Health and Nutrition

We all know that a varied  healthy diet is essential for good health and to help supply our body with good nutrition we must be eating quality fresh foods and not foods that are heavily processed and full of chemical additives, hydrogenated fats, sugars, salts etc that also lack basic nutrients.

Plant based foods are undoubtedly essential for supplying key , fibre, vitamins, minerals and enzymes and are known to seriously reduce the risk of some of the disease risk factors of the 21st century such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. 

One key nutrient which can be lacking in some diets or at least not taken from optimal sources is protein.  
Protein is from the’ greek’  word ‘ protos’ which means primary (or first) as it was the first nutrient ever discovered. Proteins are made from single ‘amino acids’ there are 22 amino acids, 8 of those are ‘essential amino acids’ that means they are not made in our body but have to be delivered to us from the foods we eat.

Protein is found in every single tissue of our body and we rely on our intake of good protein from our foods for many purposes including -

Growth
Building new tissue (including bones, ligaments, tendons etc)
Immunity
Strength (muscles, hair, nails etc)
Hormone production
Healing and repairing....and much more.

If we eat poor quality protein we will not be providing the body with the essential amino acids it needs for optima health.
We need to look at proteins for the amino acid content it brings, there is a measurement called the biological value (BV). For instance a whole egg has a biological value of 100 which means it supplies all the essential and semi essential proteins needs for health.

Red meats (beef, pork, lamb, veal), poultry (chicken, turkey, game), fish ( sea bass, salmon, cod haddock etc) and dairy (milk and cheeses) all contain good Biological values of protein needed for health.
Plant based foods contain lower BV levels but  by combining vegetable proteins together at a meal it will boost the quality of the protein,  for instance a natural yoghurt can increase its protein levels by the addition of nuts and seeds. Or the use of beans with rice etc can ensure you are eating the ‘essential proteins’.

Eating good quality meat, poultry, eggs and fish should be incorporated into a diet that also contains good levels of plant based foods such as vegetables, fruits such as berries, nuts and seeds in order to deliver quality nutrients.  

Karen Devine
www.karendevine.co.uk
www.devinedetox.co.uk