Nutrition is variously described as a bodily process of utilizing food, as the actual supply of nutrients from foods eaten, and as the science of metabolism as it pertains to nutrients taken in, digested, and delivered for use by the body. For those of us who are not scientists, it means healthy food, supplements, and other necessary things that build health and improve the quality of life.
To be healthy requires more than calories. This measurement of heat or energy produced by digestion dates from the 18th century, when the value of a calorie was established. 'Empty calories' are foods that can cause weight gain but offer no true nutritional value to the body. It is now known that we need vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to thrive.
Whole foods have lots of nutritive value, but processed foods may have lost their goodness. Once people lived mainly on what they could grow themselves, but today grocery stores are the source of foods for most of us. This is a relatively new situation, and studies are just beginning to show how damaging this has been.
Foods are modified for commercial reasons. Fresh fruits are both expensive and perishable. It's easier to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables, frozen fruit juices, or frozen vegetables. Milk, once drunk raw (unpasteurized) and fresh from the cow or goat, is now pasteurized and homogenized. Unfortunately, much of the goodness of the natural food was lost along the way.
Today essential fatty acids are removed to prolong shelf life, fiber is lost when baked goods are valued for their soft texture, and sugar addiction cause people to seek satisfaction in empty calorie foods. Vegetables and fruits may be sold as fresh but transported from far away. Vitamins are fragile things, and their presence begins to decline as soon as the food is harvested.
To maintain or to restore health, foods must be gotten as fresh as possible, cooked carefully to preserve their wholesomeness or eaten raw, and consumed in the whole state, rather than after processing. Artificial ingredients should be avoided by both adults and children. Essential fatty acids should be supplemented, unless good quality fish can be obtained, and chemical-free produce used whenever possible.
Nutritional science involves more than food. Exercise such as walking, weight training, or body building is important; it tones muscles and the digestive tract and encourages regularity. It also results in deeper breathing, another factor for good health. Copious amounts of pure water, free of chemicals and impurities, are recommended by every health care professional. Getting enough deep, restorative sleep is also necessary for optimum well-being.
Nutrition should be the basis of everyone's lifestyle. This would result in a tremendous reduction of pain, illness, expense, and loss of productivity. Feeling good, building muscle and fitness, and enjoying life are within reach of us all, if we are wise enough to implement them.
To be healthy requires more than calories. This measurement of heat or energy produced by digestion dates from the 18th century, when the value of a calorie was established. 'Empty calories' are foods that can cause weight gain but offer no true nutritional value to the body. It is now known that we need vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to thrive.
Whole foods have lots of nutritive value, but processed foods may have lost their goodness. Once people lived mainly on what they could grow themselves, but today grocery stores are the source of foods for most of us. This is a relatively new situation, and studies are just beginning to show how damaging this has been.
Foods are modified for commercial reasons. Fresh fruits are both expensive and perishable. It's easier to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables, frozen fruit juices, or frozen vegetables. Milk, once drunk raw (unpasteurized) and fresh from the cow or goat, is now pasteurized and homogenized. Unfortunately, much of the goodness of the natural food was lost along the way.
Today essential fatty acids are removed to prolong shelf life, fiber is lost when baked goods are valued for their soft texture, and sugar addiction cause people to seek satisfaction in empty calorie foods. Vegetables and fruits may be sold as fresh but transported from far away. Vitamins are fragile things, and their presence begins to decline as soon as the food is harvested.
To maintain or to restore health, foods must be gotten as fresh as possible, cooked carefully to preserve their wholesomeness or eaten raw, and consumed in the whole state, rather than after processing. Artificial ingredients should be avoided by both adults and children. Essential fatty acids should be supplemented, unless good quality fish can be obtained, and chemical-free produce used whenever possible.
Nutritional science involves more than food. Exercise such as walking, weight training, or body building is important; it tones muscles and the digestive tract and encourages regularity. It also results in deeper breathing, another factor for good health. Copious amounts of pure water, free of chemicals and impurities, are recommended by every health care professional. Getting enough deep, restorative sleep is also necessary for optimum well-being.
Nutrition should be the basis of everyone's lifestyle. This would result in a tremendous reduction of pain, illness, expense, and loss of productivity. Feeling good, building muscle and fitness, and enjoying life are within reach of us all, if we are wise enough to implement them.
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