diet

The average diet has more than enough protein to meet daily needs, however, there are often times when the average diet becomes less than normal and may not be as adequate as it should be. Between the busy life that the average person leads and constant yo-yo or fad dieting, the fact is that what we should be eating quickly becomes what we do not eat and what we sorely miss.

There are two kinds of protein, complete and incomplete, which come from either plant or animal sources. Protein supplements, no matter what kind they might be, are derived from either plant or animal sources as well. Which is better between animal or plant based protein depends on a number of factors. There are those who choose not to eat meat or animal products for moral, ethical and religious reasons. There are those who find themselves unable to afford many forms of animal protein a majority of the time. Then there are those that just love the taste of a good juicy steak served up with a good cold beer. For our purposes, the comparisons of proteins will be based on these factors:

Face it, dieting is hard. If it were easy, there would only be one plan, it would work and no one would be overweight ever again. We eat to be healthy and to have energy. We eat because our body is convinced it is hungry. We eat because we see others eating and want to be social. We eat because we are happy, sad, mad, or indifferent. We eat because it is dinner time. We eat because it is Tuesday afternoon. Dieting does not address the whole picture, nor does it address the mechanics of the body. Diets, especially the extreme, hardcore, fad diets, are going to start off strong and then fade off after a week or two. Once the person stops the fad diet and returns to their normal way of eating, they regain what they lost and then some, starting off another swing in the vicious dieting cycle.

Severe burn injury over 30% or more of the body surface results in pronounced metabolic response that has prolonged nutritional implications. Understanding the nature of this response and the consequent changes in nutritional requirements is important for the optimal treatment of such patients. The expenditure of resting energy after a burn injury can be as much as 100%. Increased heat loss from the burn wound and increased beta adrenergic activity are probably both important factors that cause an increase in the resting energy expenditure. Burned skin loses its effectiveness as a barrier to water loss, leading to increased evaporative heat loss via the wound. In addition, radiation heat loss is increased from burn wounds. This is brought about by the increased blood supply to the burn wound, which is a normal response to any injury.

Insomnia may affect different people in different ways, but may affect as much as 25% of the population at some time or another and 9% on a regular basis. (Source: Carlson, 2008) How much sleep each person needs is different, so defining insomnia is difficult at best. Not everybody needs eight hours of sleep; some people may need as few as five hours while others may need up to ten hours to feel refreshed. Defining insomnia must start with defining how much sleep you personally need in order to feel at your best. Sleep is important, not only for the rest that it provides, but also because sleep is when your body recharges, refreshes and resets itself for the following day. Think of sleep as a reboot for your brain and your body.

Food is the building block of our bodies. We need proper nutrition through every stage of life to be at the best health possible. No matter what we eat, when we eat it, or how much of it we eat, all foods are broken down in the same way: into one of three major components. These components are protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It is a myth that calories from fat and calories from carbohydrates are different from each other – once the body breaks down foods, they are down to their basic components and will be used as energy immediately, stored for later use or stored as fat.

PKU is a genetic, metabolic disorder which prevents the body from oxidizing phenylalanine hydroxylase. As this chemical continues to build up, mental retardation, sometimes severe, may result, with very few of those with untreated PKU having an IQ over 50. It is important to have a low protein diet, which is the only way to remove the excess phenylalanine from the blood, and this diet should be started as early as possible to minimize the risk of mental retardation.