Asked Questions About Carbohydrates post that Christopher Warden, a New York City fitness professional and my online personal trainer recently guest posted on my blog . He is going to be doing another guest post in the next week or two to follow up with part two of the carbohydrate questions and answers so you will want to keep your eyes open for that. I am finding more and more that nutrition (it only took me 39 years) is a big part of how my body is shaped and looks. Information is the key because if we have that we can make the changes we need for the body we want!!
14 comments:
A little depressing though was that my love for Coke is what's making those sweet little love handles grow. (Not that I ever thought it was as healthy as water).
Thanks for a mind-blowing post that continues to get me thinking as well as challenges me to stay accountable for what I eat and drink...
I just wanted to thank you for your constant drops and being one of my Top Droppers!
Have a great day!
I really enjoy your posts. i can learn more about healthy life.
Hi there! Very good article here... I never j\knew what the purpose of the nutrients really are fotr the body and your pics are indeed very fit and healthy. What a wonderful mom... and a good model for a child.
take care and best regards,
ABC BBloglearner
Blessings!
It's great to see the resources you're finding as you pursue enhanced health and fitness! What a great outline to illustrate the importance of protein and fat for structure and function in our body. . . now you know why I'm always insisting that you get enough of these nutrients! :)
Great post!!
Great post...for years my favorite saying is... all I have to do is look at "Carbs, sugars or sweets: bread, rice, pasta, chips and crackers, cookies, cereal like corn flakes, corn, muffins, pizza crust, and all sweets" and I gain weight...now I know why...
Cheers
With carbs being the least necessary part of a diet (except for veggies and fruit, of course) it's just a matter of seeing how low you can go with your ratio. I suppose 40/30/30 (carbs/ protein/ fat) is a good starting point. I personally try to shoot for anything below 50% for my daily carb intake as I tend to be a carboholic myself!
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