In previous articles, we have motivated and discussed exercise as a primary contributor to wellness. By now, you will have established your purpose for taking action and starting your exercise routine. You also have the tools to develop your personal fitness goals.
Now, we are going to talk about the second pillar of health and wellness – nutrition.
First – and this is cardinal – nutrition refers to how food affects the health of your body, fitness ensures that you maintain a healthy and strong physique. These two together form the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.
By taking a step towards understanding what is essential health, you will add value to your fitness goals and routine. Food provides the nutrients to survive and helps the body function optimally. It contains the macro and micronutrients offering the calories to fuel your body, maintain energy and maintain your health.
When talking of nutrition it is very important to understand that we are NOT talking about a diet or food deprivation in any way, shape or form. Nutrition is about finding the balance of healthy eating that assists you in sustaining a healthy lifestyle. Our emphasis is on the sustainability of an eating plan which you will be able to maintain for years to come and not just a ‘diet’ that lasts a few weeks (if it lasts a few weeks).
We all remember images of the five basic food groups and how you should ensure that your intake per day contains elements of each food group. Nutrition is not complex – it is a balance between eating the right amount of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Let us now consider the purpose of macro- and micronutrients and what they do for the body.
Protein
Protein provides the body with amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks we need to grow, develop, maintain and repair body tissue. Protein helps structure muscles and bones, repair tissue and help the immune cells fight infection and inflammation.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have received such a bad reputation in recent years, which is highly unfair. We need carbohydrates. Carbs fuel your body – give you energy. Cutting it out of your daily food intake is not advisable. When we eat too many carbohydrates the body stores it (yes, this is where the bad reputation was born). And how does the body store energy? Yes, correct again, in body fat. Getting the carbohydrate balance correct is very important. Cutting it out completely is not healthy.
Fat
Again, fat used to be the ‘evil force’ behind weight gain and heart disease. However, research has proved, over and over, that fat is an essential food which we need to function optimally. Fat is not only a source of energy but helps bodily functions in the following ways: it helps the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins, helps balance hormones and fight inflammation, insulate organs and serves as structural components of our cells. It further helps to regulate body temperature, supports immune function and maintains healthy skin, hair and nails. Not something you should cut out of your daily intake, right? In a later article, we will discuss WHICH fats to eat to ensure that you gain the benefits from your daily fat intake rather than the damaging effect of overeating fat or eating the wrong fats.
Vitamins
Vitamins are a critical food component that assists with your overall health – specifically in cell metabolism and neurological functions. Vitamins also help with energy production, healing wounds, forming bones, immunity and skin and eye health. Vitamins are classified into two groups – water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins can be simplified as the vitamins that act in our body fluids. Fat-soluble vitamins protect cells. Water and fat-soluble vitamins are also stored differently in the body.
Minerals
As with vitamins, we need minerals to build strong bones and teeth, control body fluids and turn food into energy. If you maintain a healthy eating plan, your major mineral intake should be sustainable. Major minerals are minerals which you need more than 100 milligrams of a day. Depriving yourself of these can cause severe health problems (for example – an iron deficiency could influence your red blood cells functioning optimally).
Making decisions on healthy food choices depends on your age, your health needs, your daily exercise routine and your preference. What is most important is that you ensure that you do secure a daily intake of both micro and macronutrients. Also, we need to stop thinking that healthy eating = dieting. A diet is short-term and is not sustainable. A healthy eating plan is a lifestyle – it never ends. You make the decision every day: “Today, I choose my health and well-being. I will eat what sustains my body and will ensure that my body receives everything it needs to keep my energy levels stable, my body strong and maintain my health.”
Understanding the basics of nutrition enhances your ability to make healthier food decisions, and as with exercise, it requires that you consider your personal choice, preference and dedication to make sure that you make decisions that will add value to your health.
Together with your exercise routine – you can be what you were designed to be – a health force able to maintain, sustain and remain a powerful machine!
You should always consult your doctor before changing your eating habits.
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