Saturday, April 28, 2012

Balanced Diets: Their Role in Healthy Living

Healthy Living: The Role of the Balanced Diet

On many health and food supplements available now, we see the words,

"Food supplements are not intended as a substitute for a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle."

What is a balanced diet then? A balanced diet could be said to be ensuring that your body gets the right amount of nutrients but also the right nutrients. Finding out more about your body's needs is an excellent first step when it comes to getting healthier. In order to know how to stay healthy and maintain one's wellbeing and vigour, it is a good thing to know what your body needs. Oftentimes, literature on this subject can be complex and written for academics, but it is important to look at the variety of resources available that can help you to gain greater understanding. We have the internet to thank for the availability of many learning tools now including educational videos, photographs and articles to health us learn how to maintain our health naturally.

Main Nutrients

Nutrients that we eat keep our bodies healthy. These nutrients include proteins, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and fibre. So it stands to reason that getting the right amount of these in the right balance for your body's needs, will help you to maintain wellbeing. But guess what? We don't just put nutrients into our bodies. If we did, our bodies would respond with excellent health and longevity.

Eating the Right Nutrients

Eating the right kind of nutrients in the right quantity for your body's needs is one way to keep your body healthy and in balance. But as we know and have experienced in greater or lesser degree, this does not always happen and sometimes it is not easy to keep such a balance. Most of us, for example, do not live in ideally healthy environments where plenty of fresh oxygen circulates freely. Most of us have to cope with the stresses and strains of toxicity and bacteria from the air we breathe and the chemicals that enter our systems through our skin, hair and products we eat and drink.

Miracle of Mother Nature

Our bodies are basically set up to process all that we breathe in and digest, so we need to make sure we support them, naturally if possible. Our bodies consist of a multitude of compounds, fluids and tissues that work together in an interactive co-operative balance, all day and night to support the various organs that make up the whole body.

Minerals such as calcium and magnesium are some of the macro minerals that help to maintain the shape and strength of our skeleton, protein largely comprises our outer protective skin, hair and nails, while on the inside a complex network of organs, blood vessels and drainage fluid keeps the body's systems alive and working. And all of this goes on day in day out, as part of this wonderful miracle of Mother Nature.