Food Nutrition Calories: Food Nutritional Values
The Quality, Not The Number Of Calories In Food Is Important
What does food nutrition calories mean? In our quest to find low calorie foods that are nutritious, we often come upon some of the most neglected foods, fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables offer some of the highest vitamin and mineral contents of any other food on the planet. Let’s take a look at some top nutritious foods for health and also with low calories.
Food Nutrition Calories and Sources of Beta Carotene
For over 300 years nutritional scientists have been studying how certain types of foods prevent cancer. These studies have shown that people who eat lots of food containing beta-carotene, antioxidants, vitamins C, D, and E are less likely to succumb to cancer. Foods with high amounts of these nutrients do not have high calories.
All orange, red, and yellow vegetables are high in beta-carotene. Red and orange bell peppers, yellow squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and apples may help to reduce the risk of lung cancer. And the fiber content in these foods alone reduces the risk of colon cancer.
Food Nutrition Calories and Sources of Vitamins D and E
Besides getting most of your intake of vitamin D from the sun, you can also receive some Vitamin D from food that has been fortified with Vitamin D, such as milk.
Vitamin D is essential for strong bones and helps to prevent osteoporosis. The most efficient way to receive Vitamin D is from moderate doses of sunshine on the skin.
Vitamin E food sources come from wheat germ, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil and some greens. Vitamin E is an important nutrient, which helps to prevent damage of fatty acids in the body.
Food Nutrition Calories and Sources of Vitamin C
Citrus fruits, Broccoli, and potatoes are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is a natural protector against some forms of cancer. Just three and one half ounces of broccoli supplies the body with twice the daily requirement of Vitamin C.
Eating about two carrots meets the daily requirement of beta-carotene. Drizzling olive oil on your salads and steamed veggies will supply you with the daily requirement of Vitamin E.
To ensure adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, nutritionists recommend a certain number of food portions each day.
It is recommended to eat six to eleven servings of whole grains every day. Excellent food sources for whole grains are whole wheat, barley, millet, brown rice and rolled oats. It is also recommended to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables in a twenty-four hour period.
It is advised to eat two servings of dairy products every single day. Besides milk, other good sources of calcium are broccoli, dark leafy greens, sesame seeds, and almonds. The food pyramid lists that we should eat at least three servings of protein foods such as meat, fish, beans and nuts daily.
As you can see, food nutrition is important. Knowing what foods supply the basic nutritional needs for our body is a must if you want to be healthy.
If you’re worried about calories, then your best bet is to choose foods that are grown organically and have not been tampered with in a factory. Healthy eating is up to you and the food choices you make.
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