You might have heard the old adage, ‘you are what you eat’. Well, when it comes to the link between nutrition and overall health and wellbeing, it’s true!
Food is the fuel your body needs so you can live your life and do daily activities. All food provides your body with nourishment of some kind. But the type of foods you eat and the way they are prepared make a difference for the type and amount of fuel they offer your body. Your body also uses the fuel in different ways, for different functions. This is what we call nutrition.
What you eat and how often you eat it depends on your personal tastes and preferences, culture and medical concerns. But you should also pay attention to nutrition and its effect on your physical and emotional health when planning what to eat.
Food and your health
It’s vital that you have a basic understanding of nutrition and the role your food plays in how you feel. A healthy diet promotes physical health, development, aging and resilience to disease and illness (Fekete et al 2022). Combined with regular physical activity, it’s also essential in maintaining a healthy weight, which is shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and promote overall good health (Swinburn et al 2004).
A diet that lacks key nutrients can do the opposite, leading to illness, disease and other long term health problems.
Physiological and emotional aspects of food
Food choices also have an impact on your physiological and emotional health. Food is fun! Most people have favourite foods that bring them happiness and comfort. As long as these foods are part of a balance diet, enjoying your food can contribute to your overall happiness.
On the flip side, during times of stress, anger, depression and trauma, you may find your appetite is low. Unfortunately, ignoring your healthy diet can make you feel worse, so it’s important to keep eating well even in times of trouble.
Chemical or genetic factors can also contribute to your approach to food. For example, studies have found that people with lower confidence and those with a low satiety phenotype are less likely to have strong control over their food cravings (Hardcastle et al. 2015).
Social aspects of food
Studies have shown that social support has an important role to play in the food choices we make (Anderson et al. 2007). For example, if you come from a family of healthy eaters, you’re more likely to follow that pattern yourself. On the other hand, some social occasions, such as parties, can lead you to making less than perfect food choices – which is fine, as long as you don’t go too overboard, too often!
For many people, in many cultures, consuming and sharing food is an important social function. A shared meal can show care and build bonds between family, friends, colleagues and strangers and can be incredibly important to feel emotionally safe, secure and healthy.
Healthy eating in the real world
Making healthy meal choices all the time (or even most of the time) can be tricky. So, if you’re not sure where to start at mealtime, keep it simple and make sure you’re including these 4 things in your meal:
Protein: lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs or tofu.
Healthy fat: including nuts, seeds, healthy oils such as olive oil, avocado or yogurt.
Fibre-rich carbs: including things like broccoli, cauliflower, corn, or starchy options like sweet potatoes, oats, and legumes.
Fresh fruits and veggies: any kind that you enjoy! Fruit and veg should ideally make up the majority of your meal. (Meeks 2023)
And if you still need support to get your eating on track, a good place to start is with an appointment to speak to our friendly nutritionist. A personalised eating plan that takes all the above factors – your personal preferences, social setting, mental wellbeing and health needs – into account, can put you on the road to healthy eating in no time!
Sources:
Meeks S., The Definitive Guide to Healthy Eating in Real Life, Healthline, 2023
Hardcastle SJ, Thøgersen-Ntoumani C, Chatzisarantis NLD. Food Choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective. Nutrients. 2015;
Earl S. Ford, Indu B. Ahluwalia, Deborah A. Galuska, Social Relationships and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Preventive Medicine, 2000
Anderson, E.S., Winett, R.A. & Wojcik, J.R. Self-regulation, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and social support: Social cognitive theory and nutrition behavior. ann. behav. med., 2007
Fekete M, Szarvas Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Feher A, Csipo T, Forrai J, Dosa N, Peterfi A, Lehoczki A, Tarantini S, Varga JT., Nutrition Strategies Promoting Healthy Aging: From Improvement of Cardiovascular and Brain Health to Prevention of Age-Associated Diseases, Nutrients, 2022
Swinburn BA, Caterson I, Seidell JC, WPT J., Diet, nutrition and the prevention of excess weight gain and obesity, Public Health Nutrition, 2004
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