NUTRITION BASICS FOR MEN: HOW TO EAT RIGHT, EVERY DAY
Flash back to fourth grade. As the teacher chatters about nutrition, you stare at a huge chart on the blackboard. It illustrates your body as a factory, like U.S. Steel. Shovel coal and iron in the front door, add heat, and out rolls steel. Same for you: Shovel raw materials down your maw— beans, green salads and endless glasses of milk—and, marvel of marvels, out comes a healthy you.
Turns out a man's body is a lot more complex than that. What, when and how much to shovel—that equation is more complex than anything encountered by a shop foreman. To stay healthy you need to consume dozens of nutrients in various amounts and concentrations. Consuming 90 percent may not cut it. You need them all. What's more, every man's needs are different, so there's no perfect template you can follow.
"Nutrition is not a black-and-white field and never will be," says Martin Yadrick, R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "People would like it to be much simpler, and the average consumer wishes it were, but it isn't. It's a multifactor thing."
And it's a vital thing. More and more experts believe that most medical problems can be traced, at least in part, to nutritional shortfalls or excesses.
Fortunately, good nutrition is on everyone's minds these days—not only in doctors' offices but in top corporations as well. Even fast-food chains have begun taking strides toward providing healthier meals. No matter how busy or intense your lifestyle, eating well has never been easier.