Nutrition Post, Essay Example

Vitamins assist in providing energy to the body by means of a simple equation: they offer the nutrition lacking in processed foods, and offer the body the resources it would otherwise gain from eating.  Given the complex processes of human physiology, this inevitably translates to energy.  Vitamins do not actually provide energy, however; rather, they are the acids and nutrients which enable the body to create energy from food.  Iron supplements, for example, help the blood bring oxygen to the brain and body, but it is the oxygen, not the iron, that produces the energy.  Similarly, ascorbic acid, or Vitamin C, assists in the absorbing of iron into the system, which then promotes oxygenation.  Vitamins ultimately work as necessary facilitators of food, from which all energy is derived.

Favorite snacks:

Potato chips.  Caloric value is 153 calories per single serving bag.

Ice cream sandwich:  approximately 180 calories.

Salami slices: 60-90 calories in a serving.

Nutritious snacks:

Bananas:  90-120 calories.

Raw vegetables: from 24 to 60 calories.

Strawberries: about 100 calories in a cup.

What strikes me as I review the calories of all these foods is that there is not a great difference between the “unhealthy” and the nutritious, or natural.    Note also, however, that taste is the real difference between them.  More exactly, my favorite snacks appeal to me because of strong salt or sweet flavors.  I do enjoy fresh fruit, but I think my palate is used to the extremes of the snack flavors, which is why raw vegetables seem tasteless to me.  At the same time, I am aware that, as calories do not greatly differ, nutrition does.  Also, I would like to lessen the fat content I take in from my snacks.  Consequently, I believe I should focus on retraining my palate.  There is no reason why, in time, I will not perceive strawberries to be as sweet as ice cream, once ice cream is no longer a staple of mine.