Food is important to stay alive and you can be deliberate about what and how you eat. The food you eat contains nutrients the body needs to function properly on a daily basis. The human body is designed to function with a healthy supply of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. These nutrients have to be available in varying quantities for use on a daily basis.
A sedentary male adult needs 2,400kcal of energy while a sedentary female adult needs 1,900kcals of energy daily. So, to ensure you have adequate supply of energy, you need to pay attention to the caloric content of the food you consume. 1gram of carbohydrate supplies 4kcals of energy, while 1gram of protein also supplies 4kcals of energy. 1gram of fat supplies more than double the amount of energy from same quantity of carbohydrate or protein; a gram of fat gives 9kcals of energy.
If you are a sedentary male or female, you will need to ensure you are not providing more energy than your body needs per day. Doing this leads to excess energy being converted to fat and stored around organs and tissues in your body. A sedentary person is someone whose daily activities are very minimal and is not involved in a lot of movement or exertion of energy. For example, if a person drives or takes public transportation to work, and their job entails seating at their desk all day with no need for standing or lifting heavy load, then that explains a sedentary lifestyle.
Our body needs 17 vitamins and 24 minerals for various activities daily and the major way to ensure these needs are met is through food.
So how do you make sure you are eating right?
Food pyramid
The food pyramid is a diagrammatic description of how your plate should look like on a daily basis. It provides a pictorial analysis of healthy portions of food based on the different food groups. Following the food pyramid, you will be able to eat healthy and ensure you are providing the right quantity of nutrients needed for your body to function optimally.
At the bottom of the pyramid are fruits and vegetables; this means the portion of fruits and vegetables we consume daily should be the largest. Fruits and vegetables are major sources of vitamins and minerals and having them in large quantity in our meals ensures a healthy supply for body use.
The next food group that should have a larger portion in your meal plan is cereals and legumes like whole bread, pasta, potatoes, etc. these types of food provide a healthy quantity of carbohydrates required for body function. On the next level of the pyramid as you move higher, we have meat, fish, poultry, beans, etc. These are foods that are high in protein content and can provide a healthy supply as needed by our bodies.
Fats and oils should be taken in very small quantities and that is why they occupy a position on the pyramid that indicates this; while the smallest portion is for foods high in sugar and salt. Many staples foods across Africa fall into the category that produces high sugar; these are mainly roots and tuber sourced foods like garri, fufu, starch and yam. It is advised that these foods are not consumed daily, but maybe twice in a week.
If you are eating right, your plate and serving size will align with the recommendation of the food pyramid.
Know your nutrient needs based on age, gender, health status, BMI and health goals
Nutrition is individualistic. Each individual has different nutritional needs based on their age, gender, health status and BMI. Due to these variations, there is no straight jacket formula that can apply to every person. Although we stay within the guidelines of the food pyramid, each one of us needs certain nutrients more than others might need at a particular time. For example, children and adolescents need more carbohydrates and protein than adults and the elderly. This is because the activity level of children is higher therefore they expend a lot of energy. They also need more protein than adults because they are still growing, so they need a health supply for growth and development.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) of a person can also determine the quantity of nutrients they take in. If an individual falls in the underweight range of BMI, that person will be looking to take in more food so they can make up for the deficit of energy supply for their body. But a person, who has a BMI indicating overweight or obesity, will be advised to reduce energy intake or increase energy expenditure.
Also, a pregnant or lactating woman will need a larger supply of nutrients than a woman who is not pregnant or breastfeeding. So you can see that different factors can determine your nutrient needs, you need to know what category you fall into and the nutrients you need for optimal daily function. You are eating right if you are paying attention to your nutrient needs based on your age, gender and BMI.
Energy balance at all times
Remember that the food you eat provides energy for your body to function. This energy can either be inadequate, adequate or excessive. When you supply more energy than your body needs, or vice versa, there is an energy imbalance that can lead to either an underweight or overweight situation. The goal is to have a balance in energy intake and expenditure. I mentioned earlier that a sedentary male needs 2,400kcal or energy while a sedentary female needs 1,900kcal of energy for daily activities. Anything in excess of this can lead to an increase in adipose tissues (fat stores).
You are eating right if you are only providing the amount of energy your body needs to function optimally per day.
Cooking methods
The way we cook our food can compromise the nutrient quality of such foods. For example, frying foods can add a significant amount of calories compared to when same food is boiled. Asides the tendency to add calories to our foods, cooking methods can also reduce nutrient content of foods especially vegetables. Vegetables contain a lot of vitamins and if in the process of cooking you overheat them, you can lose over 50% of the vitamin content of those vegetables.
So, it is not enough to brag about following the food pyramid as a guideline for planning your meals, what you really need to pay attention to is whether your method of cooking in anyway reduces bio-availability of the nutrient content of that food in your plate.
I am hoping this article has helped you answer the question of whether you are eating right or not. If you realize that you are not eating right, it is not too late to start the journey to a healthy nutritional life.
If you will like to engage further do not hesitate to reach me on social media @NutriFitNG on Twitter and nutrifitng@gmail.com via email.
