Health And Wellness Center: Basic nutrition: the immediate principles

Proteins, carbohydrates and fats make up the set of basic nutrients that everyone needs to your diet is healthy and balanced.

What are nutrients?

Foods contain hundreds of different substances, some of which have an important role in nutrition, as they are used in functions such as:

Produce the energy required for muscle activity and chemical reactions that sustain life.
Build the body, becoming part of its structure.
Help regulate metabolic functions.

These elements or substances known with the name nutrient, and daily necessities as they are distinguished in:

macronutrients, of which must be consumed in amounts of several grams a day (usually more than 100 g), and
micronutrients, of which smaller amounts are needed; among the latter are minerals, vitamins and trace elements that are part of the body in trace amounts, but they have important metabolic functions.

Proteins

From a chemical standpoint, proteins are formed by the union of several molecules of twenty different amino acids. Nine of the twenty amino acids can not be formed in the body and need to take them with food proteins: are the essential amino acids. Therefore proteins are essential in the diet.

Amino acids of proteins are necessary for the formation of all organs of the body and the molecules that regulate the functioning of the organism, as some hormones, or defend us from infections, such as antibodies. Each protein has an important function, and lack any alteration or illness occurs. A diet without adequate protein does not allow the development of growing animals and a diet without protein leads to death within a few months.

Proteins have a higher "biological quality" the more essential amino acids contain, and thus can keep the growth of animals more or less easily. If the protein is "high quality" are sufficient small amounts to maintain normal growth. As the quality decreases protein larger amounts are required to obtain the same effect.

Meat, fish, legumes and nuts have a 18% to 22% protein.
Cereals have a 6% to 10%, so both bread and breakfast cereals are not poor protein products.

Proteins with greater biological quality are of animal origin: eggs and milk, followed by meat and fish. Some vegetable proteins such as soybeans, have a biological quality next to the meat, while vegetables, nuts and grains have a lower quality.

Legumes are deficient in an amino acid, methionine, found in good quantities in cereals. These, in turn, are deficient in lysine, which is found in legumes. So when vegetable proteins from different sources are combined throughout the day, such as vegetables with rice or bread, they complement different foods and biological quality improves quality of dietary protein. A similar effect is obtained by mixing plant foods with small amounts of meat or dairy.

In addition to the plastic function of proteins to form part of the body, also they provide energy. One gram of protein provides 4 kilocalories. Foods rich in protein are usually high carbohydrate foods (cereals and pulses) or fat (nuts, some meats) why a diet rich in protein almost always on a high calorie diet.

Protein needs vary according to the stages of life

maximum during lactation: 2.43 g / kg in the first month of life, growth and decline thereafter (1.2 g / kg)
lower in adulthood (0.75 g / kg) and,
although no increase in the elderly, it is recommended them slightly increase its contribution. In women protein needs increase during pregnancy and lactation.

A diet like that is done in Spain contains a more than sufficient amount of protein (more than 100g) and do not need to take supplements even for athletes. They are only these supplements may be necessary in patients with certain diseases.