There is no doubt that optimum nutrition is the best way to keep your body healthy and free from illnesses. But when I refer to optimum nutrition, what exactly am I talking about? Well, here’s a look at what constitutes optimum nutrition.
To put it in simple terms, optimum nutrition refers to eating the right foods in the right combination (a balanced diet), and ensuring an adequate daily intake of water. A balanced diet includes various foods which are rich in several nutrients, and in combination with each other, provide you with all the essential nutrients that your body needs. These are:
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Proteins
- Fats
- Carbohydrates (starch)
- Co-factors and digestive enzymes
- Fiber
- Phyto-nutrients and
- Good bacteria
Thus, as you can see, you need to eat a wide variety of animal and plant foods in order to ensure a daily intake of all the essential nutrients as mentioned above. And let’s face it; in today’s world where fast food reigns supreme, hardly anyone eats a proper balanced diet. Most people have poor nutritional habits, which is why their bodies are susceptible to more diseases. Thus, in order to ensure optimum nutrition and a fit body, nutritional support through good quality nutritional supplements becomes essential.“But why should I take nutritional supplements when I eat a perfectly balanced diet?”
Well, even if you are one of those few people who has good nutritional habits and who consumes a perfectly balanced diet, you still need to take nutritional supplements. Why? Read on……
The soil today is not as nutrient rich as it once was, due to which foods too are not as high in nutrients as they used to be. There is also an increased use of chemicals in the food industry, and modern cultivation and farming methods too do not do anything to maintain the quality of food. Due to all these reasons, food is depleted of most of its vital nutrients, which is why it is practically impossible to achieve optimum nutrition through food alone.
Thus, the only way to ensure optimum nutrition is to eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible, avoid unhealthy methods of cooking such as frying, and use an appropriate regimen of nutritional supplements in your daily life. As various nutritional supplements too can have undesirable side effects if used improperly, it is essential to take nutritional supplements under the expert guidance of a natural health care doctor only.
Dr. Nabil Khoury is a medical doctor. He practices integrative medicine combining allopathic medicine and natural health. Visit his website Natural health and longevity bible [http://www.get-healthier.com] to learn more about optimum nutrition [http://www.get-healthier.com/optimum-nutrition.html].
