A Healthy Guide to Good Nutrition

Why do we need good nutrition?

We need good nutrition to stay healthy. There are two main reasons why we eat food. One is to supply fuel for our body. The other reason is for pleasure. Unfortunately some of the foods that gives us pleasure are unhealthy.

Some people think of eating healthy as being boring and tasteless. I think that one reason they feel this way is because most of the commercial ads we see promote foods high in calories, fat, or sugar and only a small percentage of food advertising is done for fruits, vegetables, grains and beans.

Thus if there was more nutritional education, more and more people would find eating healthy to be pleasurable and tasty.

Among other things, nutritional deficiencies can cause facial wrinkles.

Also, if you are a woman and want to get pregnant, note that good nutrition helps you stay healthy during pregnancy

What is proper nutrition?

Whether you are at your ideal weight or striving to reach your weight goal is it simply a matter of burning more calories than you take in? The answer, I suggest, is no! Overall body health improvement as well as weight gain or loss must be factored in to the equation or you could be heading for problems.

Correct nutrition can help to reduce the risk of a myriad of health-related problems, the most frightening of which are surely heart disease and cancer.

Proper nutrition, however, entails eating many different foods, monitoring your consumption of some food and beverage items, and counting calories. Good diets offer balanced nutrition that reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and helps with weight control.

To function properly, your body must have the correct combination of nutrients:

Carbohydrates

They are the primary source of ammunition in your diet. The body uses carbohydrates to build glucose which can be used immediately or stored in your body for later. Too much glucose, however, is stored as fat. There are two types of carbohydrates – simple and complex. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Starches and fibers are complex carbohydrates.

Proteins

Proteins make up good nutrition. They help your body build and maintain muscles and other tissues. They also function in the creation of hormones. Like carbohydrates, excess protein is stored as fat.

Animal and vegetable are the two major types of proteins. Too much animal protein can cause high cholesterol, as it is high in saturated fat.

Fat

Strange as it may seem; fat is another nutrient your body requires. It comes in both saturated and unsaturated forms. Saturated fat puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthy, but if it goes through any type of refinement process, it can become saturated fat.

Vitamins

These are also required nutrients. Different vitamins perform different tasks within the body. They can work with the metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you can think of that you need your body to perform. It has also been noted that certain vitamins can prevent disease.

For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by keeping build up from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function.

Also, vitamin B-2 is needed for normal cell growth. In addition, vitamin B-3 helps to detoxify your body. Folic acid assists with production of red blood cells. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps your blood clot.

Minerals and trace elements provide good nutrition

These are another nutrient your body requires. Both are used in many different body processes. Minerals like chlorine help make your digestive juices. Phosphorus helps build strong bones. Both can be found in the foods we consume, but with a trace element, your body just needs a tiny amount.

Salt is one final nutrient your body requires. You should not consume more than 2400 milligrams per day, though, as it might raise your blood pressure.

Follow good nutritional guidelines

You should follow several guidelines to create a well-balanced, healthy diet. First, try to consume two and one half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit each day. When making your selections for each day, be sure to choose a good variety.

A good rough guide is to eat as many different colors as possible, this will help you to select from all five vegetable subgroups at least four times per week.

Eat whole grains

You should eat at least three ounces of whole grain products each day. At least half of your grain intake should be whole grain based. Milk should also be part of a healthy diet.

Eat low fat milk

Consume at least forty-eight ounces of low fat milk or milk products on a daily basis. Your total fat intake should only be between ten and thirty percent of your calories.

Most of the fats you consume should be in the form of unsaturated fats, as saturated fats can do much to damage your health.

Meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products should all be lean, low-fat, or fat-free.

Make only healthy recipes

Less than ten percent of your calories should come from saturated fats, and you should always try to avoid trans-fatty acid.

Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be a regular part of your diet as should potassium rich foods. Alcoholic beverages should only be consumed in moderation.

Conclusion

You have to make healthy eating a habit if you want to obtain nutritional health. People jump on the “band wagon” of healthy nutrition when they read books or view websites that talk about nutrition.

While many of these books and websites tell you what you should eat in-order to be healthy, they fail to teach you how to make healthy eating a habit.

Thus in a short period of time when temptations come, people fall right back into their old unhealthy eating habits. Remember that excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet.

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants can protect you from many of the diseases that seem to be a part of aging.

In fact, so many people are taking supplements for antioxidant protection that it’s become a multibillion-dollar industry.

But the evidence is mounting that whole foods, fruits and vegetables can do more for you than pills. Above all, healthy living translates to optimal health.

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