Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates (carbs) are an integral part of your daily food intake regardless of what the latest diet, food guru or TV host tells you. Carbs are the main fuel source for your body and brain. Let’s break it down…. Your brain needs fuel, and the only fuel it can use is carbohydrates. Without enough carbs your brain will run out of energy. After being depleted of carbs you will start to have poor concentration, an inability to focus on the task at hand and holding conversations will be difficult as your mind keeps drifting. You might be able to focus in certain areas; like getting all A’s for your school midterms or nailing the presentation for work, but other parts of your focus will fail greatly. You will likely start having mood swings and become very short and snippy with family, friends and people running cash registers. Your brain needs carbs! Your body needs, really, really needs to have carbs as fuel. When you eat carbs your body uses what it needs to do the day to day tasks of walking down the street, mowing the lawn, folding the laundry, and washing the dishes. If there are any extra carbs your body will store what it needs in your muscles. This is so your body will be ready and prepared if you need an extra burst of energy to, say, run a 5K or flee from a bear chasing after you (I surely hope THIS doesn’t happen)!
Protein Protein is all the rage now! Eat protein to gain muscle mass, lose weight, get lean!!! You see and hear all about it whenever you try a new diet. I whole heartedly agree that you need protein; you need it at each meal and snack. However, you only need to have 15-20% of your calories to come from protein. Protein helps your body grow hair and nails and it helps repair/build muscle after you have exercised. Without enough protein your blood sugars will drop quickly. This will lead you to quickly feel hungry after eating just a carb meal. For example, have you noticed that just having a bowl of cereal for breakfast will hold you about 1.5-2 hours, but if you have toast with peanut butter you don’t feel true hunger pains for 3-4 hours? I suggest you eat a protein with each meal and snack. Fat Oh this word! The fat you ingest on a daily basis is different from the fat that is on your body. So, let’s start calling the fat you eat an Essential Lipid (essential means you need to have it and lipid is the fancy medical word for fat). You need Essential Lipids (EL) on a regular, daily, meal by meal basis. You need to have EL in your diet to produce the hormones your body needs, to help you feel satisfied at a meal and to make your food taste good. When you lose weight your body will slowly burn fat to help you lose weight, however without enough EL in your diet you will start breaking down MUSCLE to give your body energy. On another note: your body doesn’t want you to get rid of all the fat in your body. The nerves in your brain are covered with a protective coating that is made of fat. Without enough EL this protective coating will start to disappear thus making your nerves not work as effectively. You want the nerves to work as efficiently as possible since serotonin and other neurotransmitters travel from nerve to nerve and can affect your mood.
