Getting the Most Benefit From Your Foods

Healthy choices are just as important to dieting as calorie counting.

ByABC News
May 11, 2007, 3:14 PM

May 12, 2007 — -- What to eat? Which foods are the most beneficial? Whether in the grocery aisles or at the table, this always seems to be the question.

Some experts say one thing, and other experts say something else. But let's keep it basic and look into some general facts first.

It's safe to say that most foods that are not processed, refined or chemically altered have certain benefits for our system.

Protein, for example, is broken down by our body into amino acids, which are the building blocks for our muscles and other tissues.

Fats we need for energy, to keep us warm and to store vitamins that are fat soluble such as A, K, D and E.

Carbohydrates? Yes, they are important too! We use them as our main source of energy, to keep us moving and to maintain functions necessary for life.

Most important are the vitamins and minerals. If we lack vitamins and minerals, some very important chemical reactions in our body would not occur -- reactions we need in order to survive and be healthy.

The quick notes above, of course, are a gross simplification; we can't say once and for all that those are the five most important things you can get out of your food.

In fact, variety, as it turns out, is not just the spice of life, it is one of the keys to a healthy life. In a situation where we are restricted to eating the same foods day in and day out (as so many are, unfortunately), we might suffer some serious side effects -- not the least of which is boredom.

Would you like to live only on chicken, olive oil, brown rice, apples and carrots? I thought as much. Hence, it is best to rotate your foods.

Still, we would like to know what kind of stable foods should be in our diet.

One way to answer this question is to look at certain key factors in our diets, such as: