3. Why is the importance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for an active teen?
CARBOHYDRATES: Carbohydrates are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. A monosaccharide, which are foods like sugar is a simple carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrates (which are made of polysaccharides) are foods like bread and cereal. The difference is that simple carbohydrates dissolve when put in water (or milk), while complex carbohydrates do not (it will get soggy though…). These foods are high in glucose, which we store in our body tissues as the form of Glycogen.
We then use the glycogen as a form of first hand energy, so when you go out to run, your body uses the carbohydrates you eat and turn it into energy. Carbohydrates can also lower your cholesterol and prevent constipation.
Be aware that there can be "too much of a good thing" and that the daily recommended intake of carbohydrates is 300 grams.
If you eat whole grains like wheat bread, and whole-wheat cereals, fruits, and vegetables then you are eating good carbohydrates.
PROTEINS: Proteins are made of many chains of amino acids, the building blocks of enzymes. Enzymes are very important because they allow us to carry out our bodily functions without problems. A diabetic needs insulin (an enzyme) to make food available as fuel for muscles, nerves, and your brain. Without it, the blood pressure can become severely high. That is why protein is especially important for a teen with diabetes.
There are some amino acids in proteins that can't be processed artificially, and can only be obtained by organic foods. These are called Essential amino acids. This includes (but is not limited to) phenylalanine, valine, methionine, and cysteine.
Proteins have more functions in our bodies than carbohydrates and fats combined. Proteins make enzymes, produce hormones, heal weak or damaged bones and muscle, allow the growth of bones and muscle, fight off disease with antibodies, carry nutrients throughout our bodies, and are a source of energy. But again, there can be too much of a good thing and ingesting too much protein causes it to turn into fat. Some fat can be good for you though (as you will read about below)
50 grams of protein is the daily-recommended intake. You can get a healthy source of protein from dairy and meats like milk, eggs, fish, lean meats, and beans. You would want foods that contain complete proteins because they contain all of the amino acids your body requires in good, equal proportion. If not, eating more than one food with incomplete proteins is fine too.
FATS: Fats, also known as lipids are made of fatty acids. Depending on the temperature, fats can either be solid (fat) or liquid (oils). An actual fat molecule is called a triglyceride, or 3 fatty acid chains held together by Glycerol.
There are THREE different types of fats out there: saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats.
Saturated Fats are fats found in animal products (ham, cocoanut oil, butter) and are solid at room temperature. The recommended consumption for saturated fats is no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake because, unfortunately, eating these fats in excess they can lead to heart diseases like Atherosclerosis. Why it does this is because saturated fats increase LDL, the BAD cholesterol.
Unsaturated Fats are found in plants (olive oil, soybeans, avocado) and are liquid at room temperature. The recommended consumption for unsaturated fats is no more than 30% or your daily caloric intake. They are considered the GOOD fats because they reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol). Nutritionists say that unsaturated fats are good to eat if you are watching your cholesterol.
Trans Fats were used when people found out unsaturated fats were healthier and started selling them more. Since unsaturated fats go bad quickly, they began to "hydrogenate" them, which made the fats longer lasting. Today we call it "partially hydrogenated oil." Using hydrogenated vegetable oils this way, trans fats cause the total and LDL cholesterol levels to increase and they can even reduce HDL cholesterol levels. That's worse than saturated fats! French fries, doughnuts, and any deep fried food have this.
The daily recommended intake for the total amount of fat you eat is 65 grams, 20 of which should be saturated.
You can find foods high in unsaturated fat (the good fat) in Avocado, soybean oil, canola oil, and olive oil.
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/obesity/obesity_molecular/09.html
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