FOOD GOES IN AND THEN…
Last week we defined FOOD and it wasn’t as simple as you thought. We learned that food is our energy source, it is our medicine, it is information to our body and it is a way in which we communicate our culture and love to others. In the end we learned that FOOD MATTERS. The food we eat matters to our bodies and should matter to you.
This week, let’s continue down that path and begin to discuss how our body uses the food we eat.
When we stick a piece of food into our mouth, chew, swallow and begin to digest, our cells get right to work. In terms of nutrition, our cells have two basic roles. They are in charge of getting nutrients from the food we eat and for using those nutrients for raw materials and for fuel to keep us alive.
This is likely a review from high school biology but cells are the most basic structural and functional units of all living things. All living tissues are built from cells.
To DO THEIR JOB (in coach Bill Belichick’s voice), cells must a) grow, mature and die, b) exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide (i.e. breathing), c) absorb and digest nutrients, d) get rid of waste, e) reproduce. Guess what this job (i.e. all of these tasks put together) is known as… metabolism! You’ve heard a thing or two about that before we know.
Metabolism is defined as the sum of reactions that take place to build up and break down the body.
We need proper nutrition for our cells (our metabolism) to be healthy and work… wait for it… PROPERLY.
This means getting the right nutrients, in the right amounts. WHAT WE EAT affects this process.
Let’s dive a bit deeper. In general, the macronutrients (you can name these blindfolded) and the micronutrients (these too!) we eat are broken down through the digestive process into smaller compounds such as amino acids, glucose and fatty acids. These digested protein, fat and carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral compounds then travel through our bloodstream to interact with our cells to a) provide energy, b) provide raw materials (building structures for our body like tissues and organs), and c) stimulate the release of hormones directing overall body function. These are HUGE roles in our body! It’s our energy source, it’s the raw materials incorporated into our bodies structure, it’s our bodies messenger system… FOOD CAN CHANGE AND DICTATE THE WAY OUR BODY WORKS!
Can you already begin to see how critical nutrition is?!
It has such a huge role on how your body operates.
If you aren’t convinced yet that drinking a coke vs a glass of iced tea, eating a Keebler cookie vs helping of fruit, purchasing a TV dinner vs making a plate of meat, veggies and rice or wolfing down a snickers bar vs an apple and nut butter matters… ask us any and all questions you have!
As always, happy eating!!