Lifestyle Choices

The amount and kind of food you eat affects your health and well-being.

There are about forty-five to fifty nutrients in food that are believed to be essential for the body’s growth, maintenance, and repair. These are classified into six categories: carbohydrates (and fiber), fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. The first three provide energy, which is measured in calories.

The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council has established a recommended daily allowances (RDA) for each nutrient. To help assure that you select foods containing the essential elements, the board has classified foods into groups, each of which should be included in the daily diet. The quantity of nutrients recommended varies with age and other considerations; for example, a young, growing child needs more calcium than an adult, and a pregnant woman needs more calcium than other women.

Some foods contain some of all six classes of nutrients (e.g., whole wheat bread) while others (e.g., sugar) contain only one. No food is a “complete” food because none contains all the specific essential nutrients.

There are ten “key nutrients” central to human nutrition. They are usually accompanied by other nutrients when obtained through plant and animal sources.

It is important to choose foods that have a highnutrient density.”

A nutritionally dense food gives you more nutrients per calorie than a low-density food. It is like “getting more for your money (calorie).” For example, a 200-calorie piece of Boston cream pie has very few vitamins and minerals and is high in fat and refined carbohydrates, while 200 calories of tuna has very little fat, 100 percent of the RDA for protein, niacin, vitamin Bu, and substantial B6 and phosphorus.

Eating nutritionally dense food is particularly important for someone on a low-calorie diet. For example, it is difficult to get all the essential nutrients in a 1,000- to 1,200-calorie diet unless foods are chosen carefully.

An adequate intake of the four food groups on a daily basis will provide the ten key nutrients and a well-balanced diet for most people, including exercisers/athletes.

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