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| You can pay a nutritionist to tell you what to eat (some will even come clean out your refrigerator for you), or you can buy the latest best-selling "breakthrough supernutrition diet" that promises to help you achieve immortality. But while it's eminently wise to discuss your particular health needs with a qualified practitioner, there's only one person who can ensure that you eat right on a daily basis: you. |
| To be your own nutritionist, you need to educate yourself about food. When you understand what your body needs to keep energized, healthy, and strong, and which nutritional components make this happen, you'll be empowered to make your own smart food choices. This chapter aims to help you reach that goal. |
| THE KEYS |
| Everybody needs fat, protein, and carbohydrate, and you'll learn how much and what kind of each are best for you. Vitamins and minerals are crucial: here's what they do and where to find them. Do you need a pill to get your fill of the RDAs? Your body can't surviveand thrivewithout fiber and water. Phytonutrients are little chemicals that pack a big punch. |
| The Macronutrients Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates |
| Macronutrients are the components in food that give your body energy. Fat, protein, and carbohydrates are all essential to your body in different ways, and you need the right balance of each to maintain optimum health. |
| There's an ongoing argumentcarried out vociferously on bookstore shelvesabout what constitutes the "right balance." High-protein and high-carbohydrate diets go in and out of fashion; at various times each has been touted as the key to fitness and health. But fads aside, every major |
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