Food is made up of different constituents that you have probably heard about before, like protein, carbohydrates and fats. The body breaks down all foods into these basic constituents, and uses them for specific purposes. Bits and pieces are dispatched all around the body for its various uses, via the blood stream. Ideally, we would match our food intake exactly to our body’s requirements but, of course, practicalities get in the way, like availability and our dreaded taste buds. Let’s have a closer look at what exactly our body does with the food we feed it.

What Is Our Body Made Of?

Muscle: Our muscles are the main functional parts of our bodies and they are made of protein. Mostly, they are the only things that move. Muscles make our bodies and limbs move, and they make our internals move – heart, lungs etc. Our muscles constantly need repair and maintenance, especially when you are recovering from exercise, and protein is what muscles require.

Fat: The main reason we need fat on our bodies is for energy storage. Back in the good ol’ days when we were cave-people, we regularly had to go for days on end without food due to scarcity. When food is scarce, our fat reserves are converted to energy for our bodies to survive on. Other than that, body fat is not much required for today’s human bodies. At least in Australia, food shortage is not such a problem (quite the opposite).

Water: Water is the medium in which the body exists. In between all the little parts, the body is made of water, around 70%. Just as we need to drink water, all our cells need to drink water too. In fact, the reason we drink water is so water can be carried to every part of the body, so that our little cells can drink water too, transporting valuable nutrients and flushing out waste at the same time.

Bones: As we all know, the framework of our body is the skeleton. Our bones are made of mostly calcium. Calcium is required the most while we are young and growing, which is why babies drink their mother’s milk. As we get older, some calcium is still required to maintain our bones and to ward off such diseases as osteoporosis.

Nutrients

In small, but very important quantities, the body requires other things to keep itself going. These include vitamins, minerals, and essential fats. There are hundreds of nutrients in our bodies, and all these are needed to maintain all body functions.

Energy

Our bodies need fuel to keep us moving and keep us warm. The body converts some of what we eat into energy. Energy mainly comes in the form of carbohydrates, which we eat as sugars and more complex carbohydrates. Energy is also derived from the proteins and fats we eat. Everyone’s body is different, and our requirements change, but typically there is a certain amount of energy we require per day (calories or kilojoules). Everything over that amount is converted to fat for energy storage. (Our bodies are not smart enough to know that, in our modern age, we actually don’t need this energy storage).

Food We Eat

When you are eating or planning a meal – consider what you body requires, and consider what you are feeding yourself. When thinking this way, it becomes easier to provide your body with what it needs. Also, we become aware of what our body doesn’t need. Let’s look at what the food we eat actually contains.

Protein: Proteins are mainly animal products, like meats and fish. (Remember, our muscles are made from protein. Animals’ muscles are the meat we eat). Protein is also found in eggs and dairy foods. Legumes, like lentils, dried beans and soy beans also contain high levels of protein.

Fat: Fat is obviously present in meats, and we can often see this. All oils are 100% fat. Therefore, everything fried in oil is fatty. Fats are also found in nuts and dairy foods.

Carbohydrate: All sugar is carbohydrate. Everything high in sugar is high in carbohydrates. When ever you hear the term ‘complex carbohydrates’, this refers to long chains of sugars. Starch is a complex carbohydrate. Breads, cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes are all complex carbohydrates. Fruits and most vegetables are basic, fruit-style carbohydrates.

Nutrients: Nutrients are present mostly in fresh, unprocessed foods, like fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. They contain the many vitamins and minerals provided for us by nature. Nutrients can easily be destroyed, so the more a food has been processed, normally the less nutrients are remaining.

Pulling all of the above together, it’s clear how important it is that we  structure our food intake for good health, addressing our body’s needs from a physiological requirement, not a taste bud request! Our body needs mainly protein, nutrients and energy. The reason I put energy last in this list is that, if we eat vegetables, fruit and meat for protein and nutrients, you’ll see from above that energy is derived from all these sources anyway! High energy foods like pasta and cake give you huge amounts of energy without giving you anything else you need. They contain a lot of ‘dead’ calories with hardly any nutrients.

So when it comes to the food you are feeding your body think carefully about what you are actually providing for your body. Is it really food and is it the best choice you could make?

© Paul Blackman 2006

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