Food labels can be confusing and make it difficult to understand the carbs, proteins, and fats that you should be consuming. Protein is made up of amino acids. Check out some basic nutrition tips below.
Protein: Proteins are a part of every cell of our body, and the proteins we eat help to replace the ones that are used on a daily basis.
- Meats, fish, poultry, and dairy give us complete proteins.
- Beans, rice, corn, and soy give us incomplete proteins, or only some of the amino acids we need. However, if a variety of these proteins are consumed, they can make up all the amino acids we need.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates, or “carbs”, provide the field needed for our body to work.
- Complex carbs are vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These also provide necessary fiber.
- Limiting simple carbs (sugar, refined flour, etc.) will help keep your blood sugar and weight under control.
Fat: Some healthy fat is needed daily for our health.
- The best fats are olive oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil.
Easy portion tips:
Protein = 1 serving is roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Carbohydrates = 1 cup serving of vegetables is the size of a baseball.
Fats = 1 serving of fat is the size of 1 die (dice).