Eating Healthy

Importance of Milk

The body needs a vast range of nutrients in order to stay healthy. Almost every food commodity is rich in one type of nutrient whereas deficient in some other type. As far as energy is concerned, only carbohydrates, proteins and fats are the main source of food energy. Besides this, organic acids polyols and ethanols also give some energy. For this reason, it is important to include food items from each of the six food groups e.g. fruits group, vegetables group, grains group, meat and beans group, milk group and oil group in daily diet plan to provide the body with required amount of vital and energy generating nutrients in recommended quantity that depends on factors like age, gender, height, physical activities etc. You would need to uptake a diet comprising six food groups including the milk group that could give you energy in range of 1,800 to 2400 calories depending on your physical activities and other required nutrition.

It is generally recommended to consume at least 2-3 cups of milk or other products from milk group daily whereas drinking 1 cup of milk would only give you around 160 calories with many other important nutrients. Milk is a good source of protein, rich in essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and Riboflavin vitamin B2. Besides that it also contains many other important nutrients including vitamin A, thiamine vitamin B1, magnesium and potassium. You will only gain weight if your calorie intake per day is more than your calorie requirement per day. Avoiding milk or other dairy products might not decrease your weight considerably but would definitely affect your health adversely in the long run.

Vitamin E
Turnips, sunflower seeds, almonds and spinach are very good sources of vitamin E. Besides that, vitamin E is also present in papaya, olives, bell pepper, tomatoes etc. By adding these fruits and vegetables to your diet plan you can fulfill your body's requirement of vitamin E.

Infant Tummy Problems
Milk is highly nutritious and supports the growth of a large range of micro-organisms including those that cause disease including infectious diarrhea. These micro-organisms multiply within minutes to double their population. Washing bottles alone with hot water is not sufficient to completely remove these organisms. Instead, it is important to boil properly washed bottles for at least 5-10 minutes in a pan covered with a lid. Leave the bottles in the covered pan till use. Avoid giving milk to your babies in unboiled bottles to prevent the child from frequent onset of diarrhea.

Chinese Salt
Chinese salt is mono sodium glutamate (MSG) a derivative of glutamate, comprising water, sodium and glutamate. Glutamate is an amino acid that is a building block of proteins naturally found in many foods e.g. cheese, milk, meat, mushrooms, fish, vegetables etc. Glutamate is also produced by human body. A human body cannot differentiate between glutamate added to food and glutamate naturally found in food.

Biotin Deficiency
Biotin is also know as vitamin B7 and is a water soluble B complex vitamin composed of an ureido (tetrahydroimidizalone) ring fused with a tetrahydrothiophene ring.
The symptoms of deficiency of biotin are commonly represented through skin related problems and hair loss. Biotin deficiency can also lead to problems related to the nervous system e.g. seizures, lack of muscle co-ordination and lack of good muscle tone. In case of biotin deficiency, physical exertion can cause muscle cramps and pain due to inability to use sugar efficiently as fuel.
Tomatoes and carrots are excellent sources of biotin. Other foods that contain biotin include eggs, onion, cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, milk, walnuts, almonds etc.

Sources of Protein
Beans are a comparatively cheaper option. There are large varieties of beans and several dishes can be prepared from them. Recent studies show that consuming beans on a daily basis helps to reduce blood cholesterol level besides providing excellent nutrition. Eating beans with rice or bread would be a good high protein fiber rich diet. Most of the beans contain more than 20% protein and are rich in carbohydrates. Besides that, they also contain vitamin B and iron. Though the beans contain 2-3% fat but they are perfect for fat restricted diets.