3 Reasons Why It’s Essential to Pay Proper Attention to Your Nutrition

Hey There Friends! You know I’m a huge proponent of moderation but… it’s also important that we do pay attention to our nutrition. Today I want to talk a bit about why.

It’s not exactly a secret that proper nutrition can make a tremendous difference with regards to your overall health – but it’s interesting to realize that this hasn’t been something that mainstream professionals always considered “self-evident” even just within the last few decades.

Although there is wisdom from ancient times that advises on the importance of nutrition – such as the famous Hippocrates quote “let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food,” it is nonetheless possible to find quotes from mainstream health professionals within the last century, downplaying the effects of diet on overall health.

For that matter, modern nutritional science itself is only just a bit more than a hundred years old.

Here are a few reasons why it’s essential to pay proper attention to your nutrition, whether that means seeking a professional for nutrition counseling, or simply adding more vegetables to your plate.

Because many foods available today are calorie rich but nutrient poor

An interesting shift has happened with regards to food in modern times – specifically, it used to be the case that most food that the majority of people have access to was fairly low in calories, but high in nutrients, meaning that to eat enough calories you would commonly get plenty of nutrients simultaneously. These days, much of the food available is rich in calories, but poor in nutrients.

Virtually all fast food is full of hyper-palatable ingredients such as refined sugar and fat and is absolutely loaded with calories, while simultaneously having very little if anything in the way of essential micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.

In other words, it’s possible nowadays to be overweight while still being badly deficient in some of the most essential nutrients out there. This means that the sheer amount of food you eat isn’t necessarily a good determinant of your nutritional status, and it is possible to be overweight while nonetheless being malnourished. This is why food deserts are such a big problem. When your only options are convenience stores and fast food it’s ridiculously difficult to feed yourself and your family a healthy diet!

Because the proper balance of different nutrients in your body can affect everything from your immune system to your mental function

In order for your body to remain in peak health, and in order for it to perform to the best of its abilities, it’s essential that you should not only have enough of the various types of different nutrients, but that you should also maintain the correct ratios between the different nutrients.

Magnesium and calcium, for example, can cause a variety of issues when there are deficiencies or imbalances.

If you’re not eating a truly “balanced” diet and supplementing intelligently where necessary, you might well be short-changing yourself.

If in doubt, consulting a professional might be helpful. I’ve worked with my doctors a lot over the years to come up with the supplements I take (along with medication) to help me manage my Hashimoto’s and migraines. I’ve also learned that making sure I’m eating well really does impact the frequency and severity of my migraines.

Because, as the saying goes, “you can’t outrun a bad diet”

There’s a fairly well-known saying in health and fitness circles, which goes “you can’t outrun (or out train) a bad diet.”

The point of this saying is to emphasize that it’s far easier to eat an excess of calories than it is to burn them off. By the same token, you could do resistance training for months at a stretch, but if you weren’t taking in the right nutrients to support your efforts, you would likely experience little if any muscle growth. I know that if my eating has been off, my workouts will be too. I just don’t get the energy and focus from a lot of treats that I do from solid nutrition. I wish it wasn’t the case… but it is.

Exercise and other health interventions are very important. But it all needs to begin with good nutrition.

This is  a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links, from which I may receive income. All opinions are, as always, my own. While I am an ACE Certified Health Coach and Personal Trainer I am not a medical professional and the information provided in this post is not to be considered medical advice.

-Kristen