Nutritional balance - nutrition

In order to achieve a balance in our diet, the following factors must be taken into account:

• To consume the foods that report the required energy, this indicates without abundance or insufficiencies something is real, each individual has its particular energetic needs, there are no generalizations beyond normalized indexes with approximate, the energetic needs will depend on factors such as age, sex, height, weight, physical activity that executes and metabolism. In addition, specific situations such as pregnancy, illness, medication, environment, etc., have an influence.

Although there are complex formulas for obtaining a specific number, the total daily energy requirements are estimated to be between 25-30 kcal/kg body weight for an adult individual. To achieve the nutritional balance it is necessary to adopt the ideal proportion of nutrients.

The daily energy reserve should be based on the macronutrients according to this ratio:

• Carbohydrates: 55-60% of the total daily energy.

• Proteins: 10-15% of the total energy.

• Fats: 25-30% of the total energy.

• Of which: 18-20% monounsaturated fat .

• 5-7% polyunsaturated fat .

• Less than 10% saturated fat .

The contribution of vitamins, fiber, minerals and water should be evaluated. It is cardinal to be clear that the doses are not static, and are subject to change depending on particular conditions or requirements.

To distribute the ingestion throughout the day: The healthy thing is to execute between 3-5 daily meals, dosing the foods according to our rhythm of activities:

• To the breakfast it would correspond to contribute 25% of the daily energy.

• At lunch, 35%.

• At dinner, 15%.

• To these three basic meals, we would add two lighter intakes, the mid-morning lunch, 15% and the snack, 10%.

In specific cases, an afternoon snack could be included, but this would be subject to pathology or more complex schedules.

Foods of vegetable origin

There is a lack of retinol and vitamins b12 and d.

There are carbohydrates from certain foods such as:

• Lentils, wheat, corn, potatoes and rice are found, fundamentally, in the form of starch [a polysaccharide composed of different glucose molecules].

• Cherries, grapes, bananas, sugar cane or sugar beet, are lumped into mono- and disaccharides or simple sugars.

• Peas or corn carbohydrates are found as sugars that transmute into starch as they develop.

• The sweet taste of carrots becomes clearer over time, as their sugar content is gradually compressed.

• In addition, the starch in unripe fruits such as bananas, apples or pears transforms into sugar as they ripen, giving the food a sweeter and more identifiable taste.

Examples:

• Cereals and processed foods.

• Vegetables and fruits.

• Legumes.

• Oils and culinary or perceptible fats.

• Sugars and sweets.

Foods of animal origin

Foods of animal origin provide high quality proteins, since they are composed of most of the amino acids necessary for the production of proteins for the functioning of the organism. Roughly speaking, they are composed of everything, with the exception of vitamin C, folic acid and carotenes, which are found in minute concentrations. On the other hand, they lack carbohydrates [except for milk] and fiber. In contrast to foods of vegetable origin, they do provide cholesterol, retinol, vitamins d and b12.

Examples:

• Milk and derivatives.

• Eggs.

• Meat and derivatives.

• Fish and seafood.

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