Need help about nutrition and dieting.

xFitnessFlirt
xFitnessFlirt Posts: 128
edited January 9 in Food and Nutrition
Beaware this is going to require a long answer so I hope you take the time out to help me out. Thank you!

So basically I want to know what all the nutrition info mean like for example. Carbs, can you tell me the pros and cons to carbs and why they either good or bad for your body and what they do. And what are good alternative foods to eat with good carbs. Does carbs make you retain water? Does it store more stomach fat? Does it convert to sugar like I heard? Things like that, I want to know facts like that, but not just for carbs but for all the nutrition info like sodium, fats, trans fat, sugar, protein etc. Also tell me which ones I should avoid or get more or less of.

I am clueless when it comes to knowing what foods to eat and what are healthy and whats not. Sometimes I may think something healthy but later I find out it's really not.

So if you could make like a little list of what each of those do to your body and why its good and bad I would really appreciate it, that why I can always look back and see if the choice I'm making are good for my body.

If it'll help I'll open up my diary and you can help me that way too!

Thank you so much! :)

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    To describe all that would be lengthy indeed. If you told us your fitness goals, we might be able to tailor our responses better. Is your main goal to loose weight, ward of future health problems, "feel" better every day, or what? Whether something is "good" for YOU depends on YOUR goals. For instance, red wine is "good" for people at risk for heart attacks but "bad" for people at risk for breast cancer.
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    Hi, did your internet break? Just checking, because that's where most of us got our info.
  • princessd84
    princessd84 Posts: 121 Member
    Okay, this is really watered down but hope it helps a bit...

    Carbohydrates are vital for giving us energy. About 33% of what we eat should be foods high in carbs (e.g. bread, potatoes, rice etc). There are a lot of myths about carbs being "bad" for you and will make you put weight on. This is absolute nonsense - I can only assume it stems from diets like Atkins. Carbs will only make you put weight on if you eat more than you need, for example, if you eat two rounds of bread with every meal without taking into account the calories.

    Protein is for growth and repair. You actually need less protein than you would probably assume, but you do need make sure you get your daily requirements. If you are looking to build muscle you will want to increase your protein intake. As well as meat, eggs and beans are good sources of protein.

    A small amount of fat is needed in every diet. Try and avoid saturated fats and trans fats as these are the "bad" fats. Good sources of fat come from natural foods such as nuts, seeds and avocado.

    As a woman, you will also need to make sure that you achieve your recommended calcium intake, to help protect against osteoporosis in later life.
  • xFitnessFlirt
    xFitnessFlirt Posts: 128
    To describe all that would be lengthy indeed. If you told us your fitness goals, we might be able to tailor our responses better. Is your main goal to loose weight, ward of future health problems, "feel" better every day, or what? Whether something is "good" for YOU depends on YOUR goals. For instance, red wine is "good" for people at risk for heart attacks but "bad" for people at risk for breast cancer.

    i want to lose weight and get more tone if that helps. and get rid of fat on my stomach and thighs.
  • xFitnessFlirt
    xFitnessFlirt Posts: 128
    Okay, this is really watered down but hope it helps a bit...

    Carbohydrates are vital for giving us energy. About 33% of what we eat should be foods high in carbs (e.g. bread, potatoes, rice etc). There are a lot of myths about carbs being "bad" for you and will make you put weight on. This is absolute nonsense - I can only assume it stems from diets like Atkins. Carbs will only make you put weight on if you eat more than you need, for example, if you eat two rounds of bread with every meal without taking into account the calories.

    Protein is for growth and repair. You actually need less protein than you would probably assume, but you do need make sure you get your daily requirements. If you are looking to build muscle you will want to increase your protein intake. As well as meat, eggs and beans are good sources of protein.

    A small amount of fat is needed in every diet. Try and avoid saturated fats and trans fats as these are the "bad" fats. Good sources of fat come from natural foods such as nuts, seeds and avocado.

    As a woman, you will also need to make sure that you achieve your recommended calcium intake, to help protect against osteoporosis in later life.

    even though its summarized its really helpful, thanks a lot!
  • princessd84
    princessd84 Posts: 121 Member
    No probs :)
  • jmoorman83
    jmoorman83 Posts: 17 Member
    Your body needs all things to a certain point. Carbs for energy , fat for brain function, sodium & potassium work together for fluid balance. The list can go on & on. It takes those with medical/nutrition degrees years to learn most body needs. What your asking is very
    complex. Google your questions 1 by 1. You never know who is going to answer your questions and be correct . Mayor clinic has a very good website.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    There are 4 kinds of "macronutrients." 3 of them are necessary to survive. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats.

    Carbohydrates
    Fuel our body's movements and functions. When we eat carbohydrates, it gets broken down into glucose -- a simple sugar molecule. This glucose gets used for a lot of the body's function. Mainly, to make energy. No sugar means your brain cannot think, your muscles cannot contract, your organs don't work. EVERYTHING your body does is fueled by glucose. Unfortunately, we can't be hooked up to a constant supply of glucose, so our bodies have TONS of ways of storing glucose in places and turning other things into glucose to fuel our chemical reactions -- it will turn fat and protein into glucose in order to make those chemical reactions happen. Also unfortunately, glucose is so VITAL to EVERYTHING we do, our body is loathe to just poop it out the other end. It thinks we might need it in the future. So we are very efficient at storing it and our brains are very good at telling us to eat it (even when the mirror tells us something different). A low blood sugar (low amount of glucose molecules in your blood) can also cause a bad mood.

    Proteins
    Help with building our bodies' structures. Proteins are long chains of things called amino acids. These amino acids are used in a bunch of chemical reactions in the body, but one of the main things about protein is it's what our cell are made of. No protein=no cells. And we need our cells healthy and strong. Luckily, our body can synthesize a lot of necessary proteins from other things. BUT there are these things called "essential amino acids" that we must consume, we can't make them on our own. To build and maintain muscle, you should have an adequate supply of protein in your diet. Our bodies don't care as much about capturing ALL the protein we eat. If we eat too much of it, we poop it out, in general. If we eat too much of it AND don't exercise, then some of it will, unfortunately for the way we look in the mirror, get stored as fat. To our bodies, this is a good thing. To our reflection in the mirror, we want to avoid that. So, eat a lot of protein, but make sure to be doing things that require protein (IE using your muscles). That way, your body won't store the protein you eat as excess fat.

    Fats
    Also called lipids. We don't need much fat to live. But we do need some. Our nerves won't function without it. Lipids help store all the other nutrients. Our bodies can synthesize a lot of the lipids we need from other sources, but the best sources of lipids are the mono and poly unsaturated lipids. We also need lipids for proper hormone function. If we don't get enough lipids, we get in bad moods and our reproductive systems won't work and our nerves won't fire.
  • xFitnessFlirt
    xFitnessFlirt Posts: 128
    There are 4 kinds of "macronutrients." 3 of them are necessary to survive. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats.

    Carbohydrates
    Fuel our body's movements and functions. When we eat carbohydrates, it gets broken down into glucose -- a simple sugar molecule. This glucose gets used for a lot of the body's function. Mainly, to make energy. No sugar means your brain cannot think, your muscles cannot contract, your organs don't work. EVERYTHING your body does is fueled by glucose. Unfortunately, we can't be hooked up to a constant supply of glucose, so our bodies have TONS of ways of storing glucose in places and turning other things into glucose to fuel our chemical reactions -- it will turn fat and protein into glucose in order to make those chemical reactions happen. Also unfortunately, glucose is so VITAL to EVERYTHING we do, our body is loathe to just poop it out the other end. It thinks we might need it in the future. So we are very efficient at storing it and our brains are very good at telling us to eat it (even when the mirror tells us something different). A low blood sugar (low amount of glucose molecules in your blood) can also cause a bad mood.

    Proteins
    Help with building our bodies' structures. Proteins are long chains of things called amino acids. These amino acids are used in a bunch of chemical reactions in the body, but one of the main things about protein is it's what our cell are made of. No protein=no cells. And we need our cells healthy and strong. Luckily, our body can synthesize a lot of necessary proteins from other things. BUT there are these things called "essential amino acids" that we must consume, we can't make them on our own. To build and maintain muscle, you should have an adequate supply of protein in your diet. Our bodies don't care as much about capturing ALL the protein we eat. If we eat too much of it, we poop it out, in general. If we eat too much of it AND don't exercise, then some of it will, unfortunately for the way we look in the mirror, get stored as fat. To our bodies, this is a good thing. To our reflection in the mirror, we want to avoid that. So, eat a lot of protein, but make sure to be doing things that require protein (IE using your muscles). That way, your body won't store the protein you eat as excess fat.

    Fats
    Also called lipids. We don't need much fat to live. But we do need some. Our nerves won't function without it. Lipids help store all the other nutrients. Our bodies can synthesize a lot of the lipids we need from other sources, but the best sources of lipids are the mono and poly unsaturated lipids. We also need lipids for proper hormone function. If we don't get enough lipids, we get in bad moods and our reproductive systems won't work and our nerves won't fire.

    thanks this if very informative but about the carbs, should I avoid it or eat less? seems like we need it but dont want too much right?
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    In order to decide for yourself, you have to do some research. Are the things a low carb diet deigned to counteract things you actually have an issue with? This is mostly binge eating and cravings. Do you have any of the health issues that would make wheat free, gluten free or yeast free necessary for you?

    Perhaps sticking to whole grains would be a better choice for you?
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Beaware this is going to require a long answer so I hope you take the time out to help me out. Thank you!

    So basically I want to know what all the nutrition info mean like for example. Carbs, can you tell me the pros and cons to carbs and why they either good or bad for your body and what they do. And what are good alternative foods to eat with good carbs. Does carbs make you retain water? Does it store more stomach fat? Does it convert to sugar like I heard? Things like that, I want to know facts like that, but not just for carbs but for all the nutrition info like sodium, fats, trans fat, sugar, protein etc. Also tell me which ones I should avoid or get more or less of.

    I am clueless when it comes to knowing what foods to eat and what are healthy and whats not. Sometimes I may think something healthy but later I find out it's really not.

    So if you could make like a little list of what each of those do to your body and why its good and bad I would really appreciate it, that why I can always look back and see if the choice I'm making are good for my body.

    If it'll help I'll open up my diary and you can help me that way too!

    Thank you so much! :)

    I'd have to write many thousand word essay to answer all that! Dietetics is a massive subject, the human body is an incredibly complex organism and nutrients affect every aspect of our biology and health. All macro and micro nutrients have a place in a healthy diet, the key is balance and portion control. Carbs help your muscles remain hydrated, 1g of the fuel glycogen is stored alongside 3g water. If you want to learn about this in more detail don't ask mostly unqualified people on a forum, get an college or degree level textbook (NOT a commercial diet book) from the library or read relatively unbiased online sources like university lecture notes or government factsheets.
    http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

    Carbs are either single sugar molecules, sugar dimers or chains of sugars which the body 'chops up' into single sugars then converts to glucose (if not already glucose). If we had no sugar in our blood we'd be in a coma because our brain needs sugar to function but too much sugar is horribly damaging - that is why diabetics are at risk of heart disease, renal failure, problems with their eyesight, feet and erectile dysfunction. You could just Google this for yourself it's basic biology not a controversial theory or opinion. Yes some carbs and some fats can contribute to weight gain on the abdominal area, through spiking the blood sugar and triggering the stress response. Depends how much you eat, in what you eat them with, the rest of your diet and lifestyle and your genetics.

    Trans fats are terrible so eat zero of them, they look enough like real fats for our body to use them as 'building blocks' but they don't behave like real fats so the cell membrane or hormone won't function optimally. Saturated fats and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats have both positive and negative effects, even within the groups different saturates and omega-6s have different effects - coconut oil and GLA are interesting. Again depends how much you eat, in what you eat them with, the rest of your diet and lifestyle and your genetics. Almost everyone agrees the long chain omega-3s DHA and EPA and monounsaturates are healthy.

    My personal opinion is that fats and sugars should be eaten within a wholefood wherever possible, not as an extracted oil or butter or candy because we evolved eating wholefoods with modest amounts of fats and sugars sitting alongside fibre and antioxidants. We didn't evolve eating finely ground white wheat flour nor just muscle meat - we evolved eating small amounts of WHOLE grains that we gathered and most of the whole animal - bone marrow, skin, organ meat - as well as a whole lot of fish and seafood. Unfortunately many people want to eat a sanitised version of paleo or primal.

    You don't need us to tell you that your diet is terrible - you are eating barely any fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, eggs, natural dairy, fish or lean meats, just a ton of low nutrient processed rubbish. Eat a wide variety of foods from all the food groups that look much as they did when they came off the animal or plant, foods that have one or two ingredients not many.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    thanks this if very informative but about the carbs, should I avoid it or eat less? seems like we need it but dont want too much right?

    Each gram of carbohydrates equal 4 calories. But not all carbohydrates are created equal. You could very healthily eat 80% of your calories from carbohydrates if they were complex carbohydrates. These are the long chain carbohydrates that last a long time in the gut and are the most healthful for the long-term (and often are paired with lots of fiber and other important nutrients). Simple sugars (the ones that have names that end in "-ose") are short chain "simple" sugars and are very quickly absorbed into the blood stream, spiking the blood glucose levels (sometimes handy after a workout or first thing in the morning). Besides reading labels to tell if your food contains "simple" sugars or complex carbohydrates, you can tell if something is a simple sugar by whether it melts on your tongue. We have an enzyme called amylase in our saliva that can digest simple sugars before they even reach the stomach. If you have to chew, chew, chew your bread or pasta or grains before swallowing it, that's another indication that it contains the healthful complex carbohydrates.

    Carbohydrates are EXTREMELY vital for life. Most of your calories should probably come from them. It's not wise for most people to rely on stored lipids or converting protein into glucose. Forcing your body to convert your muscles and vital organs into glucose (which is what it will do if you don't eat enough glucose) is not what it wants to do. That chemical process creates A LOT of waste chemicals that can cause weird problems that you don't want.
  • RMNPHike
    RMNPHike Posts: 89 Member
    These are good answers. If you eat whole foods in their most natural state possible, your food will be nutritious and as long as you follow the calorie guidelines for your height and weight you should lose weight successfully. Whole grains, if they really are whole grains, are loaded with fiber, and they actually have quite a bit of protein and a little bit of fat, naturally. Natural oats are a great example. Look at the fiber and protein content of what you're eating and also look at the ingredients. Look for labels that say 100% whole grain. There are a lot of simple carbs that are just junk out there - parading as "healthy" food. These are empty calories. But if you eat lots of veggies, fruits and true whole grain products, you will be eating the good kind of carbs. Stay away from white flour products and things labeled "wheat" without the "whole" in front of them! In many restaurants what they call "wheat bread" is misleading. It is just white bread colored brown. Most bread is made of wheat. The question is - how processed (broken down and refined) is it? You need to educate yourself on how to read nutrition labels. It's worth the effort.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories