‘So what is Nutrition?’ We could describe it as the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth.
A healthy diet throughout life promotes healthy pregnancy outcomes, supports normal growth, development and ageing, helps to maintain a healthy body weight, and reduces the risk of chronic disease leading to overall health and well-being.
So here are 4 questions relevant to every single one of us:
1) What does the word nutrition mean to you?
2) How does nutrition influence your life?
3) What nutrients are important to you and your body?
4) Do you feel you get all the nutrients you need?
There are so many ways we can answer these questions, depending on our own interpretation and perspective. So let’s go back to basics! Really all we need to know is that when we eat and drink, our body has lots of vital jobs to do with what we put in our mouths. Food creates energy for:
- Keeping our muscles functioning
- Our heart pumping and recovering quickly after exercise
- Protecting us from ill health and disease.
- Repairing damaged cells
- Makes us stronger physically and mentally.
These are all crucial to living a healthy life. Therefore, the ‘quality’ of the food we eat is key to living a healthy and happy life. What do I mean by ‘quality’? Quality is how good the nutrients are inside the food we eat. We hear the words ‘nutritionally dense foods’. All this means is that food is packed full of things our body can use and loves to breakdown to make it healthier and fitter. We all know that a plate of vegetables with a nice fillet of fish is better for us than a plate of chips, burger and baked beans. But why is it better? Vegetables and fish are made up a vast array of nutrients. These nutrients are the building blocks for your body. Your body absolutely loves lots of different kinds of micronutrients. So the more nutrients you eat the better your body will function, because …
- it will burn fat quicker,
- it will let your body recover from exercise quicker and more effectively,
- it will repair quicker,
- it will keep your immune system working better and therefore stop you from getting ill as often,
- it will reduce your risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, strokes and cancer,
- it gives you energy,
- it delays the effects of ageing,
- it helps maintain a healthy weight
- it helps protect our mental health
In other words you will be so much healthier and fitter for eating the right nutrients. Good nutrition is the key to good mental and physical health. Therefore eating a balanced diet is an important part of good health for everyone. The kind and amount of food you eat affects the way you feel and how your body works. Now look back to the four questions and answer them. Hopefully you have a greater understanding of the word ‘Nutrition’, but more importantly you can start to focus on whether you are giving your body enough of what it really needs.
If you do have any more queries, please do not hesitate in contacting me on 07970170241 or admin@bodycomplete.co.uk.