How Much is Enough?

What do we need? Our basic needs are food, shelter and clothing. When those three are available, we turn our attention to other needs such as lifestyle and the human psyche.

First, how much food do we need?

To survive and to have sufficient energy to function, an average woman needs between 1500 and 2000 calories while a man requires between 2000 and 2500 calories. Of this amount how much should come from the various food types? How much protein, fat or carbohydrate do we need?

The broad figures are 30% from fat, 10% from protein and the rest from carbohydrates. 1 gram of fat is equivalent to 9 calories while one gram each of protein and carbohydrate are each equal to 4 calories.

So you can do your sums from there. The nutrition information panel which is found on each packaged product lists the ingredients and the levels of the four major nutrients in the product, i.e. energy, protein, fat and carbohydrates. Packaged drinks have to display the amount of sugar in the product.

This information helps you to make informed purchases of food while bearing in mind your daily caloric needs.

Oh, oh, how tedious, to have to calculate and count the amount to eat! There’s no need to fret. Just take a look at the nutrition information panel and know roughly what is healthy and what is not. Then stay away from the unhealthy products. For example, a diabetic will not pick up a product that has high sugar content because he knows that is not good for him.

Most of what we need to eat are complex carbohydrates such as tubers, brown rice, whole grains, whole wheat and fiber. We also need to eat more fruit
and vegetables. What should be eaten least are the fats and sweet desserts which are full of empty calories and contain lots of sugar. Some fat is necessary for our metabolism.

The trouble with us is that we have too many choices, too much food available and our taste buds are stimulated by the visual temptations before us so that rational thinking leaps out of mind and we fill up the trolley with food that we don't really need, much to our detriment.