East Tennessean

Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: The Scene

Before getting too specialized, we, as individuals, have to ask ourselves what our perceptions and beliefs are about nutrition.
The truth is that everyone knows, at a basic level, which foods are healthy and which are not. In fact, most individuals have these principles engrained in them at quite an early age (ex. "An apple a day will keep the doctor away." etc.)
The purpose of this article is to smooth out all the edges of what we "know" about the basics of nutrition: fats, carbohydrates and protein.To begin, the idea that one has to get out of their head is that fat is bad. Fat is essential and necessary, excess fat is dangerous and adds to almost all health complications.
That is where the majority of confusion lies. Unfortunately, another misconception is that the fat you eat translates into the fat on your belly (or wherever you are naturally inhibited.) This is an outright lie, the only way a person gains or loses weight is by consuming more or less calories, respectively, than one burns.
In reality, fats are responsible for protecting the body's internal organs, conserving body height, making up the membranes surrounding our cells, and primarily providing the body with an alternate source of energy.
Ultimately, my focus for one to know is to choose unsaturated fats rather than saturated fats in one's daily intake. Unsaturated fats serve all the purposes listed above while also controlling and lowering the body's "bad" cholesterol.
These fats can be found in oils, nuts, and fish. In the end, one gram of fat equals nine calories and they should account for twenty percent of the individual's daily intake.Secondly, carbohydrates are the principle source of energy for the human body. Again, please ignore the idea about low carbohydrate diets and their superficial promises--they are dangerously unhealthy. The truth is not as much about the amount of carbs but rather more of an issue of the type of carbs you consume.
Carbohydrates separate into two forms, simple and complex. The primary difference is in their entrance into the bloodstream. Simple carbohydrates enter the body's blood stream quickly, while complex carbs digest slowly.For individuals dealing with hypo/hyperglycemia and diabetes, one probably understands the importance of complex carbohydrates and requires this slow release for the balance of one's blood sugar.
For those who are unaware of this reaction, one should become aware of how simple carbohydrates effect the body's insulin level due to the surging increase of diabetes in this country.

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