Find out why your body don't always absorp the minerals you eat!

Everything on Glycogen, starches and fibres.

Both glycogen and starch are storage forms of glucose (glycogen in the body, and starch in plants) and both give energy for human use.  The fibres also contain glucose, but their bonds cannot be broken by human digestive enzymes, so they give little, if any, energy. 

When a person eats carbohydrate-rich foods, the body receives a valuable amount of glucose.

Phytic acid
A non nutrient component of plant seeds, also called phytate.  Phytic acid occurs in the husks of grains, legumes, and seeds and is capable of binding minerals such as zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and copper in insoluble complexes in the intestine, which the body excretes unused.

A compound not classed as fibre but often found with it in foods is phytic acid. Because of this close association, researchers have been unable to determine whether it is the fibre, the phytic acid, or both, that binds with minerals, preventing their absorption.  This binding presents a risk of mineral deficiency, but the risk is minimal when fibre intake is reasonable and mineral intake adequate.

Sugar explained..

Sugar explained under these names: Glucose, galactose and fructose.

A pinch of purified glucose on the tongue gives only a mild sweet flavour, and galactose hardly tastes sweet at all, but fructose is as intensely sweet as honey and, in fact, is the sugar primarily responsible for honey's sweetness.

Sugars are derived primarily from plants, except for lactose, which come from milk and milk products.

Nutrients in bread

Here is a graph that shows exactly how much of what nutrient is in bread.

What is legumes?

Legumes
Plants of the bean and pea family.
They are rich in protein compared with  other plant-derived foods.

Legumes include a variety of beans and peas:

• Black beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Garbanzo beans
• Great northern beans
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Navy beans
• Peanuts
• Pinto beans
• soybeans
• and Split peas.

Food Choices

Ethnic cuisines

See the food choices for the following:

• Asian
• Mediterranean
• and Mexican.

Diet-Planning guidelines.

Diet planning guidelines:

• Adequacy
• Balance
• Calorie (energy) control
• Nutrient density
• Moderation
• Variety.

Balance in the diet helps to ensure adequacy.

Nutrient density promotes adequacy and calorie control.

Moderation contributes to adequacy, balance, and calorie control.
























This cola and bunch of grapes illustrate nutrient density.  Each provides about 150 calories, but the grapes offer a trace of protein, some vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fibre along with the energy; the cola beverage offers only "empty" calories from sugar without any other nutrients.  Grapes, or any fruit for that matter, are more nutrient dense than cola beverages.