Food and Nutrition Facts

60-70 percent of your total body weight is water. Water is needed to store glucose for energy. Your body needs on average 2 litres of water each day (allowing for increases depending on temperature, activity levels, etc.) to maintain healthy bodily functions.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential for everyone. Each vitamin is responsible for a specific role within your body ranging from fat metabolism through to night vision. By eating a healthy balanced diet including foods from each of the five food groups you will supply your body with sufficient vitamin levels.

Minerals

Physical movement is impossible without minerals. Deficiencies in iron or calcium can result in low energy and tiredness. Minerals can be found in Meat, animal products, fruit, vegetables and grains.

Proteins

Proteins are made up from amino acids. There are two classifications of amino acids, essential and nonessential, out of the 24 different forms of amino acids there are 8 essential amino acids required by adults. Protein is essential within the body to provide the amino acids responsible for muscle growth and maintenance of body tissues.

Our diet provides us with two main sources of protein - animal proteins and plant proteins. Animal sources of protein include meat, fish, poultry, milk, eggs and milk products. Plant sources of protein include legumes, nuts, seeds, cereal and breads. Animal proteins provide all 8 of the essential amino acids required by adults but are high in fat, so choosing low fat products, removing fat before cooking or removing the skin from chicken is a smart choice. Plant proteins (although they are low in fat) are generally lacking in one or two of the essential amino acids but, whilst one plant protein may be lacking in essential amino acid L-valine and have high levels of the other 7 another will be lacking in L-leucine but have high levels of L-valine. So this can be overcome by selecting a variety of plant proteins in your diet.

Amino acids are not stored by the body in any large amounts, so it is vital that we eat enough protein each day to provide the body with the essential amino acids needed. Each adult should consume 1g of protein for each kg of body weight (therefore if you are 60kg you should consume 60g of protein per day).

Top 10 sources of Protein consisting of more than 20% protein and less than 20%fat.

• Soybeans
• Split Peas
• Kidney Beans
• Dried Whole Peas
• Wheat Germ
• Lima Beans
• Black-eyed Peas
• Lentils
• Black Beans
• Navy Beans

Fats

Although past trends have encouraged people to eliminate fats from their diets recent studies have shown that we need fats. Fats are responsible for carrying  fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E and K, they are a source of the essential fatty acids which maintain the functioning of cell membranes, and are a source of concentrated energy for your body. Not to mention the simple enjoyment gained from eating a piece of chocolate. Like all nutrients, fats are essential, that is the right types and amounts. Try to avoid Saturated fats like butter, bacon fat, cream, mayonnaise and full fat dairy products.  Fats should make up 20 percent of your daily caloric intake.

Top 10 Food high in saturated fats to avoid:

• Kidney
• Liver
• Egg Yolks
• Custard
• Coconut oil
• Butter
• Palm Oil
• Cream Cheese
• Whole-milk Products (Full cream milk, Full fat cheese)
• Fatty Meats (Bacon, Pork Sausage, Hot dogs, Bologna and hamburgers)

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple sugars and complex carbohydrates.

The main types of simple sugars are:

• glucose (found in all plants and animals),
• fructose (ie fruits and honey),
• sucrose (ie table sugar) and
• lactose (ie dairy products).

Although these simple sugars are sweet in taste, they provide little to no other nutrients.

Complex carbohydrates are primarily found in grains, legumes and plants. They consist of three or more simple sugars bound together ie starch is the result of many glucose molecules grouped together. Complex Carbohydrates are harder for the body to breakdown ready for digestion therefore providing a slow, even flow of energy

Top 10 sources of Carbohydrate consisting of more than 70% carbohydrate and less than 5%fat.