Importance of the Food Pyramid

Everyone knows that we have complex bodies. We are made up of muscles, tissues, bones, ligaments and organs. All these things are made up of cells, which are basically the building blocks of our bodies. A regular human adult is estimated to be consist of up of 100 trillion cells. There is really no way of actually knowing how many cells make up our bodies but this seems to be a rather close estimate.

So what is your point, Thomas? Well my point is that all these cells need energy and the way we replenish this energy, is by eating and drinking of course! This is why they have always shoved the food pyramid down your throats in school. This was actually a good thing! The teachers always pushed eating fruits and vegetables and plenty of water. The carbohydrates was always at the base (most) of the pyramid and the sweets,oils,fat were at the top(least). If you follow the food pyramid and get plenty of exercise it will help you live a healthy life.



I try my best to follow this pyramid, but since my health problems play a major role, my diet is a little different. What I mean is being on dialysis, my diet consists of more kinds of protein because this is what the dialysis actually pulls out when helping clean my body of the toxins and waste in my blood. So the more protein for me the better. This is why when I started dialysis they had a dietitian come and help me with my diet. "A dietitian is a food and nutrition expert. When you start dialysis, you need to start watching the foods that you eat because certain foods can harm you. Your dietitian will meet with you to discuss and recommend many food choices that go along with your prescribed diet. They will also review your lab work with you and help you adjust your diet to improve your lab results." Nephrology FAQ

Speaking of lab results, there is a balanced chemistry that makes up our bodies. This is why we should be eating certain fruits, vegetables, poultry, meats, and dairy products to get the proper vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes that we need to keep this chemistry in balance. Sometimes after awhile if your lab results are not what they are supposed to be, say one of your electrolyte numbers are off. Like recently my potassium numbers were a little low, so I now take a potassium supplement to help bring it up. I use to take a pill but these bothered my stomach so I use a salt supplement instead, I add it to meals just like you would do with table salt. There maybe different side affects from these supplements, and the results may vary because everyone is different.

Another problem I have is I am not a big eater, especially after finding cancer in my stomach last year. It was taken out, but my stomach still gives me problems and in short, it makes it hard to eat sometimes. I am pretty thin, so I basically eat anything I want. I am not a big fan of eating, maybe if I was, I would be alot heavier.

"Electrolytes are minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge.

It is important to keep a balance of electrolytes in your body, because they affect the amount of water in your body, blood acidity (pH), muscle action, and other important processes. You lose electrolytes when you sweat, and you must replace them by drinking fluids.

Electrolytes exist in the blood as acids, bases, and salts (such as sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, and bicarbonate). They can be measured by laboratory studies of the blood."Medical Encyclopedia

"As for your body, the major electrolytes are as follows:

* sodium (Na+)
* potassium (K+)
* chloride (Cl-)
* calcium (Ca2+)
* magnesium (Mg2+)
* bicarbonate (HCO3-)
* phosphate (PO42-)
* sulfate (SO42-)

Electrolytes are important because they are what your cells (especially nerve, heart, muscle) use to maintain voltages across their cell membranes and to carry electrical impulses (nerve impulses, muscle contractions) across themselves and to other cells. Your kidneys work to keep the electrolyte concentrations in your blood constant despite changes in your body. For example, when you exercise heavily, you lose electrolytes in your sweat, particularly sodium and potassium. These electrolytes must be replaced to keep the electrolyte concentrations of your body fluids constant. So, many sports drinks have sodium chloride or potassium chloride added to them. They also have sugar and flavorings to provide your body with extra energy and to make the drink taste better." "How Stuff Works

"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?" Pink Floyd "The Wall"

So thank your parents and teachers who have forced the food pyramid on you so many years ago. The Food Pyramid is a plan to keep you on a healthy diet and it balances all the different food groups. If you follow this plan and get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day you are taking a major step towards keeping healthy.