Get More Nutrients When Cooking With Food

Food is any material eaten to provide nutrition to an organism for growth, health or energy. Food is generally of plant, animal, or fungus origin, and often contains various nutrients, including proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, or iron. The composition of food depends upon the type and amount of the food to be eaten and the physiological situation of the individual. During the course of human life, humans eat food in three main forms: solid food, semi-solid food and liquid food.

Solid food comprises food that contains all the edible parts of a plant or animal. These include the stems, leaves, seeds, roots and leaves. Grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are some examples of solid food. They are broken down into three major categories according to their components: carbohydrates, protein and fibre.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy in the human diet; they are also used as storage for excess fat. Some examples of carbohydrates are bread, cereals, pasta and potatoes. Protein is the building block of muscles and it is used for building and repairing bones. Some examples of plants containing protein are nuts, pulses, beans, eggs, fish, tofu, legumes and nuts.

The second group of food is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates come from vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grain products. Some examples of vegetable carbohydrates are breads, cereals, pasta and potatoes. Some examples of fruit carbohydrates are oranges, mangoes, grapes and lemons. Some examples of legume carbohydrates are beans and lentils.

The third group of food is made up of proteins. Proteins are vital to the human body because they are the major source of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and hormones. Some examples of plant proteins include milk, poultry and fish. Some examples of animal proteins include pork, beef and cheese. The fourth group of food that people need is fats.

Fats provide necessary fatty acids and they are also needed by the body in times of need. Fats can be found in some types of food such as nuts, avocados and oils. A good way of getting the right sources of nutrients is to refer to the food pyramid. That way you can get the right amounts of the various nutrients. You should keep in mind that the food pyramid does not include foods that are considered to be junk foods.

In order to get a balanced diet, it would be ideal if you know which food groups you should eat more of. If you consume food from all four food groups, you should get all the nutrients that are listed. One way of knowing this is to consult the nutritional facts of the food. The nutritional facts will also give you a list of recommended daily allowance (RDA). So, when you go out shopping for food, buy food that has the recommended RDA.

Another tip to follow in getting the right amount of nutrients is to limit the consumption of meats and reducing the intake of dairy products, grains, salt and refined sugar. Studies show that the typical American diet only contains about a third of the recommended daily allowance of iron. Some of the best sources of iron are spinach, kidney beans, peas, dried beans and whole grain brown rice. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grain foods are some of the other great food sources. The bottom line is that it is not hard to get enough of the nutrients that you need.