You’ve heard it a million times: You need to eat right. The question is, what exactly makes up “right” eating? It’s not just about cutting back on junk food and ensuring you’re getting enough calories (although that’s certainly part of it).
Eating well means ensuring your body gets all vital nutrients, from vitamins and minerals to proteins and carbs, for optimal performance. You should also consider taking blue green algae powder to maintain optimal micronutrients level.
That said, no two people have the same nutritional needs, so we asked registered dietitian-nutritionists how they recommend adding certain types of food into our diets for maximum health benefits. Here are six nutrients you should consider adding to your diet more regularly.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential for normal growth and development. They’re also necessary for energy production, cell growth and repair, and the formation of hormones and red blood cells.
Vitamin A is important for vision, skin health, reproduction, and cell growth. You can find it in green leafy vegetables like collard greens or kale, orange fruits like mangoes, and eggs from free-range hens.
Vitamin B6 helps form red blood cells by regulating homocysteine levels (an amino acid). You can get your daily requirements from pork loin chops or tuna canned in water. Taking blue-green algae powder with your balanced diet can also help you get the daily recommended dose of Vitamin-B complex.
Minerals
Minerals play a crucial role in the body, as they help with nerve impulses and muscle contraction. They also contribute to bone growth and development.
Calcium: Calcium is essential for healthy teeth and maintaining strong bones. It’s vital for properly functioning your heart and muscles and for regulating blood sugar levels.
Magnesium: This mineral helps maintain healthy blood pressure levels, contributes to energy production within our cells, and aids digestion by helping us break down food properly so we can absorb nutrients from it. If you check out this dentist Vineland, they’ll also tell you that magnesium is critical in building strong teeth and bones as it helps in the effective absorption of calcium.
Potassium: This mineral helps control blood pressure levels because it keeps sodium from building up inside your cells. This ensures that fluid stays outside the cell where it belongs instead of penetrating the cell walls (which could lead to hypertension)
Carbohydrates
Carbs are the body’s main energy source, and arefound in many foods. These include bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, and starchy vegetables. Carbohydrates can be broken down into simple (sugar glucose) and complex carbohydrates (starches).
The body quickly digests simple carbs, raising blood sugar levels while they cause your body to release insulin to bring them down again.
Also, your body slowly digests complex carbs. They release their sugars more gradually into the bloodstream, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. So you’re better off eating complex carbs in your diet and avoiding simple carbs as much as possible.
Fats
Fats are essential to your diet as they provide energy and help the body absorb nutrients. Fats also cushion and protect organs, carry fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), keep skin healthy and hair shiny, insulate body organs against heat loss or gain, and allow for efficient absorption of certain vitamins like A and D.
Fat can be either saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fats (the kind found in animal products) raise blood cholesterol levels, while unsaturated fats do not. Unsaturated fats are found in fish, nuts/seeds/vegetable oils.
Proteins
Proteins are the building blocks of cells and tissues and are essential for the growth, development, and maintaining muscle. Proteins are made up of amino acids, which the body can’t make on its own.
The best way to get these amino acids is through food. Protein is found in meat, fish, poultry, eggs, legumes (beans), nuts, and seeds.
Fiber
The body needs fiber for proper digestion and to maintain a healthy weight. Fiber helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar and can even prevent heart disease.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. The former dissolves in water, while the latter doesn’t. So the body does not absorb it but acts as a bulking agent that aids digestion.
Final Word
We hope this blog post helped you understand what nutrients are and how they can help your diet. It’s important to be aware of the types of food that have these nutrients in them so that you can choose wisely when planning meals or shopping for groceries.