Makiko Kawamoto writes:
Mr. Tanaka has three kinds of problems. First, he has behavior
problems. Secondly, he has risk factors. And third, he has
misunderstandings about food, vitamins, minerals, etc.
Mr. Tanaka has
bad habits, which sometimes cause troubles. He doesn't eat breakfast
almost all the mornings. The second problem is that he tends to take
fast foods such as hamburgers, cheeseburger or udon. This kind of
foods have much fat, cholesterol and salt. The third problem is that
he drinks four or five cups of coffee and coke a day. Coffee and cola
contains lots of caffeine, and cola also contains much sugar. The
fourth problem is that he depends on vitamin supplements. The fifth
problem is that he eats lots of red meat when he can. And the last is
that he seldom does exercise, only for a half an hour per week. Also
he has many risk factors. Lately he's been feeling lots of stress at
work, and he finds it hard to relax even after work.
Tanaka's family
history has a record of diabetes and critical heart conditions. He
himself has a high level of LDL. Moreover, he has many misunderstandings
about what he should do for his good health, like that he's surprised
by his high LDL level since he has thought sweets foods only affects
LDL level. He also thinks that he can take fibers from udon or rice.
He should learn what is right about things he ought to do in order to
keep his good health. These mentioned above are all the reasons why
his health is being damaged. So he should find the answers of each
problems, and notice what he should do.
First, he should take three
proper balanced meals, which contain lots of fiber, minerals, vitamins
and etc. on time. If he can take proper meals constantly,
between-meals could be reduced. And all meals give him sufficient
energy, and most of all, breakfast gives him more important energy
than other meals. Especially in the mornings, the brain needs
carbohydrates, which is the only form of energy brain can utilize.
Carbohydrates and fats are both forms of energy used in the body. But
carbohydrates and fats are different in that the former is the only
type of energy used in the brain. When he takes breakfast, his body
has few energy left because of a long-time fast, which comes from
sleeping. Therefore, if he doesn't eat breakfast, it is impossible
that he doesn't eat meals more than half a day in a row.
Fast foods
that he has (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, or udon) are not so good because
they are so unbalanced and they have lots of fat, cholesterol and
salt. And too much dependence on supplements is not good, because
they can only help real foods, so when he doesn't eat enough, they
cannot help us enough. He has to take lots of macronutrients
(carbohydrates, fats, proteins..) and also micronutrients (vitamins,
minerals..) in order to keep ourselves in good shape. The RDA
(Recommended Daily Amounts) of iron for man of his age is 10 miligrams
everyday. He can get it through eating liver, spinach, etc. Also he
should get rid of red meats. Secondly he should behave so that he can
prevent his risk factors. It is not good of him to feel extra stress,
because mental condition sometimes affects our health situations. The
cause is not clear but what is the cause may be that he lacks
micronutrients such as vitamins B1, B5, B6 (all for mental stability),
vitamin C (for coping physical stress). He, too, should do exercise
much more, because keeping weight is not the only reason to do
exercise, but also relaxing or maintaining good health, through
lowering one's blood pressure and cholesterol in blood, etc. is. His
LDL level being 172, he should do exercise more, and have less
cholesterol-high foods. Since his family history has diabetes and
critical heart condition, it is of importance. Taking too much
caffeine is not good. Also when the supplements are with caffeine,
some of the vitamins could be broken before our intestines absorb
them. Caffeine is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system,
making you feel more energetic. Also it increases the blood flow.
The average cup of coffee gives us approximately 100 milligrams of
caffeine, and most caffeinated cola drinks gives even less. Although
there is not so many evidences that caffeine causes any major
long-term effects on health, it is a good idea too keep his average
intake below three cups of coffee a day. At last he'll be able to get
independent of caffeine.
Then he should learn about foods. He has
many misunderstandings about what kind of foods are good for his
health, because he doesn't know what kind of food contains good
nutrition for his health such as minerals, fibers and vitamins. He
should learn that doing exercise is not only for keeping weight, but
also for maintaining one's good health, through lowering blood
pressure and cholesterol in blood, etc. Exercising is also good for
vitamin D absorption.
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