Nutrition is a term with many definitions. Most people understand it to mean a good diet, a healthy lifestyle, and supplementation with vitamins and minerals. It can also mean the science of how the body utilizes foods and nutrients, or the actual food itself. Healthy food in its natural state, plenty of fresh air and water, regular exercise to build muscle and fitness, and supplements if needed will keep or restore health.
To be healthy requires more than calories. This measurement of heat or energy produced by digestion dates from the 18th century, when the value of a calorie was established. 'Empty calories' are foods that can cause weight gain but offer no true nutritional value to the body. It is now known that we need vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to thrive.
Whole, fresh foods hold out the best hope of a diet sufficient in vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances. For many generations, people lived on food that they produced or gathered themselves, and this food provided what they needed to maintain health and stave off illness. Vegetables from the garden, fruit off the trees, grain from the fields, and meat from the barnyard were staples of everyday diets.
Foods are modified for commercial reasons. Fresh fruits are both expensive and perishable. It's easier to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables, frozen fruit juices, or frozen vegetables. Milk, once drunk raw (unpasteurized) and fresh from the cow or goat, is now pasteurized and homogenized. Unfortunately, much of the goodness of the natural food was lost along the way.
Essential fatty acids differ in how quickly they become rancid. Some are removed entirely from shelf-stable foods, which creates an imbalance and eventually a deficiency. This is why health advocates have recommended extra Omega-3 fatty acids, most easily found in supplement form. Fiber is lacking in many diet plans, since white flour has had the fibrous bran removed. Vitamins fade quickly from fresh produce shipped from far away, and minerals are lacking when soils are depleted.
An effort must be made to obtain foods in a natural state, as fresh as possible, and in quantity suited to daily activity. Food allergies or sensitivities should be taken into account. Sugary foods, refined foods, and packaged foods full of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives should be eliminated altogether or strictly limited. Children should be taught early on the value of a diet rich in good fats, plentiful fiber, adequate protein, and fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals.
Not all of a nutritional program concerns food. Exercise to tone muscle and promote fitness is very important. Walking, weight training, and body building tone muscles and strengthens the digestive tract and other internal organs. An adequate supply of pure water every day is vital. Deep sleep, which escapes many, is also necessary. Breathing from the diaphragm, as happens during exercise, is another health booster.
Good nutrition is important to all who want to live long, healthy, productive lives. Pain, illness, and loss of productivity are some consequences of improper diets and sedentary habits. Many of us don't need doctors as much as we need to understand what our bodies need and how to provide it.
To be healthy requires more than calories. This measurement of heat or energy produced by digestion dates from the 18th century, when the value of a calorie was established. 'Empty calories' are foods that can cause weight gain but offer no true nutritional value to the body. It is now known that we need vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to thrive.
Whole, fresh foods hold out the best hope of a diet sufficient in vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances. For many generations, people lived on food that they produced or gathered themselves, and this food provided what they needed to maintain health and stave off illness. Vegetables from the garden, fruit off the trees, grain from the fields, and meat from the barnyard were staples of everyday diets.
Foods are modified for commercial reasons. Fresh fruits are both expensive and perishable. It's easier to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables, frozen fruit juices, or frozen vegetables. Milk, once drunk raw (unpasteurized) and fresh from the cow or goat, is now pasteurized and homogenized. Unfortunately, much of the goodness of the natural food was lost along the way.
Essential fatty acids differ in how quickly they become rancid. Some are removed entirely from shelf-stable foods, which creates an imbalance and eventually a deficiency. This is why health advocates have recommended extra Omega-3 fatty acids, most easily found in supplement form. Fiber is lacking in many diet plans, since white flour has had the fibrous bran removed. Vitamins fade quickly from fresh produce shipped from far away, and minerals are lacking when soils are depleted.
An effort must be made to obtain foods in a natural state, as fresh as possible, and in quantity suited to daily activity. Food allergies or sensitivities should be taken into account. Sugary foods, refined foods, and packaged foods full of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives should be eliminated altogether or strictly limited. Children should be taught early on the value of a diet rich in good fats, plentiful fiber, adequate protein, and fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals.
Not all of a nutritional program concerns food. Exercise to tone muscle and promote fitness is very important. Walking, weight training, and body building tone muscles and strengthens the digestive tract and other internal organs. An adequate supply of pure water every day is vital. Deep sleep, which escapes many, is also necessary. Breathing from the diaphragm, as happens during exercise, is another health booster.
Good nutrition is important to all who want to live long, healthy, productive lives. Pain, illness, and loss of productivity are some consequences of improper diets and sedentary habits. Many of us don't need doctors as much as we need to understand what our bodies need and how to provide it.
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