Rikako Hashimoto writes:

        Mr. Hiroshi Tanaka is confused about the recent information on good eating and healthy lifestyle patterns. So he is very confused about what would be the recommended daily amounts (RDA) of vitamins and minerals for a man his age. He is a 29-year-old computer specialist. I recommend that he take the following amounts of vitamins and minerals.

        
               *Ca: 0.7g
               *Fe: 12mg
               *Vit.A: 2000IU
               *Vit.B1: 1.0mg
               *Vit.B2: 1.4mg
               *Vit. C: 50mg
               *Vit. D: 100IU
               
        
        And he asked that what's the real difference between carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates include all starches and sugars. They are the body's main source of energy. Each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories. Fats pack a lot of energy. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories. There are three kinds of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Animal and dairy fats, which remain solid at room temperature, are saturated fats. Saturated fat is often called "bad" fat. Unsaturated fats include vegetable fat and oils; they remain liquid at room temperature.

        Next he made a mistake about fiber. He thought that he gets his fiber from eating udon and rice. This is a dangerous mistake. Fiber has been shown in studies to help reduce the rates of some forms of cancer, namely colon and breast cancer. Certain kinds of fiber have been found to lower levels of cholesterol in the blood. A number of foods are good sources of fiber, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.

        Mr. Hiroshi Tanaka has many problems about his eating habits, lifestyles and his family history of health. They are risk factors for his health. He is a 29-year-old computer specialist. He works hard every day. So he is very busy and can't follow all the recent information on good eating and healthy lifestyle patterns. First, he eats unbalanced diets most days. For example, he doesn't have time to eat breakfast most morning, and he really hates most vegetables. These patterns are risk factors for becoming overweight, for arteriosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease and so on.

        To tell the truth, his LDL levels is measured at 172. I think that first, he should make time to eat breakfast. Because breakfast is a most important diet of all them. So I suggest that he should eat breakfast what he can. To put it concretely, as his breakfast, milk, salad, bread, fruits and so on. But he can't, for the life of him, eat it, he should drink milk at least. And he should eat carefully other diets. Especially, he should eat more and many kinds of vegetables. because they have many fibers and they reduce cholesterol.

        Second, Mr. Tanaka doesn't like exercise. They are also factors of overweight and adults' diseases. So he should take moderate exercise, for example riding a bicycle, walking fast for a while and so on, and keep doing this regularly. I think he is young and has physical strength to do exercise. Doing exercise leads to decreasing cholesterol levels., also. And he definitely should try to decrease his LDL levels. And it will decrease his lots of pressure at work that he has been feeling lately. Third, his family has serious disease. For example both his grandfather and father have diabetes. His mother is currently ill with a critical hart condition. The possibility he might contract diabetes is high. I think that he has to keep this in mind so that he does not increase the risk factor to cause diabetes. And as to hart disease is same.

        Finally, now there is lots of information about health in all the world. So we tend to be confused by all this information. But we should analyze our own lifestyles and diets, and we should try to be clear about what is best for us.

         

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