Building a Healthy Diet - Essay Example

How to build a healthy diet Building a health diet depends on a carefully planned nutrition, for the provision ofa balanced diet. This means having the right food types, the right amount of food, and the right amount of drinks to provide proper nutrition. A well-balanced diet ensures provision of energy and nutrients for maintenance of various body activities such as tissue and organ repair, cell formation and optimal growth and development. The required nutrients include proteins for essential growth, formation of cells and repair of tissues and muscles, carbohydrates for energy, vitamins for various chemical processes in the body, minerals for development of bones and maintenance of several functions. Water is also important for transport of nutrients since it forms 60% of the body. The others are fats and roughage, which act as a source of energy and provide a healthy digestive system respectively (LAngley-Evans, 2009:9). Nutrition from preconception to birth Nutritional balance at pre-conception is essential since it determines the health of the fetus and the mother during pregnancy. Nutritional supplementation during this period can prevent risks associated with pregnancy such as miscarriage, poor fetal development, stillbirth, premature birth, low infant birth weight, and other complications such as birth defects and preeclampsia. During the reproductive years, both women and men alike require nutrient supplementation. Research shows that food nutrition improves fertility in both men and women. A woman should maintain a balanced diet composed of fruits, whole grains, vegetables, lean meats, and dairy products. This provides all the named nutrients necessary for reproductive health. Even though, women require all the named nutrients for a healthy body, there are special nutrients required for preparation of a healthy woman during pregnancy. These include iron, calcium, folic acid, zinc, and fatty acids (LAngley-Evans, 2009:11). Folic acid is vitamin B essential to women in reduction of likelihood of birth defects such as neural tube defects. The nutrient is freely available in leafy vegetables like spinach and fruits. It is also plenty in, legumes whole grains, nuts and cereals. The intake of this nutrient should double during pregnancy. Fatty acids are essential for fetal development since they promote cellular, tissue and organ growth. They are vital nutrients that cater for the increased metabolic and nutritional demand during the nine-month gestation period. The nutrient is in plenty in fish, but supplemental provision with Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA, will cater for the need (Bernstein & Luggen, 2010:49). Iron stores of most women are low, because of the monthly menstruation that takes place. Iron prevents the occurrence of deficiencies such as anemia during pregnancy. Women should take diet high in iron to prepare the body for the provision of fetal needs when pregnant. Iron has many sources, which include leafy vegetables such as kales, broccoli, and cabbage, legumes, red meats such as beef, mutton and liver and white meat such as fish, sardines, and oysters and poultry and pork. Zinc is another essential nutrient required for strong fetal immunity and growth. Zinc deficiency in pregnant women can cause feta-maternal complications such as neural tube defects, low birth weight, spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, and pre-eclampsia. The mother can suffer excessive vaginal bleeding at birth, uterine inertia and pregnancy induced hypertension (Bernstein & Luggen, 2010:51). Zinc is plenty in white meat such as oysters and fish and in broccoli, beets, lentils, watercress, and cereals such as wheat. Zinc is essential to both men and women as it promotes spermatogenesis and testosterone production in men and ovulation and fertility in women. Calcium is necessary if a woman considers getting pregnant. Lack of calcium in the diet, forces the fetus to use the calcium in mothers bones, exposing the mother to risk of getting osteoporosis later in life. A woman should consume 1000 milligrams of calcium before pregnancy and an additional of 400 milligrams during pregnancy. Calcium is plenty in natural sources such as rice, sardines, salmon, milk, and other dairy product such as low fat yoghurt and cheese (Bernstein & Luggen, 2010:52). Dietary needs during childhood Childhood nutrition caters for the nutritional needs of a child from 2 years to 11 years. In the early childhood from 2 years and above, their nutritional and energy needs change because of growth spurts. There is a need to cater for child’s growth and developmental needs at this age because of reduced appetite in most children and slow growth rate. At middle childhood, there is an increase in physical activity and growth and the child requires more energy intake in their diet. Plenty provision of carbohydrates is essential, since the children are highly active. Active children require about 60% of energy from carbohydrates. They also require about 30% fats for the provision of energy and 15% proteins for bodybuilding (Rigo, 2006:23). There is more protein requirement in childhood than in adults because of the required growth. Even though the child’s diet should have sufficient energy, it should prevent excessive gain of weight. The foods provided should have high nutrient to calorie ratio and moderate to prevent too much delivery of dietary constituent. The diet should contain fresh fruits, which provide adequate vitamins and fiber, vegetables for vitamins, fiber and minerals, lean protein from meat, eggs, legumes, nuts, fish, soy products and other sources of meat. They require carbohydrates in plenty, from cereals and whole grains such us oatmeal, wheat products, white rice and white bread. Whole grains also contain fiber, which help in prevention of diseases such as childhood diabetes and heart problems. Refined grains lack fiber (Insel, 2012:32) Adulthood Nutrition Nutrition for adults varies according to gender, occupation, sexuality, and health. An athlete has more energy requirements than a nonathletic, a pregnant woman has higher mineral requirement than the rest do, the same for an adolescent woman who require more iron than a boy does, because of menstruation. Adults need to strike a balance in their nutritional requirements. There is a need to balance intake of energy with level of physical activity. Excessive intake will lead to storage of excess fat, leading to complications such as obesity diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Bernstein & Luggen, 2010:55). Adults require more vitamins and minerals in their diet than all other nutrients. However, their energy requirements vary depending on physical activity. Vitamins regulate metabolism and maintains the body functions such as respiration and growth in adolescents. Minerals regulate functioning of various systems such as enzyme system and hormonal system. The Department of Agriculture in the United States, has proposed a pyramid for an adult’s diet. An adult diet should include whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat milk for calcium, lean protein from meat and beans and oil and fats. The preferred meat is white meat like fish and poultry. Most oils can come from fish, nuts, and vegetables (Bernstein & Luggen, 2010:56). Elderly Nutrition The nutrition for elderly people requires special attention because of complications that come with aging. There is a need to consider their poor dental formula, diminished appetite, physical difficulty and effects of medication. Diminished appetite is a common thing in the elderly because of decline of senses such as taste, smell. This means that the diet for the elderly must have soft, tasty, and well appetizing meals. However, the caregivers of the seniors should consider nutritional balance. Even though they require while grains, fruits, proteins and vegetables to maintain or improve the general health, they still additional nutrients in their diet. These include calcium and vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids. Calcium and vitamin D are essential for maintenance of healthy bones, and lowering of blood pressure. The elderly require about 1200 milligrams of calcium every day. Omega 3 fatty acids are effective in reduction of heart diseases and prevention of arthritis and cancer. These fatty acids are plenty in flaxseed oil, fish and in supplements. An elderly should take them twice a week (Strallhofer, 2010:67). Vegetarian Diets Planning the diet of a vegetarian depends on the type of vegetarian a person is. The four types of vegetarian diets include lacto-vegetarian diet, which should exclude meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and foods containing them. The diet instead should include dairy products. Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet should exclude meat, fish, and poultry but include dairy products and eggs. Ovo-vegetarian diet should exclude meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, and foods containing these products. The diet should have plant foods such as vegetables, legumes such as dried beans, grains, fruits, and nuts. Their diet should have high protein content, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B12 (Mangels et al 2011:34). In conclusion building a health diet depends on a carefully planned nutrition, for the provision of a balanced diet. This essay has discussed nutritional balance, nutrition from preconception to birth, dietary needs during childhood, adulthood nutrition, elderly nutrition, and vegetarian diet. The most essential nutrients from preconception to birth are folic acid, iron, calcium, and zinc. The nutrients during childhood include carbohydrates and proteins for energy and growth respectively. Adults require more vitamins and minerals in their diet than all other nutrients. However, their energy requirements vary depending on physical activity. The elderly require more of calcium and vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids. The diet of a vegetarian should excludes animal proteins depending on the type of vegetarian and should include high protein content, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamin B12. Bibliography Bernstein, M., & Luggen, A. S. 2010. Nutrition for the older adult. Sudbury: Mass, Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Insel, P. M., & Insel, P. M. 2012. Discovering nutrition. Burlington: MA, Jones & Bartlett Learning. LAngley-Evans, S. C. 2009. Nutrition: a lifespan approach. Chichester U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. Mangels, R., Messina, V., & Messina, M. 2011. The dietitian's guide to vegetarian diets: issues and applications. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Rigo, J. 2006. Protein and energy requirements in infancy and childhood. Basel: Karger. Strallhofer, G. 2010. Aspects of Community Nutrition for Elderly Patients. Munchen: Grin Verlag GmbH. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-2010091413500 Read More