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18 Jul 2007 05:21 AM

N is for Nutrition

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

You hear about nutrition all the time whether it's in some commercial on television promoting the value of cereal, milk or snacks. Food companies want you to buy their food, so they'll do whatever they can to label it what will make it sell. Consider that a few years ago Atkins was the hottest thing out there and putting the words Atkins Friendly or Low Carb on a product seemed to guarantee its sale. But nutrition isn't about advertising; it's about what's healthy for your diet.

When your diet consists of excesses (say too much sugar) then you have a negative impact on your health. If there are deficiencies in it (say not enough calcium), then you also have a negative impact on your health. Nutritionists strive to help you find balance in what you eat. There are the recommendations of a protein source (say meat) along with two to three helpings of a leafy green vegetable as well as a dairy product and whole grains. Does that mean you need to eat this at every meal?

Nope, you just need to find a balance. It's important to check out what the current recommendations are because they've changed a lot. When I was a kid, we focused very hard on the food pyramid and selecting one product from each of the four main food groups. We always labeled chocolate as the fifth food group because it doesn't fit into the others.

This brings up another important fact - if you can't label a food product as being within one of the four main food groups -t hen chances are it's not got a lot of nutritional benefits. Twinkies, for example, are cream filled soft cake. They are loaded with calories, sugar, fats and other stuff probably best not mentioned. But there is no real nutritional value that you get from eating a Twinkie. It tastes good. Well, okay - so do raw carrots and so does a sweet orange - but both of those fall into the fruits and vegetable category.

Take a good long look at what you are eating. Do you get enough vegetables in your diet? Are you eating way too much of one food group and not enough of the others? Remember, a balanced diet avoids excesses or deficiencies. How are you doing?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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