Carbohydrates
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Your body's main source of energy. Also cause your pancreas to release insulin which aids in:
- Regulating blood sugar
- Storing energy
- Repairing Muscles
- Intestinal health and waste elimination
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40% - 60%** of Caloric Intake
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- Pancreas won't release enough insulin, causing low energy, headaches, muscle cramps and diarrhea
- Insufficient supply of blood sugar to the body, causing organs to malfunction
- Ketosis, loss of sodium and dehydration
- Often causes diets to be higher in fat, which can lead to obesity
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- Pancreas will release too much insulin, causing your body to turn calories into fat
- May mean you are not getting enough high-quality protein for proper growth and body maintenance
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Proteins
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Crucial to building muscle and burning fat, and increasing and maintaining your metabolism. They:
- Provide energy when carbohydrates are not available
- Help transport nutrients throughout the body
- Make essential hormones and enzymes
- Provide structure for muscles, hair and blood, repair tissue and preserve lean muscle mass
- Support the immune system
- Assist growth
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20% - 40%** of Caloric Intake
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- Slower metabolism
- Decreased muscle mass
- Increased fat
Excess protein is used for energy, excreted out of the body or turned into fat. Too much can lead to:
- Shorter life expectancy
- Increased cancer and heart disease risk
- Decreased bone calcium
- Kidney stress
- Obesity
- Urinary calcium excretion which is harmful for bone turnover, and can lead to osteoporosis
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Fats
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Fat is essential for lubricating your joints and manufacturing hormones.
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20% - 30%** of Caloric Intake
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- Hormone production will drop and normal chemical reactions will be interrupted
- Increased body fat
- Hair loss and/or lost hair luster and sheen
- Nails can become brittle
- Vital organs will lack cushion
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- Increased cholesterol levels
- Obesity
- Increased risk of type II diabetes, gallbladder disease, cardiovascular disease and heart attack, hypertension, and osteoarthritis
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Fiber
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Helps prevent or relieve constipation, as well as lower risk of diabetes and heart disease.Unlike other food components, your body doesn't digest fiber. Instead, it passes through your digestive tract, increasing the weight and size of your stool and softens it, making it easier to pass.
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Women 50 or younger:
25 grams
Women 50+:
21 grams
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- Excessive gassiness
- Bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Stools uncomfortably frequent and large overall volume
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- Constipation
- Infrequent stools
- Hard stools
- Abdominal pains
- A general feeling of "sluggish bowels"
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Water
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70% of your body weight is water, and as a result it is vital that you drink enough fluids. Water plays a role in nearly every function of the body. It:
- Flushes toxins out of vital organs and cells
- Carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues
- Keeps blood clean and skin soft and stretchy
- Cools you down when you become overheated (especially during exercise)
- Is needed for digesting, absorbing and transporting nutrients
Is a lubricant for joints and cushions vital organs and tissues
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72 ounces
You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications
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- Dehydration reduces the body’s ability to perform physically and mentally
- Constipation
- If extreme dehydration occurs over extended period of time, may increase risk of colon cancer
- The inability of the body to cool itself will result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion or a heat stroke
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- Although highly unlikely, water intoxication and hyponatremia can occur due to a the dilution of sodium and electrolytes in the body (important to drink water over time instead of all at once)
- When it occurs, it is most often seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes
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