By Phil Hueston
Nutrients are the components in food that your body uses to repair tissue, maintain a disease-free body and to provide enrgy to move, think and, well, simply remain alive! Good news: you can get the nutrients your body needs from the food you eat, with minimal supplementation, in most cases.
All six primary nutrients needed by the body are available from food sources. Their availability varies by food and nutrient in question. These primary nutrients are: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. All six are required for the body’s systems to work well. Repeat: all 6 are needed by your body!
Let’s talk about the dietary “bad guy:” FATS! YUK! Did you realize that some fats are actually “good guys?”
Fat is needed in the body for several reasons, including:
As a support for brain activity.
As a source of energy.
To allow the body to use proteins to repair and build many cells.
As an insulator and as a cushion for your organs.
As a component in the repair of blood vessels and nerve sheaths and linings.
So, fat has a role in optimal health! The key is to get the right fats, in the right amounts in your diet in order to allow needed biological processes to occur, while preventing excess fat from “going to waist” (or hips, thighs, butt or anywhere else!)
Fatty Acids are components of fats, and are split into 2 groups: essential and non-essential. Essential fatty acids, also called EFA’s are all over the media these days. They come in twon principle types: Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s. These fats you need and want in your diet!
Other fats, like saturated fats, have significantly less biological value. These are found in butter, fried foods, many cheeses and in fatty cuts of red meat. They are solids at room temperature, and for many of us, lodge “solidly” in places we’d rather they didn’t! As fo hydrogenated fats and trans-fats? Well, let’s just treat them like the poisonous enemies they are and leave it at that!
So where do we find the “good guy” fats, Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s?
Foods that contain thes types of fats include:
-Unprocessed green vegetables, including spinach, kale and dark salad greens
-Fish, especially deep or cold-water fishes like Salmon and Tuna
-Poultry
-Egg Yolks
-Lean meat and eggs
Many seeds, nuts and oils such as pure virgin olive oil, canola oil and fish oils (for most of us, Krill oil is a better, “fish-burp” free choice. Here’s a great source for Krill Oil: http://allstarsportsacademy.getprograde.com/ICON
As a happy coincidence, many sources of Omega 3 and 6 EFA’s are also good sources of protein!
In order to support your efforts to reach your ideal weight and/or body shape:
Avoid adding fats to foods, even while cooking, such as butter and margarine
Avoid fried foods (duh!)
Use low fat or fat free natural cheese instead of high fat cheeses
Trim excess fat off of meats before cooking
Getting enough of the right fats in your diet is as important as avoiding the wrong kind. Be sure to include foods high in essential fatty acids and you are likely to both feel and see the results!
Phil Hueston, IYCA Youth Fitness Specialist NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist All-Star Sports Academy Toms River, NJ
732-597-3725
Phil is responsible for designing & implementing programs for kids & youth athletes in the areas of strength, speed, agility, power, sports performance & injury prevention. In the past 8 years, he has worked with over 50 All-County & All-Shore athletes, 20 All-State athletes, 11 Division I scholarship athletes. He has also worked with professional athletes in several sports, including the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft!
He has also helped hundreds of people reach their goal weight and body shape, while feeling better than ever before!
All-Star Sports Academy is the recognized leader in the sports performance training & youth fitness fields. They’ve been called on by high schools, colleges, AAU, Pop Warner, Little League, Cal Ripken & club sports organizations to design fun & effective programming to improve athletic & sports-specific skill sets.
Contact All-Star for a free one week trial in FitKidz! Sports Fitness, Small Group Training for Athletes or Power Fitness Camp for Women! Coaches can ask about Team Training services.
http://www.allstarsportsacademynj.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Hueston
Technorati Tags: hips thighs, essential fatty acids, hydrogenated fats, principle types, saturated fats, trans fats, vitamins minerals, omega 6, omega 3, brain activity, biological value, fried foods, optimal health, sheaths, food sources, source of energy, insulator, red meat, biological processes, good guys