Nutrition Throughout the LifeSpan.

As stated in a previous post, every living thing needs energy via nutrients to survive, even the most seemingly inanimate organisms like plant require the nutrient they get from sunlight, water and soil to survive and even thrive. Humans being, the most advanced of living organisms are no different. In fact, the proper nourishment of humans is a bit more sophisticated than just consuming any food.

 Individuals require all necessary nutrients, the Macros or energy yielding nutrients Carbohydrates, Proteins and fats, in specific recommended amount to nourish the body. In addition the micronutrients vitamins and minerals are just as vital for their supporting and protective properties. These nutritional recommendations begin before birth, even sometimes before conception.

Ayurveda a 4000 year old healing practice from India (Spector 2013, has a belief that all people should hold dear. To understand this belief it is important to understand that Ayurvedic medicine at its core belief is one of preventative medicine rather that disease cure. And Ayurvedic practitioners prescribe proper nutrition and physical activity to their patients either to maintain and protect health, or the restoration of health. Basic Ayurvedic health beliefs involve the ‘prakriti’, which is responsible for the constitution of a person's physical and psychological characteristics (Spector 2013). Each prakriti consist of three ‘doshas’, which control the activities of the body, and the combinations of doshas are passed down from mother to child through the mother’s diet during pregnancy (Spector 2013). Though some of the beliefs may be pure superstition, Ayurveda believes that a mother’s diet during pregnancy can either protect the child from illness throughout it’s life, or make it more susceptible to some chronic diseases throughout it’s lifetime (Spector 2013). This makes a pregnant woman’s diet not just important for her health, but that of her unborn child as well.

Pregnancy: prior to conception a woman has to make sure her body is healthy enough to host a healthy child, and she begin to prepare it for this by eating nutritious foods, losing weight if overweight and gaining some if over weight (Sizer & Whitney 2013). While I am highly doubtful that any particular food or supplement will make a woman more likely to get pregnant, there is however no doubt that a healthy body increases the chances of a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy child. Pregnant women require a host of nutrients to nourish themselves as well as their babies; baby gets first dibs on nutrients and will leave the mother deficient of certain nutrients if enough of them are not consumed.

In the first trimester of pregnancy a healthy woman has no need for extra nutrients, however in the second and third trimester as the fetus grows, the mother will need more nutrient through food and sometimes supplements to properly nourish them both (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Because pregnant women need more energy in the later months of their pregnancy, 340 – 450 in the second and third trimester respectively, most increase their intake of energy-yielding nutrients in those months (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Some vitamins and minerals famous for their cell production capabilities and skeletal building are also in special demand during pregnancy. Folate, vitamins B12, D, calcium, iron and Zinc are all special requirement for pregnant women; these vitamins are responsible for aiding fetal needs for a healthy baby, while maintaining a healthy mother.

Infancy: After the birth of their children most women have to decide whether to nurse or feed the baby formula. Some women are not able to breastfeed and as such infant formula is necessary for the child. Newborn infant require no nutrients but those afforded them through breast milk (or formula, in addition breast milk also boosts the newborn’s immune system by the passing of antibodies from mother to infant through breast milk (Sizer & Whitney). At around four to six months some babies are ready to begin to try solid foods (more like mashed up food), although their diet still consists mostly of infant milk. At this age infants require more foods that a nutrient-rich in iron and vitamin c, and should not be fed cow’s milk until after 12 months of age as they cannot digest it yet before that time (Sizer & Whitney 2013).

 

Childhood: the amount a child needs of some nutrient is based on a few factors, including their age and activity levels. Children also need to be taught and influenced from a young age the right food choices to makes, as proper nutrition breed proper brain function (Sizer & Whitney 2013). As prior mentioned children of different ages need different amounts of nutrients, based on the calorie amounts they need; “a 1-year-old child needs about 800 calories a day; at age 6, the child’s needs double to about 1,600 daily calories. By age 10, about 1,800 calories a day support normal growth and activity without causing excess storage of body fat. As children age, the total number of calories needed increases”. (Sizer & Whitney 2013. p 555). At all stages of life all human beings require all essential nutrients, and such is the case in childhood, however the growing prevalence makes iron a necessary mineral to make sure that all children get, particularly toddlers (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Based on their calorie needs, children need to consume, 1-2 cups each of fruit and vegetables, 3-6oz of grains, 2-5 oz. of meats, 2-3 cups of low-fat milk and 3-5tsp; guardians should also ensure that children consume more dark green, orange vegetables as well as legumes and complex starches (Sizer & Whitney 2013). The growing prevalence of malnourishment and childhood obesity makes breeding healthy food choice habits from a young age of great importance.

Family meals encourage children to eat healthier meals.

Adolescence: by the time most children reach the age of adolescence, their eating habits are almost always already established, and the busy lives most adolescents see to have make making healthy food choices a challenge. Just like in childhood age and physical activity level plays a role in the amount of each nutrients adolescents need, due to puberty the gender is another factor that play an important role in nutrient amounts. The need for all nutrients is of great importance during adolescence particularly some vitamins and minerals (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Iron is of great importance at this time as it is needed for body mass gain, and girls also begin menstruation at this time (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Calcium and vitamin D are also very important as bone development is crucial at this time as well (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Again the importance of establishing healthy eating habits are crucial at this age, because most adolescents carry on their eating habits into adulthood.

Adulthood or the later years according to the required text seems to be what we have been learning about throughout the course. Although lifespan has increased significantly today as opposed to days past, there is also a increase in what might be described as elderly diseases, mostly chronic diseases (Anspaugh et al 2011). The high prevalence of chronic disease in adults, and the elderly makes it seem as though the credit for longevity is not on proper nutrition choices throughout the years, but rather the increased effectiveness of medical science on disease cure an/or management.  As stated in the required text, the foods eaten today can and will eventually become a part of the person, in the present time or in future years. While most eating patterns are established in childhood and are difficult to break, as mentioned by Dr. Ornish in his TEDTalks, the body can heal itself if it begins to receive the proper nutrients needed (Ornish 2004). In their later years as other years, physical activity levels play a large role in the amount of energy-yielding nutrients consumed. The physical activity of elderly people is usually lower than the rest of the general population, due to a number of factors, and as such they need not consume a large amount of calories, via energy-yielding nutrient like fat. However protein needs for the elderly remain the same for the elderly as for young adult, because proteins provide a number of other functions, like musculoskeletal regeneration, beyond yielding energy (Sizer & Whitney 2013). In addition a continued diet consisting of whole grains, produces a good amount of energy, as well as adequate nourishment to maintain good brain function (Perhaps this is why the elderly seem wiser J) (Sizer & Whitney 2013). The importance of incorporating a number of vitamins into their diet is also of great importance to the aging public. Vitamins A, due to it’s benefits in bone growth, immune health and healthy vision is a necessary vitamin for the later years; however because it’s absorption seems to increase with age, a reduction has been recommended. In contrast an increase in vitamins D, B12, E and other antioxidants are recommended for the elderly due to their obvious benefits in bone, skin, immune and eye health (Sizer & Whitney 2013). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies does imply that those individuals who have practiced healthy lifestyles, including a healthy diet most of their lives will also be healthier in their later years, and those steadily consuming a healthy diet will have no need for supplements to meet their nutritional needs (Sizer & Whitney 2013).

Finally, nutrition while it is a necessary requirement for all human beings is also a habit, because food choices are a habit. These habits have to be established from a young age, in fact it is suggested to parents to offer vegetables to their children as their first solid foods, lest they acquire a taste for sweeter fruits and reject the vegetables (Sizer & Whitney 2013). These food habits once established will be carried on into adulthood, and as we have learned throughout this course, the unhealthy food choices eventually manifest themselves in the form of several chronic diseases

Here is an interesting video on good nutrition and lifestyle habit throughout lifespan.

References:

Anspaugh, D. J., Hamrik, M. H., & Rosato, F. D. (2011). Wellness concepts and

Applications. (8th ed.). New York: NY, McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Micozzi, M.S. (2010). Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (4^th Edition) St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

TEDTalks (Producer). (2008) Dean Ornish: Healing and other natural wonders [Video file]. Retrieved from the Films On Demand database

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Spector, R.E. (2009). Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness (7^th ed) Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.