Holistic health and fitness specialist Elly McGuinness looks at how nutritional choices can have a huge impact on our health.
The degree to which your body is nourished with optimal nutritional choices will have a profound effect on your overall health and wellbeing. It will influence your energy levels, your mental wellbeing, your ability to burn fat, and the strength of your immune system, among other things.
One of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine was the Greek physician Hippocrates. He sums up the importance of optimal nutrition choices in one line: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
With winter upon us, now is a great time to focus on increasing the number of positive choices when it comes to nourishing our bodies with great nutrition.
top 5 tips for optimal nutrition:
Base your nutritional regime around wholefoods
Think nuts, seeds, grains, fruits, vegetables, pulses and meat. Make choices in these food groups that are as close to the original food as possible. This helps ensure the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are still intact. For example, raw almonds instead of roasted and/or salted ones.
Organic farming places the utmost importance on caring for the soil because it forms the basis for health, for all life forms. Healthy soil encourages disease-resistant plants, which then transfers to the animals and people who consume those plants. By choosing organic, you are opting for food that has been grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and without the routine use of antibiotics.
Your body can survive a surprisingly long time without food, but it won’t last more than a few days without water. Optimal hydration is critical to ensure our muscles and nerves function properly, and even mild dehydration can lead to feelings of lethargy. How much to drink? The answer is quite simple – drink until your wee is clear or almost clear. That’s an easy way to measure whether you’re getting enough.
Take time to plan and prepare for eating well
It takes time and preparation to change your habits. Schedule out time to write shopping lists, shop for food and prepare meals. Plan to eat before you shop to minimise the chance of giving in to temptation foods – or shop online to minimise even further. Make bulk meals to freeze for busy nights and set aside time to prepare a packed lunch the night before. Keep useful kitchen items in easy-to-reach places – for example, put the blender on the bench rather than in the cupboard so that healthy smoothie preparation is quick and easy.
Change only one small thing at a time
You may feel overwhelmed by wondering where to start improving your nutrition. Make one small, achievable change and once that becomes a habit (something you can do without a major effort), then focus on something else. Small changes are the key to success. For example, instead of saying “I’m only going to eat wholefoods from now on and forever,” instead make your target more realistic such as, “I’m going to increase to eating at least four different vegetables per day, on at least five days every week.”