Healthy Eating Essay

Introduction
According to healthpromotion.ie healthy eating is about having a balance diet that contains all different types of foods from each food group. When eating the right amounts of food from each food group you get all the nutrients you need to stay healthy and have a good healthy weight. There is six main food groups that are recommended to have daily:
• Bread, cereal and potatoes
• Fruit and vegetables
• Dairy products
• Meat, fish and other non-dairy products
• Fats and oils
• High fats, sugar and salt
Healthy eating is not the only way to stay healthy, you can eat as healthy as you want but without doing some amount of exercise daily you can still get health problems like heart disease, stroke etc.

The Food We Eat and What

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range suggests the total calories for carbohydrates are 46 to 65 percent. There are three types of carbohydrates: starch, fibres and sugar. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2005) diets that are high in fibre show a decrease in the risk of heart disease and constipation. In these guidelines it is recommends a fibre intake of 14 grams per 1,000 calories. They recommend you get high fibres foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables e.g. wholemeal bread, brown pasta

As stated in the Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients) ( 2005 ) proteins are made up of amino acids. Some proteins are insoluble in water like keratin. Some amino acids are produced into protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is when amino acids are arranged into protein through rRNA, mRNA and tRNA. Examples of proteins are beans, meat, fish etc. lack of protein can lead to poor healing of wounds, delayed growth etc.
Fats: Fats or lipids are important in diet to provide the body with energy. The British Nutrition Foundation state that fats are made up of amino acids. There are two types of fats they are saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature such as cheese, butter etc. Too much saturated fats increase the risk of heart disease. Whereas unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature such as nuts, vegetable oil etc. These maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Minerals and vitamins: minerals and vitamins help maintain the body’s growth and development. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there are many types of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins can be fat soluble such as A, D, E and K or water soluble B and C. There are many minerals such as calcium, copper, iron etc. Examples of vitamins are dairy products, tomatoes, citrus fruits etc.
Supplements - Alternatives to