Optimum Nutrition
Optimum Nutrition for Vigour and Vitality
Your food shall be your
medicine. – Hippocrates
Diet plays a vital role in the maintenance of good
health and in the prevention and cure of disease. In the words of Sir Robert
McCarrison, one of the best known nutritionists, “The right kind of food is the
most important single factor in the promotion of health; and the wrong kind of food
is the most important single factor in the promotion of disease. "
The human body builds up and maintains healthy cells,
tissues, glands and organs only with the help of various nutrients. The body
cannot perform any of its functions, be they metabolic, hormonal, mental,
physical or chemical, without specific nutrients. The food which provides these
nutrients is thus one of the most essential factors in building and maintaining
health. Nutrition, which depends on food, is also of utmost importance in the
cure of disease. The
primary cause of disease is a weakened organism or
lowered resistance in the body, arising from the adoption of a faulty
nutritional pattern. There is an elaborate healing mechanism within the body
but it can perform its function only if it is abundantly supplied with all the
essential nutritional factors. It is believed that at least 45 chemical
components and elements are needed by human cells.
Each of these 45 substances, called essential
nutrients, must be present in adequate diets. The list of these nutrients,
include oxygen and water. The other 43 essential nutrients are classified into
five main groups, namely carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins.
All 45 of these nutrients are vitally important and they work together.
Therefore, the absence of any of them will result in disease and eventually in
death. Research has shown that almost all varieties of disease can be produced
by an under-supply of various nutrients. These nutritional deficiencies occur
on account of various factors, including the intense processing and refining of
foods, the time lag between the harvesting and consumption of vegetables and
fruits, the chemicals used in bleaching, flavouring, colouring and preserving foods
and the chemical fertilizers, fungicides insecticides and sprays used for
treating the soil. Therefore, as a first principle of nutrition, one should
insist upon whole meal flour and whole meal bread and avoid the white stuff. Research
has also shown that diseases produced by combinations of deficiencies can be corrected
when all the nutrients are supplied, provided irreparable damage has not been
done. A well-balanced and correct diet is thus of utmost importance for the
maintenance of good health and the healing of diseases. Such a diet, obviously
should be made up of foods, which in combination would supply all the essential nutrients.
It has been found that a diet which contains liberal quantities of (I) seeds,
nuts, and grains , (ii) vegetables and (iii) fruits, would provide adequate
amounts of all the essential nutrients. These foods have, therefore, been aptly
called basic food groups and the diet contains these food groups as optimum
diet for vigour and vitality. It is described, in brief, below:
Seeds, nuts and grains
These are the most important and the most potent of
all foods and contain all the important nutrients needed for human growth. They
contain the germ, the reproductive power which is of vital importance for the
lives of human beings and their health. Millet, wheat, oats, barley, brown rice,
beans and peas are all highly valuable in building health. Wheat, mung beans,
alfalfa seeds and soy beans make excellent sprouts. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin
seeds, almonds, peanuts and soy beans contain complete proteins of high
biological value. Seeds, nuts and grains are also excellent natural sources of
essential unsaturated fatty acids necessary for health. They are also good sources of
lecithin and most of the B vitamins. They are the best natural sources of
vitamin C, which is perhaps the most important vitamin for the preservation of
health and prevention of premature ageing. Besides, they are rich sources of minerals
and supply necessary bulk in the diet. They also contain auxones, the natural substance
that play an important role in the rejuvenation of cells and prevention of
premature ageing.
Vegetables
They are extremely rich source of minerals, enzymes
and vitamins. Faulty cooking and prolonged careless storage, however, destroy
these valuable nutrients. Most of the vegetables are, therefore, best consumed
in their natural raw state in the form of salads. There are different kinds of
vegetables. They may be edible roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. Each
group contributes to the diet in its own way. Fleshy roots have energy value
and good sources of vitamin B. Seeds are relatively high in carbohydrates and
proteins and yellow ones are rich in vitamin A. Leaves, stems and fruits are
excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, water and roughage. To prevent loss of
nutrients in vegetables, it would be advisable to steam or boil vegetables in their
juices on a slow fire and the water or cooking liquid should not be drained
off. No vegetable should be peeled unless it is so old that the peel is tough
and unpalatable. In most root vegetables, the largest amount of mineral is
directly under the skin and these are lost if vegetables are peeled. Soaking of
vegetables should also be avoided if taste and nutritive value are to be
preserved.
Fruits
Like vegetables, fruits are an excellent source of
minerals, vitamins and enzymes. They are easily digested and exercise a
cleansing effect on the blood and digestive tract. They contain high alkaline
properties, a high percentage of water and a low percentage of proteins and
fats. Their organic acid and high sugar content have immediate refreshing
effects. Apart from seasonable fresh fruits, dry fruits, such as raisins, prunes
and figs are also beneficial. Fruits are at their best when eaten in the raw
and ripe states. In cooking, the loose portions of
the nutrient salts and carbohydrates. They are most
beneficial when taken as a separate meal by themselves, preferably for
breakfast in the morning. If it becomes necessary to take fruits with regular
food, they should form a larger proportion of the meals. Fruits, however, make
better combination with milk than with meals. It is also desirable to take one
kind of fruit at a time. For the maintenance of good health, at least one pound
of uncooked fruits should form part of the daily diet. In case of sickness, it
will be advisable to take fruits in the form of juices. The three basic
health-building foods mentioned above should be supplemented with certain special
foods such as milk, vegetable oils and honey. Milk is an excellent food. It is
considered as "Nature’s most nearly perfect food." The best way to
take milk is in its soured form - that is, yogurt and cottage cheese. Soured
milk is superior to sweet milk as it is in a predigested form and more easily
assimilated. Milk helps maintain a healthy intestinal flora and prevents
intestinal putrefaction and constipation. High quality unrefined oils should be
added to the diet. They are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin C and F
and lecithin. The average daily amount should not exceed two table spoons. Honey
too is an ideal food. It helps increase calcium retention in the system,
prevents nutritional anemia besides being beneficial in kidney and liver
disorders, colds, poor circulation and complexion problems. It is one of the
nature’s finest energy-providing food. A diet of the three basic food groups,
supplemented with the special foods, mentioned above, will ensure a complete
and adequate supply of all the vital nutrients needed for health, vitality and
prevention of diseases. It is not necessary to include animal protein like egg,
fish or meat in this basic diet, as animal protein, especially meat, always has
a detrimental effect on the healing process. A high animal protein is harmful
to health and may cause many of our common ailments.
Daily Menu
Based on what has been stated above, the daily menu
of a health-building and vitalising diet should be on the following lines:
Upon arising - A glass
of lukewarm water mixed with the juice of a half a lemon and a teaspoon of
honey, or a glass of freshly squeezed juice of any available seasonable fruit
such as apple, pineapple, orange, sweet lime and grapes.
Breakfast - Fresh fruits
such as apple, orange, banana, grapes, or any available seasonal fruits, a cup
of butter-milk or unpasteurised milk and a handful of raw nuts or a couple of tablespoons
of sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Mid-morning snack - One apple
or a banana or any other fruit.
Lunch - A bowl
of freshly prepared steamed vegetables using salt, vegetable oil and butter for
seasoning, one or two slices of whole grain bread or chappatis and a glass of
butter-milk.
Mid-afternoon - A glass
of fresh fruit or vegetable juice or any available fruit.
Dinner - A large
bowl of fresh salad made up of green vegetables, such as tomatoes, carrot, cabbage,
cucumber, red beet and onion with lime juice dressing, any available sprouts
such as alfalfa seeds, and mung beans , a warm vegetable course, if desired,
one tablespoon of fresh butter, cottage cheese or a glass of butter-milk.
The above menu is a general outline around which an
individual diet can be built. It can be modified and changed to adapt to
specific requirements and conditions. The menu for lunch and dinner is
interchangeable. Do not drink liquids with meals. The water should be taken
half an hour before meals or an hour after meals. Milk, buttermilk, and
vegetable soups are foods and can be taken with meals.
Source: www.healthlibrary.com through
www.scribd.com
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