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Nutrition Logic: Food First, Supplements Second
Excerpts

From Chapter 5: Calcium Foods

Calcium, a mineral, is associated with bone health. This is not surprising because 99% of the calcium in your body is in the bones. But it is the other 1%, found mainly in your blood that dictates things. The calcium in your blood is used for muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, blood clotting, and regulation of blood pressure. These important functions cannot be left to chance, so your body strictly maintains the amount of calcium in your blood. What supplies the calcium in your blood? The calcium you consume from food or calcium supplements and the calcium that is stored in your bones.

The calcium recommendation for adults is based on age. Those aged 19 to 50 need to consume 1,000 milligrams per day. After age 50, 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily is needed. Postmenopausal women not receiving estrogen (hormone replacement therapy) should consume 1,500 milligrams per day. Meeting calcium requirements is important for all adults. Consuming 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams daily is easier for men than for women. Most men consume more food and therefore more calcium than women do. Obtaining 1,500 milligrams from diet alone is difficult. Calcium supplements are a reasonable alternative for some people and are covered in chapter 19.



From Chapter 11: Healthful Eating for Men

In many respects men have an easier time meeting their nutritional needs than women do. When compared to women, men need the same amount or slightly more of all of the vitamins. The same holds true for the minerals with one exception: iron. Men need considerably less iron than premenopausal women do. The average man needs to consume more calories daily than the average woman does because men have more muscle and other lean tissue (such as bone mass). The greater caloric consumption makes getting the needed nutrients easier.

A sedentary man needs about the same amount of calories as an active woman, a vivid example of the differences in caloric requirements. However, no one is suggesting that a sedentary lifestyle is healthy, even if you balance intake with expenditure and can maintain your weight. An active man needs about 2,800 calories daily. It is not difficult to meet nutrient requirements with 2,800 calories.

The basic guidelines are not based on gender. Thus, for men and women the components of a healthy diet are the same: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, fish, nuts, and oils. Men need more calories and, in some cases, more nutrients than women do. Men can meet these greater needs easily by eating larger portions of healthy foods. The following example is a case in point.

Michael is a 31-year-old computer programmer. He works odd hours depending on the current project. One week he may work 8-hour days and the next week he may work 14-hour days. When under a tight deadline, he eats and sleeps in his office. He considers himself an adventuresome eater, but cooking is pretty much limited to heating leftovers in the microwave. He uses exercise as a way to break the monotony and tension of work.

Can Michael be a healthy eater? Yes, as long as he makes the right choices. In the following example, Michael eats a quick breakfast—one toaster waffle and a cup of fat-free soy milk—before going to work at 9:00 A.M. At 1:00 P.M. a coworker goes to the local deli and picks up lunch. By this point Michael is very hungry, so he orders two tuna sandwiches on whole-grain bread, a three-bean salad, and a banana. At 7:00 P.M. he realizes that he has not eaten since lunch, and someone makes a run to the local Chinese restaurant. He eats large portions of stir-fried vegetables with tofu, cashew chicken, and steamed rice. He has half a mango for dessert and hot Chinese tea. At midnight he and some of the other programmers go across the street to a 24-hour gym and play basketball for an hour. He buys a trail mix snack from the vending machine and eats it on his way home. He arrives home about 1:45 A.M.

Michael met all of his nutrient requirements by eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, fish, nuts, and oils. (The complete nutritional breakdown is in the appendix) The choices he made were wise choices. For example, the soy milk he drank was calcium fortified. This is important because Michael does not eat dairy products and without the fortified soy milk his calcium intake would be low. He chose whole-grain bread for his sandwiches rather than white bread. He had a bean salad rather than chips with his sandwiches. The dishes he chose from the Chinese restaurant were among the most nutritious because they supplied lots of vegetables, tofu, and some nuts. The mango was an important source of vitamin A. He drank water throughout the day and exercised intensely for an hour.

Had he not chosen carefully, Michael’s diet could have been lacking nutrients. If he had chosen to eat sweet and sour pork and fried rice instead of the vegetables and steamed rice, he would not have met all his nutrient requirements. If he had gone home after work instead of playing basketball, he would not have been physically active all day. But it is possible to have a healthy lifestyle even if you eat out a lot if you make the right choices.

The choices you make about the foods you include in your diet should reflect your understanding of the nutrients you need. The amount of nutrients that you take in should balance your energy needs. That’s part of the logical approach to good nutrition. It doesn’t matter whether you prepare every meal yourself or join what seems like everyone in town at the local restaurant. Making the right choices means asking the right questions.