Lamb and Mutton

Sheep or llama? is believed to have been domesticated sheep just before the cow and the horse. Its main ancestor is probably the Asian mouflon, but other species may have been used in crosses for the animals we know today. There are now more than 200 species that have very different characteristics from each other. So much so that some animals are more like goats or gazelles, while rather more reminiscent of the Lama.

Apricot

Dried apricots

The amount of sugar contained in a dried apricot is the same as in a fresh apricot, but the sugar is more concentrated . Dehydration concentrated sugar content, but also in various nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. This makes an interesting dried apricot nutritious food side.

The Choice of Base in Food

It may be advantageous to better understand some of the elements and processes involved in nutrition to make more informed choices. Thus, we first divide the food into three broad categories: Basic

The nutrients . These are all nutrients that the body absorbs and uses for its normal operation. Food nutrients become under the action of digestive juices, they are generally classified into two groups: micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats and alcohols). The primary role of protein is to be the base material that makes up the physical structure of the body, while carbohydrates and lipids (fats) are most likely energy: fuel. For more details, see The nutrient chemistry .

The empty calories . These are many foods that contain little or no micronutrients because they were lost during refining (sweet and savory treats, white rice), or have a high content of saturated fats or refined sugars (food empty, cakes).

Antinutrients . Known as any substance that may impair the absorption of nutrients or to be processed by the body requires more nutrients it provides. Here are a few: food additives (colorings, sulfites, nitrates, etc..), Hydrogenated oils, pesticides, toxic molecules generated by frying or barbecuing, drinking (beyond a certain amount), coffee and tea (when taken with meals). Drugs, cigarette smoke, fumes of carbon dioxide, etc.. also act as antinutrients.

Clearly it is better to focus on nutrients ... But compose menus for each nutrient required in the desired proportions and can become a very laborious business. Fortunately, it is possible to simplify life, among others by following a few basic principles.

The basic principles
The vast majority of experts in diet , whether or not environmental official, agreed on a number of principles that can guide us. For most people with no health problems, make some adjustments to his eating habits - to better reflect these principles - may already lead to a significant improvement.

Balanced meals . The idea is to choose their food in different food groups: fruits and vegetables (half the plate), cereal products (a quarter of the plate), meat and alternatives (one quarter ), to which we add a contribution of calcium , consuming dairy products, for example. Thus, your meal will contain:

- a healthy dose of carbohydrates : whole grains and various flours and whole stone ground are preferable
- enough protein: protein from legumes (soybeans, lentils, beans, peas chickpeas, etc..) and fish should be preferred;
- low in fat (fat) it is particularly important to choose the RIGHT fats, like those found in seeds and nuts , and the oils plant, ideally pressed cold ( olive and canola , for example).
An example of a relatively simple fix to achieve a better balance: the Western diet is generally deficient in vegetables and fruits, you can get into the habit of systematic double portion of vegetables served at lunch and dinner to eat a fruit or 1 hour before the evening meal.

A varied diet . To achieve the necessary range of nutrients, not only must eat every day foods from each food group, but many foods in each group. Most people could, for example, make better use of the group "cereal products" which, in addition to bread wheat , the rice and pasta, crackers also includes rye flour, kamut, the pies millet or to barley , cornmeal, oatmeal for oatmeal , cereal quinoa and more. Just the act of placing rice white rice (or half and half) is an improvement.

Fresh food and good quality . This means first of all to avoid foods "denatured" such as sweets and savory, baked goods and many industrial frozen prepared meals. It may also, to the extent possible, choose organic and freshly picked vegetables (frozen vegetables are better than those who have stayed too long in the fridge), and organic meats.

Reasonable amount. Excess weight is statistically and undeniably linked to a host of diseases and reduced life expectancy. In addition, preliminary research on animals show that slightly under-calorie diet (without nutrient deficiency) maintained in the long term may help prevent certain cancers 2 and increase longevity 3 . An example of adjustment: reduce systematically quarter or third portions of foods high in calories (pasta and rice, for example) and replace them with a nutritious and low in calories, like a vegetable.

Tasty food. This is the flavor that first determines our food choices 4 and testimonies are unanimous: if so many people give up the diet program which is ideal however, is that it gives them no pleasure. However, the high content of salt, sugar and fat in processed foods seems to be increasingly popular and is, in youth, becoming the norm. To counteract the attraction of these dishes "over-savorisés" must afford the healthy foods that you particularly like and prepare them so tasty - using, for example, several herbs are a good source of nutrients ...

To go further

These basic principles are pretty much close to those of most food guides official Western countries. One can of course adapt to each particular case or favor one approach or a specific diet.

Thus, in the sheet Special Diet: Cancer , we propose a food program originally designed for people with cancer, but could be very beneficial for the general population. It is as follows:

- Limit consumption of red meats.
- Adopt a diet semi-vegetarian.
- Limit excess salt and smoked foods.
- Avoid excess fat.
- Please see the form for more details.

And supplements?
In principle, the medical community does not endorse supplements and affirms that " balanced diet "should provide all the nutrients needed to maintain health. In practice, this is much less obvious.

Agree that it is often difficult to get all the nutrients required: because certain food groups are not part of our eating habits, for family reasons or because of cultural bias or supply problems. In addition, we may have a higher need for certain nutrients, because of our lifestyle, our intensity physical activity a health problem or factors "antinutrionnels" as stress - and would be unthinkable, for example, consume 8 grapefruits or 20 cloves of garlic per day.

In many cases, it can be convenient to use dietary supplements to complement what we can not get the food or nutrient get a dose greater than the dose normally required. The vast majority of nutrients are available in concentrated form.

How to Eat Well?

Eat this not that food. It is also a social act, sensual, emotional and vital in the strictest sense. We eat often because we are hungry; sometimes to fill a gap or emotional to please its guests ...

We would all "eating well", if only because of the impact, now scientifically proven the power of health. "A healthy diet is the foundation of good health and a key element in the development of human health," said Health Canada clearly. 1

But what to eat ? Many different things, and sometimes contradictory, depending on your point of view one takes, in our culture, our way of life, our beliefs, our values ​​... Not easy to navigate, particularly theories food abound, and are also often contradictory.

In this form, you will not find definitive solutions or recipes. We will attempt to locate the food in a global context, to see how the science of nutrition has evolved over the last fifty years and present the main recommendations it offers today. We will particularly focus on nutrition as a specific approach to health: "Let your food be your medicine" said Hippocrates.

Eating is living
We are much more attached to our eating habits , good or bad, that we can imagine. Changing these habits can be a challenge! Most immigrants, for example, adopt the clothing, language, customs of their adopted country, but keep very long their culinary traditions. Requires strong reasons to change.

Top of the scale incentives are the weight loss and resolution of a health problem . If eating less animal fat or more fruits and vegetables, helps to cure a specific disease, it may be sufficient motivation. But eliminating junk food ( junk food ) or prepare meals more balanced to prevent a hypothetical disease or to be in better shape, is much more difficult.

Experience has shown that it is better to change your eating habits very gradually incorporating one or two changes at a time. These changes can affect both food themselves (less chips, more fruits) that our relationship with them (compensation, gluttony, habits) or the way we eat (chew slowly, sit down to eat).

Basic needs

The food is closely related to the image we have of ourselves and our values. Some would even say that the way we eat has dimensions karmic energy. In Chinese diet , for example, foods are considered as the energy characteristics within philosophical and symbolic but also very pragmatic, based on an observation millennium.

In the dominant Western scientific perspective, by cons, the approach is the same biochemical and mathematical considering that these are the various chemical compounds in foods that combine to provide what the body needs.

Anyway, we can agree that food reflects essentially four basic needs:

- Provide daily resources needed to create the energy and remain active (which allows you to compare the role of food in the fuel for a vehicle).
- Maintain the health of the body , as nutrients ensure optimal growth and function of cells, tissues, organs, etc..
Cure or help to cure various diseases.
- Procure pleasure and well-being through certain qualities of food (taste, smell, color, etc..) and satiety.

The science of nutrition
The nutrition specifically addresses the field of study that applies to "the process by which living things absorb, metabolize, and eliminate the use of food." This science is still young and tackles a terribly complex domain.

It must be remembered that the systematic identification of key nutrients and their roles did not begin until the early XX th century. From the 1950s, the science of nutrition is increasingly concerned with diseases chronic, degenerative or overweight ( diabetes , cardiovascular disease , cancer , obesity , allergies ) that have genetic origins, but also external ( diet, lifestyle, pollution, etc.)..

Since then, the concept of balanced diet has appeared and the potential harms of the modern diet, too refined for industrial technologies were highlighted. More recently, we began to understand the role and synergy of vitamins , the minerals , trace elements, antioxidants ( flavonoids , carotenoids ) and amino acids.

Food assimilation
The digestion begins in the mouth and is not even completed two days later. During this process takes place countless chemical transformations which together various enzymes and several organs. In addition, many personal characteristics influence how our body absorbs nutrients: age, state of health, allergies or food intolerances, the amount of adipose tissue reserves of nutrients in the body, the type work, physical activity, quality of sleep, smoking, nervous and emotional state, the time at which it eats, the posture during meals, etc..

The assimilation process is so complex that has always been advocated all sorts of approaches intended to better suit our digestive system : the vegetarian , the choice of foods according to blood group, the acid-base balance , food combinations, the crudivorisme, various schemes (method Montignac , Pritikin , Kousmine ...), not to mention the Chinese diet, ayurvedic food, etc.. In addition, public health agencies in most countries publish guides food officials who constantly evolving. But still, experts do not agree with each other and new hypotheses food appear regularly.

Finally, when it comes to combat specific diseases or conditions, there is a multitude of dietary recommendations and specific regimes, where the types of food and the portions are accurately determined. We found several sheets in our Special Diets and Plans .

We must get to the evidence, the regime ideal does not exist. Although nutritional needs are basic similar for all human beings, optimal nutrition will differ for each person. Given the complexity of actual data in nutrition, it can be useful for most of us to periodically consult a competent person able to determine our needs and guide us in the best nutritional choices.

The nutrition experts who have received a university education and are part of a professional title are reserved nutritionist , dietician or dietitian (the name varies by country). However, other health care providers, such as naturopaths, may also have very good knowledge on the subject. To determine the nutritional needs of a person and discover the food choices that suit them best, we often use a blood test (for iron levels, cholesterol, etc..) And questionnaires that address various aspects of fashion life.