We all should eat foods with nutrients. It is a good idea to know all the nutrition facts of the foods you buy. Make a habit of reading the food labels on the product to know the nutrition facts of the product. You should buy the things which are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and foods high in dietary fiber, vitamins and mineral. Keep in mind that you should be eating a balanced diet according to food pyramid. Have a variety. No single food can supply all nutrients you need. For example, oranges do not have vitamin B12 but have vitamin C, whereas cheese has no vitamin C but contains vitamin B12.
If we are deficient in any nutrient, then we will soon fall sick. Even our nails can reveal the deficiency of nutrition.
Some foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains have good nutrition but are relatively low in calories. These are good foods to eat. Foods high in both sugars and fat provide calories but may be low in vitamins, minerals and fiber. So you should avoid such foods.
Many people have misconceptions on certain food nutrition as given below:
You should not eat fat as all fats are bad:Wrong. Fat is an essential requirement for our body. However, fat consumption in excess is not good. Note that all fats are not bad. Saturated fats and trans fats are bad, whereas monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good. Eating 45 gram (1.5 ounces) nuts per day along with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease, according the FDA.
Nuts are fattening:Wrong. Nuts are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and plant sterols which lower LDL cholesterol.
Brown sugar is harmless:Wrong. The brown sugar and white sugar contain almost the same nutrition. The brown sugar is nothing but white sugar with added molasses. Some make of dark brown sugar having properties similar to jaggery (gud is good.
Don't eat sugar, it will cause diabetes:Wrong. Type 2 diabetes is caused due to an inactive lifestyle, excessive body weight and a high fat diet. If you don't have diabetes, eating sugar will not make you diabetic. However, if you have diabetes, then you should control your suage intake.
Nutrition Values
Nutrient Dense Foods
The foods that provide adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals with few calories are known as nutrient dense foods. Foods that are low in nutrient density supply calories but only small amounts of nutrients, or none at all.
Sugars, alcohol and saturated and trans fats provide provide little, if any, of the essential nutrients but gives unnecessary calories.
The following pages give detailed nutrition values of a variety of food items including fast foods, Indian home made foods, Indian ready to eat (ready made) foods and other foods.
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