Food & Nutrition
Dr. Ebony Davenport
Owner at BE! Social Solutions specializing in Employee Retention Solutions | I help increase profits by teaching practices that eliminate daily stress | Stress & Burnout Expert | Health & Wellness Coach
A healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy is a very smart decision.?Eating healthy isn’t always easy, but committing to a healthy diet has its rewards. A well-balanced diet provides many benefits (Scotland, 2017).
Nutrition refers to the ingestion of foods and their relationship to health (Luck, 2009). Nutrients are chemicals in food that are used by the body and must be derived from the diet (Youdim, 2013). Proper nutrition results primarily from food choices. Proper digestion, absorption, metabolism, and elimination require high-quality foods that contain optimum nutrients (Eliopoulos, 2009).
Food is the nutrients we need for growth and repair, helping us to stay strong and healthy and help to prevent diet-related illness. When we lived off the land all of our food was organic, natural, and nutritious. We had little to no diet-related illness; more life diet-related deficiencies. Now we have foods that have no nutritional value at all. We as a country are now starting to respect the ancient proverb “Let thy food be thy medicine.”
It is easier and cheaper to eat unhealthily. But just know that easier and cheaper are only short-term benefits with long-term consequences. We can pay it on the front end by eating healthy, drinking water, and exercising, or on the back end with high medical bills. Americans suffer from more degenerative lifestyle-related ailments (such as heart disease, some forms of cancer, diabetes, and stroke), causing many healthcare providers to suggest a link between what people eat and how they feel (Luck, 2009).
According to Psychiatric Times, Now, science is showing us that a healthy diet may have an impact on mental health. The impact that food has on mood and other aspects of mental illness is being researched. There is “high-quality evidence for nutritional approaches to the prevention and treatment of mental disorders.”
Work consumes most of our lives and is demanding and stressful. Eating healthy can reduce stress. When our body is in a chronic state of stress, it breaks down protein to prepare for battle, but certain foods have the ability to moderate the body’s level of cortisol, the stress hormone. While the foods we eat during high-stress times are beneficial in the moment, too much can actually harm us in the long run.
Reflection Exercise
Have you taken a real look at your eating habits lately? What are you eating on a daily basis? Where did you get that food habit from? What can you replace it with to get the best nutritional value? How can you make your food work for your mind and body instead of against it?
Take-away
Not all food is created equal. Simple healthy choices such as replacing soda with water, choosing veggies instead of chips, and ordering a side salad in place of fries not only will help you, boost and refuel your vehicle and lose weight, it also can help you save money. You can also pack the nutritious foods you need to curb or satisfy carvings. It is up to you to manage your life and pick the foods that will fuel your vehicle. In addition, add super foods to enhance the benefits to your health and well-being.?
Related Articles: