One of the disastrous effects of modern life is the fact that the amount of time we spend thinking about what, how much and when we eat is continually diminishing. Nutrition specialists warn that even though we eat three times a day, that doesn't necessarily make us any healthier or fitter. Good nutrition should actually contain a balanced amount of all the ingredients essential to support life, as none of them can be replaced.

Dietitians isolated seven main categories of nutrients, each of them present in certain types of food: carbohydrates (sugar compounds), proteins, fats, vitamins (nutrients that exist in every organism, but as the quantity is minimal, they must be supplemented) and minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iodine, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, etc.), fibers and water. Only proteins, fats and carbs provide us with the amount of energy our cells need in order to properly function, performing as cellular micro-engines.

 

Carbohydrates can be found in rice, bread and grain products, and also in some sweet fruit (bananas, pears, etc.), while the products with the highest level of fats (especially the fatty acids) are vegetables, seeds and marine oils. Vegetables are also rich in fibers (which make possible the whole process of digestion), also contained in certain types of fruit and in whole grains. Proteins are another highly important constituent of our body (contained in skin, hair and muscles) and only by consuming aliments such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, dairy and soy products can we help the damaged cells by providing them with the compounds much needed.

 

Vitamin supplements can nowadays be bought in almost every store, many of them being also available in specific products (as an example, vitamin A, used in digestion, can be found in liver, apricots, carrots, butter, etc.). Minerals are an usual element of certain kinds of foods, but they can be ingested separately, the most common example being the addition of iodine to the diet, through the popular “iodized salt”. Most health experts assess that our body needs at least two liters of water daily - as this is its main component (we are about 70% water) - to be taken from food (around 20%) or different beverages (including water, juice, coffee).