Nutrient Information

Protein: Your muscles, skin, nails, and hair are mostly proteins. Protein is important because it: - Helps you grow. - Helps you build and maintain your strength. - Builds and repair cells in your body. - Fights off infections. - Supplies your body with energy.

Protein: Sources of protein include lean red meat, chicken, fish, nuts, and legumes. Dairy products like cheese and milk are also good sources of protein. The recommended average daily amount of protein for teens fourteen to eighteen years is 46 grams for girls and 52 grams for boys

Carbohydrates (Sugars): These nutrients are our main source of energy. This group includes simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Simple carbohydrates are sugars that provide quick energy and very few vitamins or minerals.

Carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates, such as starches and fiber, provide your body with long-lasting energy. Foods with starch include pasta, bread, and potatoes. **Most of the calories you eat should come from complex carbohydrates (whole grains). The average recommended amount of carbohydrates for a student fourteen to eighteen years is 130 grams

Lipids (Fats and Oils): These nutrients provide long-lasting energy; helps the body store vitamins; helps protect vital organs like your heart, kidneys, and liver; and helps keep your body warm. There are three different kinds of fat: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fat. Saturated fats come from dairy products, meats and poultry, and solid vegetable oils. You can tell if a fat is saturated if it is solid at room temperature, but melts to a liquid when heated. Eating foods that are high in saturated fats can increase your risk of developing heart disease.

Lipids: Unsaturated fats are found in plant products like vegetables oils, most nuts, olives, avocados, and fatty fish like salmon. This type of fat is usually liquid at room temperature. Including these fats, instead of saturated or trans fats, may decrease your risk of developing heart disease. Trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil in a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor of foods containing these fats.

Lipids: The recommended amount of total fat for a fourteen to eighteen year-old girl is 65 to 92 grams (based on an average intake of 2,368 calories) and for a fourteen to eighteen year-old boy is 87 to 122 grams (based on an average intake of 3,152 calories).

Vitamins: Very useful in the body for processing other nutrients. DO NOT provide energy (no calories), but they can help release it from foods. Examples: vitamin A, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.

Minerals: These nutrients regulate chemical reactions in the body. Two types: major minerals and trace minerals. Major minerals are required in daily amounts greater than 100 milligrams: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Trace minerals are minerals that your body requires in very small amounts, such as iron and zinc. One mineral that is often high in fast food is sodium. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

Water: One other important nutrient is water. Your body is made up of more than 60 percent water. It is involved in all of your body processes. Water carries nutrients to your cells, helps your body remove waste, and regulates your body temperature. Your body loses water daily when you perspire, go to the bathroom, or just while breathing.

Wait. . .what the heck is a Calorie?? Two kinds, the calorie and the Calorie. The one in foods is the Calorie, which is the amount of Energy it takes to heat 1kg or water through 1 degree celcius. Calories = Energy!