Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Why is it Important for Teens to Eat Healthy?

                  Function

You need a healthy lifestyle for many different reasons such as weight management, prevention of illnesses, improved energy or sleeping habits, or maintaining a current level of health. The Department of Health and Human Services says a healthy diet should support health and help prevent the development of major chronic conditions. Some consequences of bad eating include weight gain, clotting, pressure on the heart, high blood pressure, poor circulation, and of course decrease of life expectancy.

                                                                                  Outcome

If you stick to your diet, and watch what you eat, benefits could include strengthened immune system, improved body weight, energy and physical strength, improved emotional health and extended life expectancy, preventing cardiovascular disease (America's leading cause of death). Not only does eating healthy effect you now, it will effect your whole life. If you start to develop bad eating habits at an early age, you body and life could be at risk for many things. A good starting point is to consume lots of nutrient- rich food products, such as lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, starchy vegetables, fish, lean poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds and unsaturated oils, such as canola or olive oil. Doctors suggests three meals and snacks, as needed, throughout each day for optimum results. 









http://no-more-heart-disease.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/j0423013.jpg 
http://www.livestrong.com/article/84494-eating-important/
http://ingoodfeather.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/fruits-and-vegetables.jpg
http://wasteawarescotland.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/balanced-meal.jpg




How do You Determine Your Caloric Requirments?

What is "Your Caloric Requirements"?

When making a diet plan for yourself, the first thing your going to need to do, is to find out how many calories you need to burn in one day. Basically your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Whats a TDEE? Your TDEE is the amount of calories your body expends, or uses, in a days span including all activities, etc. Getting your TDEE or also called your "maintainance level" will give you your starting point for a diet customized for yourself. The average maintainance level for a female in the US is 2000-2100 calories a day. For a male, it goes up to 2700-2900 per day.


Determining Your Caloric Requirements

There are different methods or ways of calculating your caloric requirements. These methods take into factor your age, height, weight, activity level, sex, and lean body mass.


Calculating Your Caloric Requirements


There are many different methods on taking your caloric requirements. A quick method to determine calorie needs is to use total current body weight times a multiplier.

Fat loss = 12 to13 calories per lb. of body weight
Maintenance (TDEE) = 15 to 16 calories per lb. of body weight
Weight gain: = 18 to 19 calories per lb. of body weight


This is a very quick method of taking your caloric requirements, but not as accurate. This method, because it doesn’t take into account activity levels or body composition, is not as accurate as others. Extremely active individuals may require far more calories than this formula indicates. In addition, the more lean body mass one has, the higher the TDEE will be.


A more accurate way of calculating your caloric requirements is to determine your basal metabolic rate or BMR using multiple factors, including height, weight, age and sex, then multiply the BMR by an activity factor to determine TDEE.BMR is the total number of calories your body requires for normal bodily functions including keeping your heart beating, inhaling and exhaling air, digesting food, making new blood cells, maintaining your body temperature and every other metabolic process in your body. In other words, your BMR is all the energy used for the basic processes of life itself. Heres how you calculate your caloric requirements more  accurately.

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) – (6.8 X age in years)
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)
Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.
Example:
You are MALE
You are 15 YEARS OLD
You are 5′ 6 ” TALL (167.6 cm)
You are 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos)
Your BMR = 66 + 1644 (weight) + 838 (height) – 102 (age) =  2446 calories per day

Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Calculating Your TDEE

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)
Example:
Your BMR is 1339 calories per day
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1339 = 2075 calories/day)








http://healthrecipes.com/calories.htm 
http://www.shapesense.com/images/calories.jpg
http://publichealthbugle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/calorie-label-456me-712010.jpg 




 

What is the Importance of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats For an Active Teen?


Carbohydrates

The importance of carbohydrates "carbs" is its role in our daily meal, which is to provide you with energy. Carbohydrates are broken up into 2 main categories, the "simple carbohydrate" and the "complex carbohydrate" or in other words "sugars" and "starches". Both of these carbohydrates can function in two ways, immediate meaning energy is used right away, and stored meaning that the carbohydrate intake is to great therefore its converted mainly into "fat". To make it easier to tell the difference between a "simple carbohydrate" food and a "complex carbohydrate" food, take the products fruits and whole grains. Fruits are a "simple carbohydrate" because they contain fructose (single sugar molecule), and whole grains are "complex carbohydrates" because they contain numerous molecules.

Calories Per Gram = 4

Proteins


Proteins are highly important for your body, its what yo
ur body uses to rebuild things like muscles and other tissues. It is also used to help regulate other bodily processes like your water balance, your water balance is the amount of water that is kept or taken away from your blood system. Proteins aren't all the same, there are many different types that contain different amino acids to help your body. The BEST protein for your body is one that contains all eight escential amino acids, which are tryptophan, lysine, methionine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine and phenylalanine. The foods you can eat to gain the BEST protein are products like beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and milk. But what if I'm a vegetarian? well, there are alternate foods to gain the BEST protein in the combination of vegetables, fruit, grain, nuts, and seeds for vegetarians.

Calories Per Gram = 4



Fats

Although everyone says that fat is not a good thing to have, they are right and wrong. Fat, if you have to much it can be a very dangerous factor in the well being of your body, on the inside and out, however you do need some fat. A little bit of fat is important in keeping your body normal, its what sucks in all the fat-soluble vitamins like the vitamins A, D, K, and E. Those vitamins are the supporting factors of normal development and growth. Fat is also very important in being healthy because it acts as a "cushion" for all your major organs while creating insulation to regulate body temperature.
Fats are stored energy, if that stored energy is not used then it will continue to build and eventually you will suffer from obesity. This is called an "energy imbalance" meaning that the amount of energy being taken in is greater than the amount of energy that is being taken out. If you do suffer from obesity then exercise and a healthy diet of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats will help you. Just take the saying "what goes up, must come down" into your fat consumption, meaning when you take in fat "goes up" then you must get active to burn it off "goes down".

Calories Per Gram = 9


 http://www.livestrong.com/article/403973-what-are-the-functions-of-simple-carbohydrates/ 
 http://www.livestrong.com/article/366969-importance-of-protein-in-food/

What Specific Foods Should You Limit or Avoid?

Basics

Everyone knows foods like doughnuts, soda, french fries, are not healthy things to intake, but what really should you avoid? You shouldn't look to avoid foods as much as avoid the things in the foods. You should look deeper into the food labels, and find specific ingredients that you should avoid or not. Not only should you look at the ingredients, but as well as the processing and preparation.

Rewards

By eating healthier, and cutting some foods out of your diets you can reduce your risk of developing many chronic health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and even some cancers. 

Consequences

Many ingredients are linked to serious health problems, such as heart disease, are hard to avoid. Salt, saturated and trans fats, refined sugars, and processed foods (because they can easily contain all of the previous items) are among the worst offenders. 

11 Worst Foods You Should Avoid

1) Doughnuts 
  • full of free radicals and trans fat (store-bought doughnuts contain 35-40 per cent trans fat)
  • high in sugar, nutrient-free and calorie-dense (an average doughnut contains about 200-300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few other nutrients)
  • full of white flour (in most varieties)
2) Soda
  • high in sugar (one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar - 150 calories)
  • high in caffeine (30-55 mg of caffeine per one can of soda)
  • loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites
  • filled with harmful artificial sweeteners and sulphites
  • no nutritional value
  • studies have linked soda to bone weakening, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease
  • there is a thought that consumption of diet soda stimulates people to crave sugary foods, supporting a recent study that found that people who were more likely to drink diet soda were obese
  • diet soda should never replace water or milk as a source of rehydration.
3) French Fries
  • high in trans fat (potatoes cooked at high temperatures in vegetable oils)
  • high in free radicals harmful to the body
  • high in acrylamide (up to 82 mcg per serving), a potent toxic chemical formed as a result of unknown chemical reactions during high-temperature starchy foodsfrying or baking of starchy foods
  • consuming foods that are fried in vegetable oils contributes to aging, clotting, inflammation, and weight gain
  • foods that are fried in vegetable oils like canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils are particularly problematic
  • polyunsaturated fats easily become rancid when exposed to oxygen and produce large amounts of damaging free radicals in the body
4) Chips
  • high in sodium and trans fat (present in most commercial chips)
  • high carcinogenic acrylamide (up to 25 mcg per serving).
5) Hot Dogs
  • high in calories, fat, and sodium
  • processed meats such as sausage, jerky, bacon, hot dogs, use nitrates to preserve color and maintain microbial safety
  • nitrate can convert to nitrite, which can form nitrosamines, a powerful toxic chemical, in your body.
6) Fried non-fish seafood
  • fried shrimp, clams, oysters, lobsters are high in trans fat and carcinogenic acrylamide
  • loaded with toxic mercury
  • can be contaminated with parasites and resistant viruses
7) Margarine
  • trans fats are man-made fats that occur in foods when manufacturers use hydrogenation, a process in which hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to turn it into a more solid fat.
  • hydrogenation changes the liquid vegetable oils to a solid
  • hydrogenation process requires the use of such toxic catalyst-metals such as nickel, palladium, platinum or cobalt
  • while it is true that margarine contains no cholesterol, the process of hydrogenation changes not only the physical form of the oils, but alters the way they are metabolized by the body
  • most of the beneficial oils have been changed to a trans fatty acids.
  • related with increases LDL cholesterol level
  • increases Lp(a) lipoprotein, a type of LDL cholesterol found in varying levels in the blood
  • raise triglyceride levels
  • increased risk of coronary heart disease
8) Sugar and artificial sweeteners
  • Refined sugar and mixtures containing refined sugar, including sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, brown sugar, turbinado. Avoid artificial sweeteners.
9) Salt
  • Salt creates untold physical problems and suffering. Yes, the body needs salt (sodium), but it must be in an organic form in order to be useful to the body. Table salt, sodium chloride, is an inorganic sodium compound that combines with chloride. It is extremely toxic to the body and causes the body to retain fluid. High intake of this substance thickens and stiffens arteries and increases the risks of strokes, and cardiac failure. It accelerates the rate of renal functional deterioration. Sodium chloride draws calcium from your bones, which is excreted in your urine. This leads to early and painful osteoporosis, or the thinning and fracturing of your bones.
10) Crackers, Toaster pastries, sugared cereals
  • All these foods contain trans fats.
11) Foods High in Saturated Fat
  • Saturated Animal Fats That means fatty meats, especially beef and pork, or the skin on poultry. It also includes full-fat dairy products such as cheese, milk and cream. Fatty meat and dairy products do have some contributions to make to a diet, but none that can't be found elsewhere.








http://healthhabits.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/coca-cola-coke.jpg
http://www.healthassist.net/conditions/food-avoid.shtml
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/meal-planning/shopping/foods-to-avoid.aspx
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaB15SIpx4vLJRiOoV6jZaky6KEwcHM43HiW0QdtwPvCXvjEVucHYXOI-avnfnVBy42mP-p6-nxjvhqsviaq9Q62jdhpxP6glhS-TPiaqzfFCYv_TbVrD0NlHKRiWzfq8ELVDdg4rE3rGE/s400/Margarine.jpg 
http://www.foodphotosite.com/images/fast_food/burger___fries/french-fries-01.jpg

A 3-Day Meal Plan


A three day meal plan is a great way to start a good healthy eating habit. This will help you have good nutrition for your body. Each meal has a specific number of servings for each food you eat. Having a balanced nutrition is really healthy for your body and it is important to not skip a meal during the day.

Day 1

Breakfast: 1 cup of oatmeal with an 8oz. glass of milk, 1 Banana. 
Lunch: Turkey sandwich w/wheat bread, 1 apple, 10 cucumber slices, 10 oz. glass of orange juice. 
Dinner: 2 ham slices, 1 cup of corn, 10 oz. glass of milk.






Day 2
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 6 oz. of yogurt, 8oz. glass of milk, 1 Apple.
Lunch: Ham sandwich w/wheat bread, 1 banana, 10 oz. glass of orange juice. 
Dinner: 6 oz. steak, 1 cup of mixed veggies, 10 oz. glass of milk.





Day 3
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 cup of fruit salad, 8oz. glass of orange juice.
Lunch: Turkey rap w/wheat tortilla, 1 cup yogurt, 8 oz. glass of milk.
Dinner: 8 oz. salmon, 1 cup of string beans, 10 oz. glass of milk.







http://www.dlife.com/diabetes-food-and-fitness/what_do_i_eat/meal_planning/rondinelli_aug06
http://www.livestrong.com/article/389697-a-3-day-meal-plan/
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20307177,00.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/NU00197

What Should Athletes Eat Before a Game?

Basics

Carbohydrates are the foods that fuel muscles. This is the food group that is utilized when the large muscles of the body are involved in physical activity. Proteins and fats are essential to the physical development of our young athletes, but provide no direct energy for exercise or athletics.

Before the Big Game

When contemplating what to eat before the game, your meal or should mainly consist of carbohydrates. The best time to eat a pre-game or pre-practice meal should be 1-3 hours before competition depending on how much the athlete eats. A bagel or muffin with some peanut butter and jelly about 1-3 hours before practice will get most athletes through practices and games.  Avoid a large amount of high fat and protein snacks in the hours before competition- it won’t provide much energy and may actually make the athlete feel tired.A small amount of protein or fat (such as peanut butter)
is OK as it can also keep the athlete from getting hungry during the game .Other good choices before the big game would be cereals, pasta or rice without heavy sauces, fruit and yogurt, granola, honey, jams or jellies on bread or muffins. Give all these foods at least a good hour to digest. Popcorn and pretzels are also good choices as they are high in carbohydrates and have some added salt.

                    Double-Header?

What about tournaments and multiple games or competitions on the same day? Most of what is offered at concession stands is pretty high in protein and fat such as hot dogs, candy, and nachos. Good choices for between games are pretzels, popcorn, and sports drinks. If youhave a favorite snack such as bagels or PB&J, then just bring some along.















http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/bread-bagel.jpg 
http://www.google.com/search?q=what+should+athletes+eat+before+a+game&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a