Diet And Health Today - January 1 | Page 5

repair, pumping blood, fighting infection, running the reproductive system and more. There is an equation, which has been used since 1919, to work out how much energy above the BMR is needed for different levels of activity. It is called the Harris Benedict Equation.3 An average woman needs approximately 1,500 BMR calories and, if moderately active (exercise one to three days per week) she will need approximately 500 calories in addition to her BMR calories. So, our average woman needs approximately 2,000 calories and three quarters of these are for BMR activities. To all intents and purposes, only protein, fat, vitamins and minerals can help with the BMR list of activities. Carbohydrate is purely for energy. Hence any carbs that you eat are useless, as far as the BMR list is concerned. Visualise an operations manager sitting within your body with a check list of things to do every day: pump the heart; liver – 500 jobs; kidneys – manage waste and much more; cells need to be repaired and so on. Every time fat, protein, vitamins and minerals come in – the ops manager can direct those nutrients to things on the “To Do” list. Every time carbs come in – nothing gets crossed off the list. We are now going to apply these two truths to possibly change the way you view food for ever. meat, eggs and dairy from pasture living animals; fish; nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits in season. Ms.