Nutrients

There are six nutrients your body uses:  Carbohydrates  Fats  Proteins  Vitamins  Minerals  water

When people make poor food choices or do not have enough to eat, serious health conditions can result.  Nutrient deficiency (severe nutrient shortage)  Malnutrition (weather, inadequate transportation, political problems, poverty)

Energy from Nutrients The number of calories your body needs for energy in a given day depends on a number of factors. These include energy level, age, weight, and gender. If you are still growing, the number is affected by increased energy demands for building muscles and bones.

Women: (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) OR (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs) Men: 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) OR 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5.0 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs) This formula gives your BMR – your Basal Metabolic Rate (this is how many calories you’d use if you spent the whole day lying in bed…) You now need to multiply your result by a percentage to reflect your activity level. Note that all levels include daily activities like gentle walking and light housework – when “exercise” is mentioned, it is in addition to this, eg. a workout, gym class, or jog. Sedentary (no exercise, sit at a desk most of the day): BMR x 120 percent (ie. an extra 20% on top of the BMR) Light Activity (no exercise, on feet during the day, eg. shop work): BMR x 130 percent Moderately Active (exercise 3 or more days a week for 30 minutes or more): BMR x 140 percent Highly Active (exercise 5 or more days a week for 30 minutes or more): BMR x 150 percent The result now gives you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Note that to multiply the BMR by 100%, you multiply it by 1; so to multiply by 140% you multiply by 1.4. Here’s an example: John is a technical writer, 35 years old, 5’ 11” tall and weighs 200lbs (about 40lbs overweight). He cycles to work most days (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) = 66 + (6.3 x 200) + (12.9 x 71) – (6.8 x 35) = – 238 = (BMR) Now multiply by 1.4 = So, to maintain his current weight, John should eat about 2700 calories per day.

Sources of Calories Carbohydrates and Proteins provide 4 calories per gram. Fats provide 9 calories per gram. ***Notice fat has more than twice the number of calories per gram as carbs and proteins. Which is why we need less fats!!! 30% of calories from fat 55 % of calories from carbohydrates 12-15% of calories from proteins This provides the healthiest balance of the three nutrients.