Based
on my food journal, I find out a serious problem. I only eat the food I like, but
I pay no attention to the nutrients I get from the food. I almost eating French
fries every meal. Hamburgers, French fries, and cokes almost become a necessary
part of my meals. However, having a meal like this is not good for my health
because these foods only contain fat, calories, and proteins, but contain no
vitamin and cellulose. So, in order to be healthy, I have to keep the balance
of the nutrients and form a healthy eating habit. The healthy
eating recipe is my manifesto on what to eat. Also, eating three meals a day is
important as well because eating three meals a day can provide me enough energy
to do the daily works. So this is my manifesto on how to eat. But, you may
curious about, why I think is it important to keep the balance of the nutrients?
What is my healthy eating recipe? Why I have to emphasize eat three meals a
day? How I can get benefits from eating three meals a day? I will answer all
the questions in the follow paragraphs and I strongly believe that these
answers help me to improve the quality of my meals and my life.
First,
in order to keep the balance of the nutrients, I have to explain what kind of
nutrients is important to our body. In fact, there are seven nutrients we need
every day. Minerals, fats, proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, water, and
dietary fibers are the seven important nutrients for our health. These seven
nutrients are the main sources that provide the energy to human bodies.
According to the scientist’s research, 70% of the energy is from the carbohydrates,
10-15% of the energy is from the proteins, and the rest energy is from the
fats. So the food that contains proteins, carbohydrates, and fats is necessary
for our health. However, different from the proteins, carbohydrates and fats,
the vitamins and water is not the energy providers. They are used in the metabolism
in human bodies. As we all know, the metabolism happened every day. It helped
the human body refresh itself. Another two important nutrients, minerals and
fibers, are the indispensable materials to form our body systems and keep our
body systems work. Without them, our body systems will not work and we will
absolutely suffer from the diseases. So now we can see the importance of these
seven nutrients.
Building
further on the seven important nutrients, where to find them? Well, the answer
is obvious, from the daily food. Beef, fish, eggs, beans, and oils are the
foods that contain lots of proteins and fats. Milk, rice, and noodles are the
foods that contain the carbohydrates. Carrots, corns, cabbages, and most of the
vegetables are the foods that full of vitamins and fibers. Some vegetables are
full of minerals. For example, the carrots can provide lots of calcium while
tea can provide the manganese. As for water, according to the doctors in Mayo
Clinic, they said “drink eight-ounce glasses of water a day is the best” (par.
7). So now it is clear that what kind of food can provide the nutrients we need
and we can start to establish our own eating recipes.
According
to the Harvard School of Public Health, they gave us a perfect idea. They
described the healthy eating plate. The healthy eating plate is made up by four
parts: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy proteins. The whole grains
mean the brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and whole-grain pasta. Healthy proteins
are the representation of the fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. Also, the oil we
used to cook has to be careful selected. It is better to choose olive or canola
oil. Same as the oil, the water we drink every day should be the water that
contains some minerals. If you think the water is not enough, then try some
milk. But we can only drink 1-2 servings of milk every day because if we drink
the milk too much, it is not good for our health either (The Nutrition Source,
par. 1-3).
Follow
the advices given by the scientists, I make my own meal plan. For breakfast, I
need to eat some whole-wheat bread, an apple, and a glass of milk; for lunch, I
have to eat some fish, carrots, cabbages, some rice, some strawberries, and
some water; for dinner, I have to eat tomatoes, cucumbers, some meat, a banana,
and some pasta. I have tried this meal plan for one week and the effect is
obvious. I felt that I am full of energy every day, my skin become more smoothly,
and the quality of my sleep is improved. So I sincerely advise everyone to try
the healthy meal schedule in order to receive the greatest benefit from the
food we eat.
Keeping
the balance of the nutrients is absolutely an important part of the healthy
eating habit. However, there is another important part of the healthy eating
habit: eat three meals a day. Based on my research of our class’s food
journals, I found that some of my classmates skip their breakfast every day.
Most of them give me the reason like this: I want more time to sleep. It seems
that skipping breakfast is not a huge problem because we can still receive the
nutrients from the lunch and dinner. However, according to Mike Adams, the
health researcher, he said “skipping breakfast may lead to weight gain as well
as increase the risk of the heart disease in healthy people over time” (par.
5). So, based on his point of view, it is better not to skip breakfast because
we have to both consider our weight and the healthiness of our heart.
Building
further on regular meals, there is another advantage to eating three meals a
day: to provide enough energy for the brain and the body. As we all know, sugar
is the main source that provides energy to the brains. Eating three meals a day
can provide enough sugar for our brain. To be more specific, if you skip
breakfast, then you will feel weak in the morning because no sugar provides
energy to your brain and your body. The main function of the breakfast is to
refill the body. Since our body has just gone for six or more hours without
food and has already digested all the food we eat yesterday, so it is better to
eat breakfast in the morning to recharge ourselves (Tucker, par. 2). Different
from breakfast, the lunch is used to maintain the energy. Since the energy we
get from the breakfast is all used in the morning, so we have to eat lunch and
store some energy for we to use in the afternoon. So this makes the lunch
become the most important meal in one day. As for the last meal of a day,
dinner, do not eat too much sugar and fats. Too much sugar and fats will store
in our bodies overnights and it will cause the weight gain very fast and the
blood pressure rise as well.
With
the understanding of the importance of the regular meals, I believe that my
mother showed a great example on obey the “three meals a day rule”. As a very
successful business woman, my mom is very busy every day. Her working time
started at 8am in the morning and ended at 6pm in the evening. But no matter
how busy she is, she will always eat three meals every day. She gave me an
explanation like this: in order to finish all the works quickly and efficiently,
I need plenty of energy. And the quickest way to get the energy is to eat meals
regularly. So eat three meals a day is the best choice. Not only it is great
for health, but also it is the perfect way to recharge myself.
I will never
forget my mother’s word because I believe what she says is always right. So I
just follow her advice and try my best to eat three meals a day regularly. Now
I can tell the benefit I received from my mother’s advice. I felt that every
day I was full of energy and I never felt sick or tired when I was in the
class. Moreover, I believe I finished all the homework more quickly and
efficiently than I expected. I have to thanks to my mother for giving me such a
nice advice so that now I have plenty of energy to solve all the difficulties
bravely in my life.
In
general, the best way to keep healthy and improve the quality of life is to
keep the balance of the nutrients and eat three meals a day regularly. The
balance of the nutrients can provide all the nutrients I need every day while
the “three meals a day rule” provide me enough energy. All these two factors
can influence my body health significantly. After I follow the healthy recipe
and “three meals a day rule”, I felt myself full of power every day. Although
now I am a college student and I have to attend three classes a day, I still
feel that I am full of energy. So I believe my own eating manifesto is great to
try and it obviously has some great effects. Here are some tips for healthy
meals: make half of your plate veggies and fruits; add lean proteins; include
whole grains; don’t forget the dairy; avoid extra fat; satisfy your sweet tooth
in a healthy way (Nutrition Education Series, No. 7). Follow all the tips here
and the advice I mentioned above, I believe everyone can also have a healthy
life and green future.
