Healthy Family

Everyday we take up a lot of foods and nutrients, balance nutrition include carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamin, mineral and water. Balance nutrition promotes organ healthy growth and functional besides boost up immunity. Different levels of body development needs different kinds of balance nutrients, so we need to understand what our body needs to improve our body’s health.

Adult stage

Everybody, no matter how old, faces the pressure to 'fit in'. Young people often feel this the most because they are trying to find their place in the world and the media targets a lot of messages at them. Friends can sometimes put pressure on young people too - pressure to talk, dress and act a certain way.

Balancing your food intake means getting enough, but not too much, of each type of nutrient. The portion sizes of foods are kept reasonable. Any food can fit into a healthy lifestyle by remembering moderation and balance. Moderate amounts of all foods can help ensure that energy (calories) intake is controlled and that excessive amounts of any one food or food component are not eaten. The ratio of protein: fat: carbohydrate is 1:0.8:7.5. These nutrients are important in body metabolism.

Protein

Adults need a minimum of 65-80 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day to keep from slowly breaking down their own tissues. Beyond that, there's relatively little solid information on the ideal amount of protein in the diet, a healthy target for calories contributed by protein, or the best kinds of protein.

Some of the protein you eat contains all the amino acids needed to build new proteins. This kind is called complete protein. Animal sources of protein tend to be complete. Other protein sources lack one or more amino acids that the body can't make from scratch or create by modifying another amino acid. Called incomplete proteins, these usually come from fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.

Protein deficiency can lead to growth failure, loss of muscle mass, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and death.

Vitamin

Vitamins are organic molecules that are necessary for normal metabolism in animals, but either are not synthesized in the body or are synthesized in inadequate quantities. Consequently, vitamins must be obtained from the diet. Most vitamins function as coenzymes or cofactors. Deficiency states are recognized for all vitamins, and in many cases, excessive intake also leads to disease.
Get enough vitamin A, D, B1, B2, B12, and C from foods rich with vitamins, such as beans, vegetables, and fruits. Everyday must eat 400-500g of vegetables, and consume plenty of fruits, because these foods contain a lot of nutrients.

Sugar has been a victim of bad publicity lately; people are going out of their way to minimize or omit sugar in their diet. As sugar is scourged with accusations of being nothing more than a source of empty calories; its sweet taste can do little to salvage its fast souring image. To date, sugar has become synonymous with tooth decay, diabetes, obesity and other undesirable illnesses. Sugar, like fat, has been elevated into the most unwanted list. Everyday consume not more than 10g.

Middle age

Middle-aged adults often show visible signs of aging such as loss of skin elasticity and graying of the hair. Physical fitness usually wanes, reduction in aerobic performance and a decrease in maximal heart rate. Strength and flexibility also decrease throughout middle age. However, people age at different rates and there can be large differences between individuals of the same age. So balance diet is important for middle-aged adults to promote health body conditions. They are encouraged to eat foods that are less cholesterol, less sugar, salt, and fat. Consume more foods that is high protein, minerals, carbohydrates, and fibers foods.

Body heat
Need to control on overall body heat to stabilize the body weight. For those who are thin, suitable heat must be provided, so carbohydrate is needed. For those who are overweight, needs to control on their daily diet, less animal fat and carbohydrate. Over diets are harmful to any age of people, especially middle-aged adults. Middle-aged adult’s diet need to be well control. For those who are active, 2200-2400Kcal body heat is needed, consume nutrients level must adjust properly, if not will cause overweight.

Protein

The usage of protein in middle-aged adult is lesser than youth, but higher level of protein must be provided to middle-aged adult. Needs not less than 1g per every 1 thousand gram of body weight per daily. 1/3 of high quality animal’s protein and bean’s protein are the best.

Vitamins and organic salts

Suitable level of vitamins and organic salts need to be provided. Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin B1 are very important to middle-aged adults in promote body metabolism, improve immune system, prevent hyperlipidemia, gallstone, diabetes. In daily diet, Vitamin A 2200IU, vitamin E 30mg, vitamin C 70mg, vitamin B1 1.2mg. Organic salts can increase iron and calcium absorption into body, prevent high blood pressure; Calcium is vital for building strong bones and teeth. Getting enough calcium helps to fight against bone loss later in life. Calcium not less than 800mg, iron 12mg, organic salt not more than 5g are needed.

Foods fibers

Foods that are naturally high fiber content mostly are low in fat, fatty food have very little fiber. Fiber (also called roughage or bulk) promotes the wavelike contractions that keep food moving through the intestine. Also, high-fiber foods expand the inside walls of the colon. This eases the passage of waste. Fibrous substances pass through the intestine undigested. They also absorb many times their weight in water, resulting in softer, bulkier stools. Excessive intake of certain dietary fiber sources may bind and interfere with the absorption of the following minerals: calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. However, there appears to be no problem for those adults who follow a balanced, regular diet. Occasionally, a physician may prescribe supplements. Insoluble fiber is found in wheat, rye, bran, and other grains. Soluble fiber is found in oatmeal, oat bran, fruit, psyllium (Metamucil, Konsyl), barley, and legumes.

Fiber intake has also been linked with the metabolic syndrome, a constellation of factors that increases the chances of developing heart disease and diabetes. These factors include high blood pressure, high insulin levels, excess weight (especially around the abdomen), high levels of triglycerides, the body's main fat-carrying particle, and low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.

Lung disease

Lung disease is any disease or disorder that impairs the function of the lungs. Lung disease can cause the lung function abnormally.

There are some precaution steps to prevent lung disease:

1. Clean air environment. Pollution air and long term smoking area can cause hard to breath
2. Take up foods that contain vitamin A, E, and B1
3. More exercise
4. Use cold water to bath or clean face to improve immune system and prevent getting cold.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure can occur in middle-aged adults. High blood pressure directly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (which leads to heart attack) and stroke, especially when it's present with other risk factors. It may also be able to lead to death.

You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure. These steps include:

1. Keeping a healthy weight. Being physically active
2. Following a healthy eating plan, such as DASH, that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. Choosing and preparing foods with less salt and sodium
3. Quitting smoking. Drinking alcohol in moderation if you drink. Exercise more.

Osteoporosis (Bone loss)

Osteoporosis is a disease of excessive demineralization of bone, which on average starts to take place in both sexes after age 35.  While men are less affected, the decrease in the bone density of postmenopausal women is a much more serious problem, however by age 75; the gap closes where both genders become equally prone for bone loss.

There are several steps to prevent Osteoporosis (Bone loss):

1. Do not involve in heavy alcohol and smoking. The combination of smoking and alcohol use is particularly unhealthy and stressful for bone tissue.
2. Must getting enough calcium, vitamin D, or magnesium. Women over 70 may have a harder time getting these nutrients in their diet or absorbing them properly.
3. Middle-aged adult must regularly go medical checkup of bone loss.
4. Most women older than 35 need extra calcium and vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium

Gallstone

Gallstone’s size varies and may be as small as a sand grain or as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder may develop a single, often large, stone or many smaller ones, even several thousand.

Cholesterol gallstones develop when bile contains too much cholesterol and not enough bile salts. Besides a high concentration of cholesterol, two other factors seem to be important in causing gallstones. The first is how often and how well the gallbladder contracts; incomplete and infrequent emptying of the gallbladder may cause the bile to become overconcentrated and contribute to gallstone formation. The second factor is the presence of proteins in the liver and bile that either promote or inhibit cholesterol crystallization into gallstones.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop gallstones. Excess estrogen from pregnancy, hormone replacement therapy, and birth control pills appears to increase cholesterol levels in bile and decrease gallbladder movement, which can lead to gallstones.

Important prevention steps included:

1. Always exercises, body become more active.
2. Put more concentration on daily diet, less salt and fat.
3. Keep body warm.
4. People who suffer of gallstone must get medical treatment earlier.
5. Surgical is needed if gallstone becomes critical.

Menopause stage

The word menopause literally means the permanent physiological, or natural, cessation of menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots 'meno-' (month) and 'pausis' (a pause, a cessation). In other words, menopause means the natural and permanent stopping of the monthly female reproductive cycles, and in humans this is usually indicated by a permanent absence of monthly periods or menstruation.

As the body struggles to adapt to the rapidly changing levels of natural hormones, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and palpitations, psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings and lack of concentration, and atrophic symptoms such as vaginal dryness and urgency of urination appear. Together with these symptoms, the average woman also has increasingly erratic menstrual periods.

Women are advised to follow the doctor’s instruction for hormone therapy. Calcium, protein, vitamin are needed. Beside that, non critical exercises are encouraged. In male-menopause stage, hormones of testosterone and the reproductive system cease to function. The psychological symptoms are similar to females, such as depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings and lack of concentration. Usually male-menopause are 3-5 years later than female.