Health and Nutrition

There are six main classes of nutrients that the body needs: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. It is important to consume these six nutrients on a daily basis to build and maintain healthy bodily function.

Poor health can be caused by an imbalance of nutrients, either an excess or deficiency, which, in turn, affects bodily functions cumulatively. Moreover, because most nutrients are involved in cell-to-cell signalling (e.g. as building blocks or as part of a hormone or signalling cascades), deficiency or excess of various nutrients affects hormonal function indirectly. Thus, because they largely regulate the expression of genes, hormones represent a link between nutrition and how our genes are expressed, i.e. our phenotype. The strength and nature of this link are continually under investigation, but recent observations have demonstrated a pivotal role for nutrition in hormonal activity and function and therefore in health.

Now days many people live in a fast paced world that leaves them reaching for a fast meal from convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Sadly, these kind of foods, many of which include chemicals and food coloring, are harmful to health.

To cut out the chemicals and preservatives for better health, means going back to food in their natural state. Skip the pre-packaged and pre-prepared foods as much as possible.

These fast foods are not whole food providing the vitamins, minerals and enzymes needed by your body. Sometimes what is eaten is not even real foods and provide little nutrition to build health.

You need to take a look at what you eat and whether you are getting your health and nutrition needs met. One health and nutrition secret is to use the best foods, grown organically if possible.

Eating a balanced diet is really the best way to ensure that you have good health and good nutrition. Nutrition experts suggest that the daily diet include so many servings from the five food groups of breads and cereals, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat/protein such as poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. Fats would be included, but used sparingly.

People living 50 to 100 years ago generally ate that way all the time, gaining nutrition from whole grain foods, vegetables and fruits grown and eaten fresh from the garden, or sold locally. They generally ate smaller amounts of meat or chose meals with beans, peas and other legumes.