Tag Archives: essential nutrients

Nutrition With Vitamin Supplements

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Nutritional vitamin supplements are a big business. Many say that they are unnecessary, whilst others contend that they are more necessary than ever. They have been a source of controversy and debate for many years. Why is this?

Vitamin supplements have been around a good long time in one form or another. Cod liver oil was widely given to children every day only 100 years ago. Those same children would never have dreamed that some day people would pay lots of money not only to take fish oil, but to take it more than once a day. You have probably seen the daily vitamins sold in most stores that even many doctors are now grudgingly stating are fine to take regularly.

The heart of the controversy is both the types and potencies of many of the supplements. Often, one single dose contains a nutrient in such high concentration as to be completely impossible to consume in a proportionate amount in foods that contain that same nutrient. Many people in the medical establishment insist that this is at best a foolish and at worst a potentially dangerous practice. They state that some nutrients, being water soluble, are simply passed through the system and others that are fat soluble can be absorbed into fat reserves in hazardous levels if consumed without caution.

Those who promote the use of supplements counter that passing part of a dose of a water soluble nutrient is worthwhile because it ensures saturation of that nutrient at a cellular level, maxing out the body’s available supplies. The supplement industry itself has added precautionary statements to their labeling to warn people of the potential hazard of consuming a high level of fat soluble nutrients.

Nevertheless, for vitamins and minerals, there is some monitoring by the Food and Drug Administration. For others that aren’t recognized as essential nutrients, the truth becomes more hazy.

If you truly wish to take nutritional supplements, start with small doses under the advice and supervision of qualified some professionals such as a registered dietician. After all, they aren’t called supplements for nothing.

 

John Rifkind is a contributing editor at FitnessHealthArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

Nutrition For Kids

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When it comes to feeding your children, it may seem like there are a large number of rules to follow. Your child needs certain nutrients to grow strong and healthy, but you also have to limit treats and serving sizes so that your child does not develop weight and health problems down the line.

Obesity has become a common problem in the United States. Almost 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese, and more than half of them get too do very little physical activity.

U.S. nutrition officials are trying to help with this problem. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created some new dietary guidelines to provide more practical advice on how to give your child a healthier, more balanced diet. The new guidelines suggest that kids eat more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains than in the past and that they get from 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day.

The recommendations are tailored for children based on their age, gender, and exercise habits. You can find out which guidelines are appropriate for your child by logging on to the USDA’s website. (See the Additional Resources tab).

Along with the new guidelines, the Food Guide Pyramid also got a new look and a new name: MyPyramid.

Inside this pyramid, six stripes represent the five food groups as well as the oils and fats that your child should get each day. Stairs on the pyramid represent the importance of exercising and the simple steps you can take each day to improve your child’s health.

On the pyramid, each colour represents a different food group.

• Orange: grains
• Green: vegetables
• Red: fruits
• Blue: dairy and calcium-rich food
• Purple: proteins (meats, beans, and fish)
• Yellow: fats and oils

Bear in mind that the serving sizes are just guidelines and that, on some days, your child may eat more or less of a certain food group. That’s still OK. Different foods have different proportions of nutrients, so it is important to offer your child a variety of foods on a regular basis. Moderation is the key to a healthy diet.

Also, remember that the nutrition content of a certain type of food can vary depending on how you prepare it. Apples, for example, are packed with nutrients and can make a great after-school snack. Apple pie has all those nutrients too. But it contains lots of fat and sugar, too, so you may want to limit how much you serve of it.

 

John Rifkind is a contributing editor at FitnessHealthArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.