Nutritional facts can sometimes be frustratingly difficult to understand. Fats are either good or bad for you. Some say caffeine is not good while others say that caffeine can work wonders for you. So whom do you trust? Who do you follow? There has to be some kind of a benchmark, right? The best benchmark in the world can be science. It is logical and provable. What else do we need?
Today, let us explore the science behind nutrition to understand what kind of a diet we should follow and whether the latest nutrition ideas or high-tech eats have any merit to them. Several new breakthrough food products like LifeVantage have proved to be not only beneficial but also instrumental in the overall development of our health and body. Why? This is because there are studies that prove these theories true after careful examination of testing and analyzing subsequent results.
Nutritional science
Nutritional science is the scientific study of the various effects that different types of food components have on our metabolism, health, and so on. To understand the subject better, it can be divided as follows:
Science major curriculum:
~ Nutritional science core classes
~ Basic science and their supporting classes
~ Nutritional science electives and their respective disciplines
Focus of core classes include:
~ Functions, sources, metabolism nutrient, and their respective effects on diseases and their processes
~ The essential changes that take place in the nutritional requirements during the different stages of the life cycle of a human being or an animal
Included in supporting courses:
~ Statistics, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics
~ Biology, physiology, and molecular biology
Inclusion in electives
~ Food choices, food security, public policy, community nutrition program
~ Genetics and cell biology
~ Food sciences and their study
~ Sports nutrition, disease prevention, and international nutrition
Some example cases, studies, and results:
Saturated fat
It is widely known and freely accepted that butter is fatty and therefore, not that good for health. The New York Times once published an article which was widely accepted by the readers and it said – Butter is Back. According to a study conducted and eventually published in a journal by Annals of Internal Medicine, it was stated that there is simply no hard evidence available to support the theory that saturated fat is responsible for increasing heart diseases.
On the contrary, there are some studies that claim that lack of saturated fats may actually lead to an increased risk of heart diseases. Maybe it is time that people forget eating skinless chicken and say no to butter.
The report however also said that more studies should be conducted and that results may vary on a case to case basis.
Obesity
There are studies that show that sugar is the main reason behind the growing number of obesity cases in the country. It has also been shown to be the main reason behind cardiovascular diseases and death. This has led to a moment when activists are rallying for classifying a limit on the amount of sugar and fructose syrup that can be added to beverages and other soda based products.
Calorie plan
The first thing for this plan to work is to understand the individual calorie requirement that is based on your metabolism and activity level that you indulge in on a daily basis. In order to plan out your calorie intake, the first thing you need to do is to calculate your current intake of calories. You may have to maintain a daily journal of sorts to understand the behavior and pattern in a better light.
For example, if your body is gaining weight after you have modified your daily diet but there is no excessive fat, then you can safely add 300 more calories to your daily diet. In order to follow this procedure, you will also need to understand how many calories you are consuming on a daily basis and which food offers how many calories. If you are not gaining weight, you can add 500 calories to your diet.
You will need to maintain one particular form of diet for at least two weeks to see some kind of result that can be measured and compared with previous results. Spending two days on a particular diet will not give you enough time to evaluate that particular diet.
Dr. Layne Norton, on the other hand, suggests a simpler approach for those who are calorie conscious. What she suggests is to add calories in smaller quantities. For instance, add 50 calories per day. A quantity that small will be easy to absorb and digest for the body. And if you measure your results over a longer period of time, 6 months for example, then you will see true results.
It is important that you divide your calorie intake into a few small meals per day. You have had this before perhaps but it needs to be emphasized. The time gap between each meal can be around 4 hours. It is recommended that you keep your meals of equal size so that it is easier for your body to digest the food and so you obtain that necessary balance.
Article Submitted By Community Writer