Importance of Macronutrients
Healthy eating is one of the most important external environmental factors that influence the body, one of the most important components of health and quality of life.
A diet rich in calories, fats, sweets, along with alcohol consumption, smoking, and being sedentary are risk factors for health that lead to the appearance of so-called modern diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis with its clinical manifestations: myocardial infarction, strokes, chronic artery disease of the lower limbs.
Poor nutrition in certain economic circumstances represents a public health problem.
The most consistent and best-proven concept in the history of nutritional science is that a combination of a nutrient-rich diet and a reduced caloric intake produces resistance and longevity.
Health=Nutrients/Calories. (Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Super Immunity)
This equation supports that health will improve as the consumption of foods with high nutrient density per calorie increases.
White flour or refined cereals such as those found in sweetened breakfast cereals, soft drinks, sweets, and even fruit juices stimulate weight gain, lead to the onset of diabetes, and increase triglyceride and cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of myocardial infarction.
Moreover, these processed foods with low nutrient content suppress immune function, increasing the risk of infections and cancer.
The consumption of calories devoid of the beneficial presence of antioxidants, vitamins, and phytochemical compounds which leads to the accumulation of waste products at cellular level. When white bread or other processed foods lacking sufficient plant-derived micronutrients are consumed, the body cannot eliminate dead cellular waste. When cells lack the raw material necessary for normal functioning, we age prematurely and begin to be exposed to diseases.
The three macronutrients: fats, carbohydrates, and proteins provide calories.
The key component to ensuring an incredible state of health is the consumption of as many vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, legumes, and other nutrient-rich foods as possible.
The larger the quantities you consume of these foods, the better the body’s nutrient needs will be covered.
The most nutrient-rich and calorie-poor foods that prolong life are green vegetables. They form the basis of nutrition-oriented diet.
Consuming large amounts of foods along the nutrient density line is important, but we also need sufficient nutritional variety to meet all the nutritional needs of the body.
Six simple rules for a strong immune system, rules that would be beneficial to keep in mind in everyday life:
- Quality protein.
- A large salad every day.
- A half-cup serving of beans/vegetables in soup, salad, or other dishes once a day.
- A moderate serving of fresh fruit per day, berries, pomegranates, cherries, or seasonal fruits consumed in the first part of the day.
- At least 30 g of raw nuts and seeds per day.
- A large (double) serving of green vegetables per day, whether raw, steamed, in soups, or dishes.
Five deadly foods:
- Grilled meat, processed meat, and commercial red meat.
- Fried foods.
- Whole dairy products (cheese, ice cream, butter, whole milk) and trans fats (margarine).
- Soft drinks, sugar, and artificial sweeteners.
- White flour products.
