Nutrition Summary

In closing this series of posts on specific nutrition components I'd like to give some general advice for planning your diet. My recommendation first and foremost is to sit down with a licensed dietitian, not some one who says they are a nutritionist, and plan out a diet that suits your needs. A diet is personal and it needs to take into consideration your lifestyle, your current health, and your goals.
That being said, my general recommendations are: First, know what your are eating. Keep track of the nutritional value of the foods you eat and the quantities you are consuming. It is difficult to pinpoint changes that should be made if you don't know what you are eating. Second, set some specific goals before you make changes to your diet. Simply saying you want to eat more healthy is not clear enough because foods are not that easily categorized as healthy or unhealthy. With specific goals defined you can then create a diet that will help you achieve those goals. Third, you don't have to follow a trendy diet plan. Just because your friends are all on the same diet or you heard one works great doesn't mean its the right one for you. You diet needs to be tailored to your body, your needs, and your goals. Remember your diet is not something you do for 3 months, meet your goals, and then stop. Following that model you will simply lose any benefits you may have attained in those 3 months. You need a diet that you can comfortably sustain for life. Fourth, supplements are not a quick fix and are probably not even necessary. Severe deficiencies are not particularly common among Americans. If you did find that you were lacking in some particular nutrient you could simply eat foods containing that nutrient rather than take a chemcially engineered pill. I can't tell you that supplements are harmful because I don't have any research to back that up. I will say that I don't see them as necessary and I personally would rather eat foods with the nutrients I need rather than try to get those nutrients from a chemically engineered pill.

I hope these posts on nutrition have been informative and have motivated you to give some serious consideration to your diet. I hope you find a diet that suits you and will help you achieve your health goals. Remember, diet and exercise are both huge components of your overall health, don't make the mistake of relying solely on one or the other. Use them in tandem to get the results you want.

Understanding Vitamins

Vitamins are defined as organic essential nutrients that are vital to life. Vitamins are broken into two groups, water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins enter directly into the blood when consumed and move about freely. These vitamins need to be eaten regularly and have less risk of reaching a toxic level because the body can get rid of some excess. The water-soluble vitamins are Vitamin C, and the B Vitamins (Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, B6, Folate, and B12). The fat-soluble vitamins are stored by the body and must be transported around by protein carriers. Because these vitamins are stored by the body with no excess being secreted they do not have to be consumed as regularly and there is more risk of reaching toxic levels. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K.
It is important to understand that vitamins do not provide the body with fuel or energy but they do play vital roles in the bodies many functions. Vitamins contribute to the health and function of the eyes, skin, teeth, nervous system, GI tract, blood, lungs, bones, protein synthesis, growth and reproduction, and the metabolic process. Vitamin deficiencies can cause some severe diseases and conditions, however the body’s vitamin needs can easily be met by eating a balanced diet. Vitamin supplements should only be taken if advised by a physician or a registered dietitian and only in cases where a dietary adjustment has not been able to correct a deficiency.