Nutrients For Your Body During the teenage years, your body will grow more rapidly than it has at any other time since you were an infant. That makes it important for you to eat the foods your body needs to grow, develop, and work properly. Nutrition is the science that studies how the body makes use of the substances in food and how and why people eat the way they do.

A Balanced Diet Are you following a diet? Yes, you are! Everyone follows a diet. Your diet is everything you regularly eat and drink. Although people usually think of a diet as a plan to lose weight, that is only one kind of diet. A healthy diet provides all the nutrients you need. Nutrients are the substances in food that your body needs. To have a healthy, balanced diet, you must eat the right amounts of 6 nutrients.

The Six Categories of Nutrients Carbohydrates Proteins Fats Vitamins Minerals Water Some of these nutrients provide energy and others help your body work properly.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your body. Simple carbohydrates are found in fruits, milk, and table sugar. Complex carbohydrates are found in bread, rice, and pasta. The fiber found in many complex carbohydrates helps the digestive process.

Proteins Proteins are essential for the growth and repair of body cells. Proteins are made up of amino acids, some of which your body can produce on its own and some of which you must take in through diet (essential amino acids). Foods (from animal sources) that contain all the essential amino acids are called complete. You may get a complete protein by adding two incomplete proteins- rice and beans, for example.

Fats Fats are another source of energy. Your body depends on fats cells for energy storage and protection against temperature changes. Fats also carry certain vitamins in your bloodstream and help keep your skin healthy. But as you know, eating too much fat will cause weight gain and may lead to other health problems.

Vitamins Vitamins are substances that help regulate body functions. For example, vitamins help your body fight infection. Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble or fat- soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body’s fat cells. Water-soluble vitamins leave the body in your urine, therefore they must be replaced daily.

Minerals Minerals are elements that help your body work properly. Calcium and phosphorus, for example, strengthen bones, keep muscles healthy, and help your heart beat regularly. Several minerals allow the body to use the other types of nutrients.

Water Water is essential to life. Water carries nutrients around your body. It also helps with digestion, removes wastes, and cools you off. You should drink 6-8 glasses of water per day minimum, more if you are an athlete.

What is your RDA? To help people eat wisely, scientists have developed guidelines for the amount of each nutrient to be eaten each day. These guidelines are called the Recommended Dietary Allowances or RDA. How can you be sure to get your RDA’s? Start reading food labels! A food label lists a food’s main nutrients and tell what percentage of the average person’s RDA is in each serving.

The Food Guide Pyramid The Food Guide Pyramid is a guideline to help you choose what and how much to eat to get the nutrients you need. The pyramid was developed by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, with the help of the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Watching What You Eat There is an old saying, “failing to plan is planning to fail”. Planning ahead is the key to a healthy diet. When people don’t plan their meals, they are more likely to eat something “quick” but unhealthy. Remember that how foods are prepared makes a big difference in their nutritional content. Bake, broil, barbeque, or steam- but try to avoid fried foods as much as possible.

Fiber Fiber is the tough, stringy part of raw fruits, vegetables, wheat, and other grains that you cannot digest. Fiber is not a nutrient, but it helps carry food and wastes through your body. You should eat at least 20 grams of fiber per day to keep your digestive system healthy.

Limiting Certain Foods You should avoid foods that are high in trans fats, saturated fats, cholesterol, caffeine, and/or sugar. Trans fats were once healthy fats that were made into unhealthy fats. Saturated fats and cholesterol are found in animal products. They can lead to heart disease, as well as other health problems.

Limiting Certain Foods (cont.) Too much sodium makes your body hold excess fluid, and can also lead to high blood pressure. Too much caffeine can cause your heart to beat rapidly or irregularly. It can also hurt your sleep cycle if consumed too close to bedtime. Too much sugar contributes to obesity, tooth decay, and mood swings.

Maintaining A Healthy Weight Are you concerned about your weight? Have you compared yourself to others? This is not very productive since their body types may be very different from yours. Your weight is probably just right for you at this time in your life. Trying to gain or lose a lot of weight can interfere with your normal growth and development. If you are concerned about your weight, ask your doctor for advice. S/he will be able to suggest a plan that is good for you.

Calories A calorie is a measure of the energy available in foods. The calories in foods provide energy for your daily activities. To maintain your weight, the calories you eat must equal the calories you burn as energy. If you eat more calories than your body uses, the extra energy is stored as fat. About 3,500 extra calories equals one pound of body fat.

Controlling Your Weight The amount you weight depends on how many calories you eat and how much you exercise. Heredity may also play a small role. The healthiest way to lose weight is to take in fewer calories and exercise more. Then you will burn the calories you take in and they will not be stored as fat.

Controlling Your Weight (cont.) Exercise is also important when you want to gain weight. It helps build muscle instead of fat. Muscle tissue is denser than fat and weighs more than fat. Therefore, a person who is exercising regularly could actually gain a few pounds but have their clothes fit looser. This is because the person gained muscle but lost fat.