Tetsu Takahashi writes:
Hiroshi Tanaka is a 29-year-old computer specialist who lives and
works in Sendai. Mr.Tanaka has a lot of information and learning about
staying trim, energetic and healthy from magazines and internet sites. But
recently he is very busy with his business. So he can't get the right
information on good eating and healthy lifestyle patterns.
He has some
problems. One problem is that he is very confused about what would be
the recommended daily amounts (RDA) of vitamins and minerals for a man
his age. And he is also confused about different information he has been
reading about protein and minerals, what is diferrence between
carbohydrates and fats. In short, he doesn't have correct and detailed
information.
Another problem for him is that he is too busy with his
work. Therefore he doesn't have time to eat breakfast most mornings,
and he also finds he needs to intake fast food like hamburgers,
cheeseburgers or udon at lunch and dinner. In stead of that, he relies
on vitamin supplements which he takes with four or five cups of coffee
in the morning and colas in the afternoon. He hates most vegetables
further.And he thinks that it is okay that he gets good nutrition from
the vitamin supplements he takes, and he when he can, he eats a lot of
meat, beef and pork mostly. In addition, he doesn't have a time to be
relax and to exercise. The other problem of him is that both his
grandfather and father have diabetes,his mother is currently ill with
a critical heart condition. According to the above, the first thing for
him to do is to improve his lifestyle. Possibly he can't change his
business, so he should contrive to live his life better. The thing which his
life needs is a time. So he should get up earlier, and he must eat
breakfast. In addition, it is better to go to work by bicycle or by
walking. If he will do this, he will be able to solve some of his
problems, lack of exercise and solve part of his eating habits, not eating breakfast, for instance.
Next he should
solve the problem about his lunch. He usually eats fatty foods in the
lunch time.It is dangerous for him. Because in her family there is a
history of diabetes,in fact both his grandfather and father have
diabetes,futhermore his mother is currently ill with a critical heart
condition. So if he will continue his eating habits, there is a
possibility for him to have diabetes or heart diseases. In fact, now his
LDL (low density lipoprotein) level is 172. What he must do is not eat fatty foods,
for example hamburgers, cheeseburgers and
yakitori, fried chicken, etc. In the same way, he has to pay attention to his
dinner. The worst thing about his eating habits is that he hates
vegetables. It can't be helped that he can't eat them. But he should make
an effort and think hard. For example, drinking vegetable juice.
I must answer the question about the RDA of vitamins and minerals
for a man Tanaka's age and the difference between carbohydrates and
fats. There are 13 vitamins in
all:vitamin A, B ,C, etc. Vitamins help the body turn food into energy and
tissues. And each vitamins are found in the following foods --
Vitamin A: Animal sources such as milk, eggs, cheese, butter, chicken, liver.
Vitamin B1: Whole grains, enriched breads and cereals, pork, liver, peas.
Vitamin B2: Meats, fish, whole grains, milk products, dark green vegetables, enriched breads
and cereals, enriched pasta.
Vitamin B3: Whole grains, milk products, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, broccoli, green peas, green
beans.
Vitamin B6: Whole wheat products, meat, fish, nuts, green beans, bananas, green leafy
vegetables,potatoes.
Vitamin B12: Dairy products, eggs, liver.
Vitamin D: Fortified milk.
Vitamin E: Vegetable oils, whole grains, wheat germ, nuts, leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin K: Dark green leafy vegetables, liver, egg yolks.
The minerals the body needs in large amounts include calcium,
chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Other
minerals, called trace elements, are needed in much smaller amounts.
Trace elements include iron, copper, fluorine, iodine, selenium, zinc,
chromium, cobalt, manganese, and molybdenum. As for carbohydrates -- these include all
starches and sugars. They are the body's main source of energy. And
there are three kinds of fats. One of kind is called bad fat -- LDL. So it is
bad for people to eat many fats containing LDL.
I think that it is hard to change
one's lifestyle. But a little thinking and effort make one's health
better. The most important point about health is a well-regulated
life. We should pay more attention to things we can do to improve our lives -- eating well, exercising, and so on!
| Click the BACK button to return to the student index.|