How do you decide which foods you want to eat? Flavor? Texture? Convenience? Comfort? Many people choose the foods they eat based on immediate gratification, without much though about the long-term effects of their selections. That often results in choosing foods that taste good, but are not good for you.
What about the nutritional value of the foods you eat? When you choose your foods be sure to consider the nutrient density of the foods. Nutrient density refers to the amount of nutrients for the given volume of food. Nutrient-dense foods have lots of nutrients generally with fewer calories. All those super foods you've heard about are nutrient dense foods. Energy-dense foods have more calories for the volume of food and generally fewer nutrients.
How Nutrient Density Works
You are hungry and it is a few hours until dinner so you decide you want a snack. You can choose either an apple or a donut. Both are about the same size and either food works as a quick snack so you can get back to work. Which one do you choose?
Hopefully you chose the apple. Why? The apple has around 80 calories and lots of vitamins, fiber and phytochemicals. The fiber and water in the apple will fill your stomach and keep you satisfied until dinner.
The donut has calories. Lots of calories. In fact, the donut has more than 200 calories but it doesn't have many nutrients nor as much of fiber so it won't keep you feeling full either, so eating that glazed donut will frequently lead to eating a second one. It also has unhealthy saturated fat and plenty of sugar. Sure it tastes good but your body might pay quite a price for the immediate rush.
You can also compare nutrient density using the amount of calories in the food rather than volume or portion size. Let's compare four carrots and four saltines. Both snacks have about 50 calories, but the carrots have many more nutrients for the same number of calories and are nutrient-dense; the crackers are energy-dense. This is important for people on weight-loss diets. Foods that are low in fat and contain nutrient-density and other vitamins, will keep you satisfied and healthy while you lose weight.
You can probably already see from the examples that brightly colored fruits and vegetables are big winners in nutrients. So many fruits and vegetables qualify as super foods, or foods that are rich in nutrients and other compounds that have healthy phytochemicals and essential fatty acids. The super food fruits and vegetables include carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, pomegranate and oranges.
Other nutrient-dense super foods include salmon, tuna, trout, low-fat dairy products, oatmeal and whole grains, soy, dried fruits, nuts and other fresh foods. On the other hand, energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods include things that are high in sugar and fat such as refined sugar, processed lunch meats and cheeses, Ice cream, candy, soda, potato chips and corn chips. In other words, junk food.
Choosing nutrient-dense super foods at the grocery store is pretty easy if you stay along the edges of the store, where fresh foods, low fat dairy and fresh bakery goods are found. These fresh foods may be more expensive than the energy-dense
packaged foods, but you get a lot of nutrition for that price. Of course, most shoppers choose some packaged foods for convenience, but you can still make good choices from these products - just read the labels.
You can easily find the Nutrition Facts labels on the backs or sides of the packages. Look at the serving sizes, note the calories, and look at the amount of fiber, vitamins, calcium and iron. The packaged food that has the better combination of lower fat and less sodium is the winner.
Nutrient-Dense Meals
You can prepare nutrient-dense meals by choosing nutrient-dense super foods and ingredients for your dishes. A nutrient-dense choice would be a serving of a healthy protein source such as legumes, fish, poultry or low-fat meat. One serving is typically about the size of your palm and the rest of the meal should be made up of healthy side dishes. Vegetables are always good, even with a little big of cheese, some brown rice and wild rice are good choices as well. A green salad can make a nice nutrient-dense choice for a great meal on its own. Clear soups with lots of vegetables are nutrient-dense compared to cream based soups which have more fat and are energy-dense.
When to Choose Chinese
People who are underweight need some energy-dense foods to make sure they are getting enough calories to gain weight. These foods include peanut butter, dried fruits, starchy vegetables and cheese.
Why Think About Nutrient-Density
Eating nutrient-dense food will ensure you are getting all the nutrition you need. A nutrient-dense diet won't leave you hungry and losing your weight is much easier. Choosing nutrient-dense foods can become second nature. Once you understand which food is nutrient-dense, the rest is easy. Just remember that the foods you eat can affect your health in a big way. To be healthy or unhealthy? That is the question. ~
Aunt Millie
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