How Nutrition Affects Your Health and Well-Being!

In order to be able to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, prevent and reduce the risk of diseases, and improve your overall health, it is important to become knowledgeable about WHAT nutrition is, WHY it is important and HOW it influences the foods we eat and the different ways those foods affect our bodies. A nutritious diet will help achieve the above. However, it is essential to be aware of what makes a diet nutritious in the first place.

Nutrition is the study of food. It attempts to explain how food nurtures our bodies and influences our health. It consists of consuming, digesting, metabolizing and storing nutrients, as well as the reasons behind how these nutrients shape our bodies. We are usually aware of the definition of nutrition, though that is never enough. What we are not aware of and what we do not seem to understand are the factors that allow us to achieve the desired health and body weight we want. For instance, the amount of each type of foods we should be eating and the factors that have an effect on our eating patterns.

A nutritious diet results in the maintenance of energy and vitality. What contributes to the overall health of an individual is the proper combination of nutrients and energy. The following are the four characteristics that will make a diet nutritious:

1. Adequacy- Enough energy, nutrients and fiber that is needed to maintain the health
2. Balance- The combination of foods that provide the proper balance of nutrients
3. Moderateness- Eating the right amounts of food to maintain a healthy weight and optimize the metabolic process of body
4. Variety- Eating many different foods each day

Nutrition is one of several factors contributing to health. It is very important to become familiar with other factors that seem less obvious, but actually make a big difference in making your overall health complete. The following are the different branches of health, all of which are essential in order to reach a state of complete physical well-being:

• Occupational health: Includes work that is meaningful, and vacation
• Social health: Includes community, social environment, and family
• Emotional health: Includes positive and optimistic feelings about life and oneself
• Spiritual health: Includes spiritual values and beliefs
• Physical health: Includes physical activity and health

Furthermore, our nutrition is of importance and the first step in attaining results that influence our overall health in a positive way is to become aware of the disciplines behind food and nutrition in general. In addition, a nutritious diet will help you lose fat and the continuance of it will help you achieve and maintain a desirable weight.