Spin Doctor: King Tut Rides a Bike...Fast!

Trying to balance work, family and community obligations can be a challenge. Many of us regularly skip meals or end up "eating on the go." As a result, what we end up eating is often a result of convenience and not good planning. Improper eating habits may lead to loss of energy (feeling tired), and in turn, poor mental and physical performance.

How Many Blocks Does it Take to Build a Pyramid?
In the world of nutrition, the graphic of choice has been the Food Guide Pyramid. It can be a helpful tool in determining if you are eating the right amounts of the right foods. But in order to understand how to use the pyramid you need to know a few details. For example, the guideline for carbohydrates is 6-11 servings. What's a serving? The amount you eat at one meal may be more than one serving. In the carbohydrate group, one serving equates to a slice of bread or 1/2 cup of cooked rice.

. Next, you may be wondering why recommended serving amount for carbohydrates vary between 6 and 11 servings (a seemingly large range). The wide range is because this recommendation encompasses a large spectrum of people from women, to men, to children (generally, the rate of metabolism varies for each category). There are also significantly different vitamin and mineral demands between the sexes and different age groups. Also, caloric intake demand is activity level dependent.

Eat Like an Egyptian
Good nutrition is simply a matter of balancing your caloric intake and expenditure by eating a variety of good foods. The accompanying graphics will provide you with guidelines for determining your proper caloric intake. If you are meeting these guidelines in a general sense, you are doing a good job. Bon appetit!