Healthy: The Connotations and Misconceptions

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Healthy: The Connotations and Misconceptions The general idea of being healthy has changed in a variety of ways over the many centuries that humans have been studying anatomy. Being healthy is much more than just looking good, and the U.S. Military is a great example of this. Most military personnel do not have large muscles but they are still extremely strong and even outperform professional bodybuilders. This is because the size and strength of muscles are much more independent of one another than most would initially believe (Mettler) (Phillips). Any medical doctor, anatomical expert, or even a so-called “Health-Guru” will tell you that the singular most important factor in changing the body mass index of a person is their diet. Many people refer to the laws of physics and biological imperatives when speaking of diet. Basically the idea is that when a person consumes more calories than he or she uses, then the person is gaining weight. Gaining weight is not always a bad thing, as most people trying to gain muscle need to gain weight in order to do so. However, the type of food you eat contains different “Macro Nutrients” which can effect different growth factors in different ways. Generally the most feared and hated macro nutrient is the carbohydrate. It is technically not the most fattening nutrient, (Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram whereas actual fat provides 9.) yet carbohydrates are much more numerous in the foods that contain them. For instance, white bread or ice cream contain multitudes of carbohydrates since they are simple sugars, but don't contain nearly the same amounts of fat. Carbohydrates at the basic level are made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is these three elements that make up the sim... ... middle of paper ... ...rking out should appropriately plan his or her workouts according to the goal he or she wants to accomplish as one can get very different things out of their body depending on which way they work out. Works Cited Mettler, S. "Increased protein intake reduces lean body mass loss during weight loss in athletes.." (2010): n. page. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. . Phillips, SM. "Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation.." Journal of Sports and Sciences. (2011): n. page. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. . Hubal, Monica. "Variability in Muscle Size and Strength Gain after Unilateral Resistance Training." (2005): n. page. Print. .

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