Are you a working professional who has difficulty balancing the demands of your workplace and the adequate intake of nutrients daily? Nutrition assumes great significance in our daily lives, especially those who are mostly away at work, are parents to young kids, and find it challenging to eat healthy regularly.
The importance of nutrition cannot be undermined. For adequate physical and mental growth and development, we require nutrition. So, we must know the food we should consume, the type of nutrition it contains, and how much.
The importance of nutrition in our food intake is crucial for an individual’s health, for the presence of nutrients can make, and the absence of it can break our bodies. It serves well to be aware of the kind of food or drinks we consume. Several diseases occur because we do not pay enough attention to our diet or the nutrients we consume. Certain nutrients, when consumed in excess, can cause some diseases. Others can alter the course of a known disease or a disorder.
Why is Nutrition Essential For Us?
The importance of nutrition lies in the word itself – Nutrition comes from Nutrients. Nutrients are the elements our body absorbs through the food we eat to nourish and nurture our bodies. Like any organism that needs to feed the cells of its body, we need a generous supply of nutrients to keep ourselves healthy. The food we consume contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, fiber, minerals, and water . All of them play different roles in building new cells in our bodies and keep us fit. Here are a few factors that heighten the importance of nutrition all the more.
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Nutrition Improves Well-Being
Nutrition is fundamental in determining the growth and development of individuals. Adequate nutrition intake is the harbinger of appropriate physiological and psychological growth progression, holistic health, and wellbeing. While a healthy diet allows people to be active, a poor diet reduces mental and physical health. More than half of those who regularly consume fresh vegetables and fruits do not report any mental health issues. When our diet is full of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, there is a general sense of wellbeing.
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Nutrition Boosts Your Immunity
Poor nutrition has resulted in poor immunity worldwide. Our immune system fights best against diseases when we consistently consume nutrient-rich food. The importance of nutrition cannot be undermined since a diet that includes vegetables and fruits and is low on unhealthy fats supports the immune system better. One of the benefits of healthy food is that they boost immunity. Several natural foods and herbs, such as turmeric, ginger, etc., promote immunity and boost nutrition.
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Nutrition Delays the Signs of Aging
Food items such as berries, avocados, tomatoes, fish, and nuts contain specific vitamins, proteins, and minerals healthy for the skin. For instance, berries are full of antioxidants that promote cell regeneration. Tomatoes contain Vitamin C, which is responsible for building collagen. It slows down premature aging and makes your skin firm.
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Nutrition Powers Your Energy
Our body is powered by the energy we receive from nutrients such as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Water is responsible for transporting nutrients and plays a significant role as far as the importance of nutrition is concerned. Less water can cause dehydration. An iron deficiency may cause fatigue and loss of energy. To absorb iron-rich food such as dark green leafy vegetables , it is best to consume them with fruits and vegetables containing Vitamin C.
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Nutrition Prevents Chronic Diseases
Chronic diseases such as Type-2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular diseases are often a result of obesity and poor nutrition. Therefore the emphasis on food is higher than ever. A preventive approach based on the proper nourishment can reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. This is one of the benefits of healthy food.
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Nutrition Facilitates Weight Management
Maintaining a healthy weight is a healthy body function. But a lot of people associate weight management with fad diets and forget about the importance of nutrition. That’s a fallacy. A nutritious and balanced diet is an ideal way to maintain weight. You don’t need to jump on the fad-diet bandwagon. Just swap your junk food with healthy food, and you’re good to go.
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Has Positive Effects on Mood & Mental Health
In 2016, some researchers found evidence that suggests an intertwined relationship between diet and our mood/mental health. It was found that diets with high glycemic loads triggered mental health issues such as fatigue and depression. A high-glycemic-load diet includes refined and processed products such as cakes, soft drinks, white bread, and biscuits. On the contrary, eating iron and omega-3 fatty acids-rich food such as nuts, fish, whole grains and more, can lower your glycemic load and make you happier. It has an overall impact on your mental wellbeing. When it comes to positive mental health, the importance of nutrition cannot be sidelined.
The Role of Essential Nutrients In Our Body
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Proteins
Formed with long chains of amino acids, Proteins build muscles and a robust immune system. Human cells are primarily made of protein. Protein builds new tissues and helps damaged cells in our body recuperate, forms enzymes and hormones for our bodies to carry out metabolism and sexual development. Some protein sources are low-fat dairy products, soya, lentils, tofu, nuts and seeds , peas, tempeh, etc.
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Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a ready source of energy as they convert into glucose. There are four types of carbohydrates – Sugar, Fiber, Starches, and Gum. Some examples of carbohydrates are rice, potatoes, pasta, chips, soda, candies/sweets, puddings, cookies/biscuits, cakes, bananas, etc.
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Fats
Fat is a necessary nutrient that provides extra energy. It doesn’t always make us fat. Instead, it insulates our bodies by protecting us from sudden changes in temperature and protecting our vital organs. It is essential for blood pressure regulation and healthy skin. Fats are found in dairy products such as cream, butter, cheese, chocolates, and more. The cell walls also contain fat. The main organs in the body have fat that helps in protecting them.
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Vitamins
Vitamins regulate our body processes and make our body function properly. Our body needs vitamins to grow and develop normally. 13 types of vitamins are necessary for our body, such as A, B, C, D, K, E, B1, B2, B6, and B12. Each vitamin plays a specific role. Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, Vitamin A causes Night Blindness, and Vitamin C causes Scurvy. It is time we give the importance of nutrition its due credit.
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Minerals
We get minerals from our daily foods and don’t need to take them separately. Minerals make body tissues and regulate our body processes. They control the actions of enzymes. Minerals such as Calcium, Chloride, Chromium, Iron, Copper, Fluoride, and Iodine boost our immune system. They are found in our daily food supplements such as soy sauce, salt, milk, whole grains, vegetable oils, nuts, cheese, etc.
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Water
The human body consists of 70% of water. It renders cells their shape. It acts as a medium where the body processes. It is the ultimate nutrient and only emphasizes more on the importance of nutrition. Water maintains the body temperature and carries the body’s waste products. Nutrition plays a vital role in our lives. Each food contains its nutrition value. Water is a vehicle to carry all nutrients inside the cell and outside the cell.
What is a Nutritional Imbalance?
When your body doesn’t get the proper amounts of nutrients it needs, a nutritional imbalance happens. To maintain your body, a healthy and balanced diet is all you need. Different nutrients have very different roles in the body. If your body is missing nutrients in the form of, for instance, deprivation of food and water, then you risk becoming malnourished. Hence, the importance of nutrition has to be given its due. You can be deficient in nutrients if you are not consuming them enough, if you have a disease if you are stressed out, or your digestive system is not working correctly. Nutritional imbalances are easily tested for and can also be easily remedied.
Benefits of Healthy Food
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Heart Health
Cardiovascular disease is one of the preeminent causes of death in adults. Hypertension or High blood pressure is a growing concern. It may cause a stroke, heart attack, or heart failure. The importance of nutrition comes into the picture when you make lifestyle changes such as healthy eating and increased physical activity to prevent premature heart diseases. It reduces blood pressure and keeps your heart healthy.
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Reduced Cancer Risk
Food containing antioxidants reduces the risk of developing cancer by protecting cells from damage. Phytochemicals found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, and legumes act as antioxidants and reduce free radical damage. Maintaining a moderate weight may mitigate these risks.
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Improved Gut Health
Our colon is full of naturally occurring bacteria. They aid in metabolism and digestion. Strains of bacteria that produce vitamins K and B benefit the colon. They fight harmful bacteria and viruses and promote gut health. This is where the importance of nutrition is felt the most, for a healthy colon implies a healthy body. A combination of vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and probiotics helps good bacteria thrive in the colon and boost metabolism and regular bowel movements.
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Improved Memory
A 2015 research identified nutrients such as Vitamin D, C & E, Omega-3 fatty acids, fish, and flavonoids as protection against cognitive decline and dementia. These nutrients play an essential role in maintaining health, brain health, and cognition.
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Diabetes Management
The importance of nutrition is most realized when people suffer from diseases such as diabetes. A healthy diet helps a person with diabetes maintain moderate weight, manage blood glucose levels, delaying or preventing complications of diabetes, and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol within target ranges. People with diabetes need to limit their food intake with added sugar and salt and avoid high saturated and trans fats food.
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Strong Bones and Teeth
A diet full of foods rich in magnesium and calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth. It minimizes the risk of bone issues such as osteoporosis later in life. Broccoli, tofu, cabbage, legumes, cauliflower, and low-fat dairy products are rich in calcium.
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Aids a Good Night’s Sleep
Various factors can disrupt sleep patterns. Obesity, alcohol, intoxication, and unhealthy eating can disturb sleep. This is where the importance of nutrition comes into the picture. A healthy diet sans alcohol and caffeine intake can aid in getting sound and restful sleep.
Easy Ways to Improve Nutrition
The body processes food better than supplements. So it is best when Nutrition is best when you receive it through your diet. But if you can’t get the nourishment your body needs, supplements are available to enhance your diet and nutrition needs.
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Pay Attention To Your Bodily Changes
Body changes over time. So do your bodily needs. Babies, children, adult men and women, pregnant or menopausal women need different nutrients differently. If you are sensitive to any food, your dietary needs will change. You may have processed specific foods remarkably when you were young but may manifest problems with them with age. Pay heed to how you feel and what your body needs.
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Get a Check-Up
Place an utmost premium on the importance of nutrition. When it comes to your body, you must consult a doctor if something seems out of balance. But even if nothing feels wrong, you must still have a regular check-up to keep an eye on your changing body.
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Eat a Balanced & Nutritious Diet
Do not underestimate the importance of nutrition and eat healthily. Eating a healthy diet means it is not just about eating. It is also about trying not to skip meals and get the daily calorie allowance from the right foods.
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Supplements Can Help
If you cannot get nutrients from their most natural source, supplements are a great and easy option. Particularly for those with high vitamin needs, such as children or pregnant women. Consult your doctor before doing so.
