Masakazu Miyamoto writes:
Hiroshi Tanaka is a 29-year-old computer specialist. He says that he
is "health-conscious", but his life is actually not. What is the
worst problem is that he is not aware of the fact. One of the
clinically relevant problems is that he doesn't eat breakfast almost
everyday because he is busy with his work. Our brains cannot use any
kinds of stored nutrition but glucose. In the mornings our bodies
lack glucose after a long time passes from last dinner. So if we
don't eat breakfast, our brains cannot work fully. And if we skip
eating one of the regular meals, our bodies will try to store more fat
as one way to prevent starvation.
A second problem is that he intakes
fast foods like hamburgers, cheeseburgers or udon at lunch and dinner.
These foods contain lots of fat and cholesterol. Fats are an
important part of total nutrition, because they are the most
concentrated forms of total energy. But fats tend to raise the
cholesterol level in the blood. Our bodies need cholesterol. It is
necessary to the cells, and helps the body make hormones. But if we
don't eat cholesterol at all, our livers would make enough cholesterol
instead. 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. The buildup of plaque narrows the arteries and make it
increasingly difficult for blood to make its way through, so it is a
risk factor for heart attack or stroke.
The third problem is that he
relies on vitamin supplements. And he takes the supplements with four
or five cups of coffee in the morning and colas in the afternoon.
Vitamins help the body turn food into energy and tissues. There are
13 kinds of vitamin, but vitamin supplements not necessarily contains
all kinds of vitamin or enough amounts of them. So man can lack some
kinds of these vitamins. He also intakes extra amount of caffeine.
Caffeine is a drug that stimulates the central nervous system, making
you feel more energetic. It increases the blood flow, too. The
average cup of coffee offers about 100 milligrams of caffeine, and
most caffeinated cola drinks even less. Although there is not much
evidence 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. He can get independent of caffeine.
The fourth problem is that
he really hates most vegetables. Vegetables are good sources of
vitamins and fibers. There are two kinds of fiber; soluble
and insoluble fibers. These two kinds of fiber have different roles.
Insoluble fiber is the indigestible part of food, such as the bran in
grains, the pulp of fruits, and skin of vegetables. Insoluble fiber
helps food move and digestive by-products through the large intestine
and out of the body. The faster that food and by-products travel
through the digestive tract, the less time there is for potential
cancer-causing substances to work. On the other hand, soluble fibers
can be partially digested by the body. Only soluble fibers appear to
have the ability to lower cholesterol levels in the blood. Soluble
fibers can be found in a wide variety of foods, including apples,
oats, guar gum, dried beans, and green vegetables. He think he can
get enough fibers from eating udon and rice, from the viewpoint it is
obvious that his idea is wrong, because they use only the carbohydrate
part of grains for rice or udon.
The fifth problem is that he has
feeling lots of pressure at work, and that recently he cannot relax
even after work. Stress gives him bad influences both mentally and
physically. Next problem is that he doesn't like exercise, and that he
exercises for only about a half an hour per week. Some daily exercise
makes our bodies function and thus metabolism increases and
cholesterol is reduced. And some good exercise has a good effect on
stress. He thinks that exercise only helps put weight off. But
exercise has many other effects. According to his medical records we
can find our a few other problems. Both his grandfather and father
have diabetes. So he has high risk for diabetes. His mother is
currently ill with a critical heart condition. Therefore he has to
watch out for heart diseases, too. His LDL level is 172. High levels
of LDL in the bloodstream are associated with an increased risk of
heart disease. He thinks LDL levels are only in concern with sweets.
But in fact LDL levels are connected with fatty and cholesterol-rich
foods. To lower his high LDL, he should do much more exercise, and
also change his diet to fat-less or fat-free foods. He has to resolve
the first six behavior problems above.
Proteins are important as the
body's building materials, and muscle, skin bone and hair are made up
largely of proteins. In addition, every cell contains proteins called
enzymes, which speed up chemical reactions in the body. For example,
meat poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, cereals, legumes, and nuts
are known as good sources of protein. Minerals are needed for growth
and maintenance of body structure. They also help to maintain
digestive juices and the fluids found in the cells. Neither plants
nor animals make minerals. We get minerals by eating plants or
plant-eating animals. Both carbohydrates and fats are good sources of
energy. The difference between the two is that carbohydrates are used
in a short time but fats are stored. And our brains can use only
carbohydrates, not fats. Fat can be converted into cholesterol. He
thinks that it is good of him to eat red meat, which contain lots of
protein. But red meat has a lot of cholesterol and fat, too. So
eating too much red meat is not good for health. I'll give him some
advice as below; First, he should take breakfast everyday. The RDA
(Recommended Daily Amounts) of iron for man of his age is 10 milligrams
everyday; one can get it by eating 3 ounce of oysters. He should also
have vegetables in order to get 25 to 30 grams of fibers. Pinto
beans, artichoke, etc. have lots of fibers. He should take his
vitamins through not supplements but fruits or something. He should
do exercise everyday, if only a little. He should NOT eat fast foods
or fatty foods, for the purpose of lowering his LDL level.
| Click the BACK button to return to the student index.|