Nutrition's value
What Even Is Nutrition?
Nutrition includes the process of the intake of food and the effects it has on a person’s health and well-being. Proper nutrition depends on the type of food a person consumes and can significantly improve a person’s health, while poor nutrition can take a toll on a person’s health. Understanding nutrition is crucial to maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Benefits of Good Nutrition
Having good nutrition comes with many health-related benefits, such as:
Growth and Development - Proper nutrition provides a growing individual with the right materials to grow and develop the body effectively.
Improved immune function - Proper nutrition supports the body’s immune function. Specific vitamins such as vitamins A, C, and E significantly improve the body’s ability to fight off pathogens.
Increased Energy - Carbohydrates are the body’s source of quick energy. Without proper carbohydrates, the body won’t have enough energy to get through the day.
Better Mental Health - Healthy food is associated with improved mental health.
Weight Management - A proper diet with good nutrition helps reduce calorie intake through the consumption of more filling, healthier food, bringing down the amount of excess calories. Additionally, proper nutrition helps burn fat while maintaining muscle.
What Does Good Nutrition Look Like?
Good nutrition includes the foods and macronutrients a person has and consumes.
The foods found in a balanced and nutritional diet are fruits and vegetables, whole grains (over refined grains) such as brown rice, whole wheat, and barley, protein such as lean meat, fish, and nuts, and dairy.
The ratio of macromolecules an individual would want to consume heavily depends on their physical demands. If they’re an extremely active person, more carbohydrates need to be consumed. If they want to build muscle, they should eat more proteins. However, regardless of a person’s physical needs, they should always consume an adequate amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Complex carbohydrates should be consumed over simple carbohydrates as they are harder to digest, resulting in more stable sources of energy. These include whole grain, fruits, and vegetables. Proteins should be consumed for growth and repair in the body. Healthy fats should be chosen over trans and saturated fats that are found in processed foods.
Foods To Avoid
When trying to maintain good nutrition, the foods and compounds that should be avoided are:
Added sugars
Highly processed foods
Refined grains
Trans and saturated fats
Excessive sodium
Artificial sweeteners
Artificial coloring
A lot of food now is extremely processed, artificial, and unhealthy. As this food is usually cheap, many individuals rely on this food daily in order to sustain their bodily functions, leading to unhealthy lifestyles all around the world.
Written by: Kevin