Yoko Kawaida writes:
To begin with, I would like to answer Mr Tanaka's questions. Vitamins
help the body turn food into energy and tissues. minerals are needed
for growth and maintenance of body structures. They also help to
maintain digestive juices and the fluids found in and around cells.
Vitamines and minerals are essential for human body. There are 13
vitamins in all. Each vitamin has different RDA. For example,
according to the text of physiology, RDA of vitamin A is 750
micrograms for men whose weight is 65 kilograms. And RDA of vitamin C
is 30 milligrams. Minerals include calcium, chlorine,magnesium, iron
and so on. These each have different RDA. In general, 800 milligram
calcium is necessary for men. As to iron, RDA for men (19 years and
older) is 10 milligrams. And he questioned about difference between
carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates include all starches and sugars.
they are the body's main source of energy. Each gram of carbohydrate
provides 4 calories. Most foods contain carbohydrates. Starches are
more filling and contain more nutrients than foods with lots of
sugars, fats, or oils. Fats pack a lot of energy too. But each gram of
fat provides 9 calories. There are three kinds of fat: saturated,
monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated fat is often called
"bad" fat.
Next I would like to think about his life style. The first problem is
his eating habits,I think. A meal is the basis of healthy life. He
said he doesn't eat breakfast. He should have breakfast everyday.
Breakfast supply energy to the body at the start of the day. Since he
doesn't have time to eat breakfast most morning, I recommend he takes
cereals and fruits, salad. At lunch and dinner, he had better intake
healthier and better balanced food than fast food. Although fast food
like hamburgers, cheeseburgers contains high amounts of calories, it
is poor in various vitamins and proteins and fibers and minerals. I
advised him to take a well-balanced diet contains many kinds of
nutrtion.
He said "I get good nutrition from the vitamin supplements
I take." It is better to get nutrition directly from foods. In
addition, he said "like most Japanese, I get my fiber from eating udon
and rice, and that's all I need to think about, right?" Fiber is also
important for his health. Fiber has been shown in studies to help
reduce the rates of some forms of cancer, namely colon and breast
cancer. Certain kinds of fiber have been found to lower levels of
cholesterol in the blood. Udon and rice certainly contain fiber. But
it is not enough. He must eat many more foods, e.g. beans, fruits and
sweet potato, in order to get a good daily dose (25 to 30 grams) of
fiber. He has four or five cups of coffee and colas. This habit seems
to be bad for his health. Coffee and cola contain caffeine. Caffeine
is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system, making you feel
more energetic. Large doses of caffeine can cause restlessness,
sleeplessness, palpitations, and diarrhea. Although there is not a lot
of evidence that caffeine causes any major long-term health effects,
he is complaining of difficulty with relaxation. So he had better
reduce the intake of caffeine. It is good idea to keep his average
intake below three cups of coffee a day.
The second problem is lots of
pressure from his work. Pressures causes stresses. I think stresses
will cause many diseases. There is an old saying, "Care killed the
cat." I recommend his finding a favorite pastime. The third problem is
little exercising. I want to put great emphasis on the merit of the
exercise. He said he doesn't like to exercise, but exercise is very
good for the health. In addition, a exercise become a good diversion.
Regular exercise not only lose some weight healthily but also lower
LDL(low-density lipoprotein, bad cholesterol) level. His level of LDL
is 172. This is higher than a dangerous level. High levels of LDL is
in danger of heart disease. So he should get more exercise. Since
there are many kinds of exercises, he will be able to find the
suitable exercise for him. Besides regular exercise, it is useful to
reduce the cholesterol intake. Cholesterol is found in all animals. So
I suggest he reduce these intake. Instead of animal food, it is good to
take in plants products, for it do not have cholesterol. And his
family history that they are suffer from diabetes and heart disease
make his risk of these diseases increase.
Therefore he should pay
attention to control the amount of cholesterol. I know it is not easy,
but he must change his life style. Three balanced meal and relax,
suitable amount of exercise are essential for him.
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