Fatty Acids
All fats, including saturated fatty acids, have important roles in the body. However, the most important fats are those the body cannot make and thus must come from the food we eat. These are called essential ____ acids.
What is fatty?
These essential fatty acids (EFAs) are based on linoleic acid (omega-6 group) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 group).
Amino acids are the building blocks of _____
What is protein?
Protein is a macronutrient that plays many essential roles including building and maintaining muscle mass. It is commonly found in animal products, though it's also present in other sources, such as nuts and legumes.
Eating at least 10 portions of ____ and _____ per day has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure, boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system, and reduce the risks for heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
What are fruits and vegetables?
Try including vegetables in your breakfast by making veggie omelets or frittatas in place of cereal or bagels, eating fruits for snacks instead of packaged sweets, and including vegetables like celery and carrot sticks with peanut or almond butter for snacks.
To function properly, all the cells, systems, and ____ in the body need water.
What is organs?
The amount of water we need each day depends on many factors including activity level, metabolism, body composition, ambient temperature, clothing, overall health, medications, age, and diet.
Lifestyle practices such as meditation, yoga and other exercise, music therapy, and acupuncture can help promote dopamine release, which helps to regulate your _____.
What is mood?
According to Walsh (2011), all too often we have “underestimated the importance of lifestyle for mental health.” In reality, research has shown that unhealthy lifestyles can be factors leading to or worsening disorders and that healthy lifestyles can help treat disorders and improve overall physical and mental well-being.
A ___ intake of omega-3 fatty acids compared with omega-6s may contribute to inflammation and chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and heart failure.
What is low?
Studies have shown that increasing the intake of certain essential fatty acids, either alone or in combination with other fats and compounds, can increase health, help treat certain diseases, and improve body composition, and mental and physical performance.
There are 11 nonessential amino acids (the body makes enough of these), and 9 _____ amino acids, which we need to obtain from our food.
What is essential?
Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use—the amino acids must be in the food every day.
Of the three macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) the one that is most often over-consumed is _______.
What is carbohydrates?
We tend to overeat refined carbohydrates. And because they are low in fiber and digested quickly, eating refined carbs can cause major swings in blood sugar levels. This can contribute to overeating.
Try to include complex carbohydrates such as tubers (sweet potatoes, white, red, or purple potatoes, carrots, yucca, daikon, tigernut), whole grains (brown or wild rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, barley, oats, spelt, rye), chickpeas, winter squash, fruit, beans, lentils, green peas, etc.
To maintain healthy blood sugar levels and reduce cravings for addictive substances and hyper-palatable foods, it's important to increase your fiber content by eating plenty of vegetables, eating foods that don't cause your blood sugar to spike, such as healthy fats and protein, and to stay _____ by drinking plenty of water.
What is hydrated?
When you don't drink enough water, the glucose in your bloodstream becomes more concentrated. This leads to higher blood sugar levels. Both mild and severe dehydration can have a notable impact on blood sugar levels.
Epidemiological data increasingly suggests that chronic _____ deprivation may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, thyroid and hormonal issues, type 2 diabetes, poor concentration, weight gain, weakened immune system, mood disorders, and higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
What is sleep?
Most people need at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. If you eat well and exercise regularly but don’t get at least seven hours of sleep every night, you may be undermining all of your other efforts. Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
Omega-3 fatty acids decrease inflammation in the body. They are found abundantly in cold water ___, especially wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring, and trout.
What is fish?
They are also found in flaxseeds, hempseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, avocados, and certain dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, collards, mustard greens).
Amino acid ____ can result in decreased immunity, digestive problems, depression, fertility issues, lower mental alertness, slowed growth in children, and many other health issues.
What is deficiency?
Malnutrition is most often the result of poor food diversity and quality rather than a lack of caloric intake. Eating a balanced diet is imperative for supporting the various ways our bodies function through different nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
____ such as black, adzuki, kidney, lima, white, and pinto are a good source of complex carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins.
What are beans?
Beans are an excellent source of potassium, copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, plant iron, and vitamins such as thiamin, folic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin B6. They are also typically inexpensive and very versatile.
The blood is more than 90% water and carries water-soluble _____ and oxygen to different parts of the body.
What is nutrients?
Many minerals and vitamins are water-soluble. These include salts like sodium chloride (table salt) and potassium nitrate, all of the B vitamins, and vitamin C.
Water-soluble nutrients are important for your brain function, immune health, energy, and more. They dissolve in water, which means you need water in your body to absorb these nutrients and put them to use.
If you smoke, you’re 30% to 40% more likely to get type 2 diabetes than people who don’t smoke. ____ from cigarettes increases your blood sugar levels and makes them harder to manage.
What is nicotine?
New research presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society found that nicotine can raise the HbA1c level by nearly 9% to up to 34.5%, depending on nicotine exposure.
Omega-6 fatty acids ____ inflammation in the body, which is an important component of the immune response for healing wounds, injuries, and infections.
What is increase?
Omega-6 fatty acids are typically overconsumed due to high levels in fast foods, processed foods, and refined seed and vegetable oils (like soybean oil). These fats are best consumed from seeds like flax, hemp, pumpkin, and sunflower; nuts like pine nuts and pistachios; and healthy choices of meat, poultry, and eggs.
When humans are exposed to stressors, including psychological stress, the requirements for _____ acids from healthy protein sources may be relatively greater than when functioning under optimal physiological conditions.
What is amino?
Some amino acids that offer brain health benefits during times of stress include Tryptophan, Methionine, and L-histidine.
Tryptophan (precursor to Serotonin) - animal products, soy products, beans, lentils, pumpkin and chia seeds, pistachios, almonds, cashews, oats
Methionine (antioxidant, healthy liver function) - animal products, Brazil nuts, soy products, beans, lentils, quinoa, peanuts
Histidine (myelin sheath/nerve cells) - animal products, soy products, beans, lentils, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, quinoa, wild rice, brown rice
Nuts such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, macadamias, and Brazil nuts, and ____ such as flax, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, and chia are tiny packages of dense nutrition.
What are seeds?
Nuts and seeds are rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber, minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, plant iron and zinc, and vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, and vitamin E.
Research shows that as little as 1 percent _______ negatively affects your mood, attention, memory, and motor coordination.
What is dehydration?
Data on humans is lacking, but it appears that brain tissue fluid decreases with dehydration, reducing brain volume and temporarily affecting cell function.
Your blood becomes more concentrated and your cardiovascular system struggles to compensate by increasing your heart rate to maintain blood pressure. If the body is "pushed" while in this condition, the risk of exhaustion or collapse increases.
Evidence clearly indicates that exercise is a dynamic regulator of metabolism and a powerful protective agent against metabolic diseases including obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, heart attack, stroke, and type 2 ______.
What is diabetes?
Overall, pooled research results show that 150 min/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity will reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes by 30%
Humans evolved on a diet with a 1-to-1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids; a healthy ratio appears to be between 1-to-1 and 4-to-1, but studies suggest that people who follow a typical standard American diet (SAD) may consume a ratio of about __ -to-1.
What is 16?
Too much omega-6 can raise your blood pressure, lead to blood clots that can cause heart attack and stroke, and cause your body to retain water. We don't eat nearly enough omega-3, which can reduce our risk for heart disease and cancer.
Protein helps to maintain ____ mass as people age and lowers the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
What is bone?
Bone undergoes continuous remodeling; therefore, an adequate supply of amino acid and mineral substrate is needed to support the formation and maintenance of bone across the lifespan.
There are thousands of phytonutrients in plant foods that come in every ____ so, to ensure that you are getting enough of these important nutrients, eat a rainbow every day.
What is color?
Some benefits of phytonutrients include anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties, support for cell protection, immune health, liver, heart, brain, and other organs, hormone and reproductive health, GI health, skin, cognition, and many other bodily functions.
Water accounts for 50-70 percent of our ____ _____ and any deficit in normal body water – through dehydration, sickness, exercise, or heat stress – can make us feel bad.
What is body weight?
We continually lose water via our breath, urine, feces, and skin. When dehydrated, we typically feel thirsty and fatigued and may develop a mild headache. This eventually gives way to grumpiness and mental and physical decline.
When eating out, try to select fresh foods like salads, steamed veggies, baked potatoes, and fruit, and order your meats baked or broiled instead of ____.
What is fried?
As many as 1 in 3 Americans eats fast food at least once a day, and most of those fast food meals include fried foods. Research has linked higher consumption of fried foods to Type 2 diabetes and heart problems, but studies also show eating fried foods every day could shorten your life.