Tateaki Kobayashi writes:
Mr.Tanaka has many problems for health. He think that he is conscious of
his own health, but his action concerning his health is not correct.
His first problem, as he is computer specialist, he is very busy. He works
six and sometimes seven days a week. Therefore he does not have time to eat
breakfast most mornings. Not eating breakfast is bad for the brain and
brings about an adverse result -- putting on fat. And hard work gives a lot
of pressure to his mental condition. A bad mental condition makes active
oxygen -- it is said to cause cancer. And it is said that the stress
from hard work causes the body to lack of vitamins.
Second, he often intakes an unbalanced diet, such as fastfood. Fastfood like
hamburgers, cheeseburgers or udon contain very high levels of fat, but less
fibers and important supplements like vitamins. Therefore taking a lot of
fastfood is connected with being overweight -- it causes a lot of diseases
like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
Third, he hates most vegetables. Vegetables contain many vitamines and
fiber. Though he says that he gets good nutrition from vitamine
supplements and eat a lot of meat, it is not enough to get balanced
nutrition. Moreover, he takes these supplements with coffee or cola, but
these methods cause bad absorption.
Fourth, his medical records have problem. His family have diabetes and
critical heart condition. Generally they cause unbalanced diet. But he
takes unbalanced diet and his LDL level is measured at 172.
What advice should we give him?
First, he is very confused about what would be the recommended daily
amounts of vitamins and minerals for a man his age. What role do
they have in the body? Vitamins help the body turn food into energy
and tissue. There are 13 vitamins in all. And 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. Both of them
is important in our body. I think Mr. Tanaka should check what foods
contain much vitamins or minerals and how much those foods contain
them.And he should take those foods regularly or when he thinks he is
short of vitamins or minerals.
Second, he confused about the real 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. And they are more filling and contain more nutrients than
foods with lots of sugars, fats, or oils. The other, fats pack a lot of
energy. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories. There are three kinds of
fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Animal and dairy
fats, which remain solid at room temperature, are saturated fats.
Saturated fat is often called "bad" fat. If he intakes too much fat, because of genetic factors he
may develop diabetes or heart attack from atherosclerosis, because both
his grandfather and father have had diabetes and his mother is currently ill
with a critical heart condition. These diseases are linked to
hereditary. Therefore he has to pay attention to taking in too much fat.
Third, he misunderstands fiber intake from eating udon and
rice. 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. A
number of foods are good sources of fiber, including fruits,
vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.Udon and rice don't
include much fiber. Therefore Mr.Tanaka should eat vegetables and
fruits for lunch.
Fourth, he thinks a young man needs to run to keep own weight down, but
he is so busy, he exercises for only about a half an hour once a
week. It's better than no exercises. But the best rate for reducing weight is to
exercise three or four times a week. And effective time to reduce
fats would be more than 20 munites. Slow pace running is also effective.
Fifth, he wants to know what he can do to lower his LDL; his current level is
measured at 172. LDL is one form of cholesterol. It is necessary to the
cells and helps the body make hormones. But too much cholesterol in the
blood can make its way to the arteries, where it stays in the form of
a thick, fatty substance called plaque. This creates a condition called
atherosclerosis. But cholesterol is not all bad. In fact, there is good
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and bad low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. High levels of LDL in the bloodstream
are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. As his mother
has a critical heart condition and heart diseases like heart attack
are hereditary, it's natural that he thinks he should do lower his
LDL.
There are three points to do lower LDL. First, as some families have
a tendency to high cholesterol levels, he should know his family
history of all major health problems and ask his doctor about
adjusting his diet. Second,saturated fat also affects cholesterol
level. Therefore he should keep his saturated fat intake under 10
percent of his calories each day. Third, he should exercise more. The
more physical activity he gets, for example, running, walking or swimming
etc, the higher his good (HDL) cholesterol levels and the lower his
bad (LDL) cholesterol levels are likely to be.
In the end, he should know correct and useful information for health.
And he should make use of this knowledge in his daily life. It's important for
him to lead regular life. For example, he can get up early and run around his
town and eat a more balanced diet at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also he should
stop fast food like hamburgers, cheeseburgers or udon as possible. Last,
he should sleep enough.Not sleeping give the stress to the body. If
body is tired, various diseases is coming.
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