Nutrition

Nutrition Essentials Part 1: What is Nutrition?

By May 1, 2019 No Comments

“You are what you eat.” You’ve heard it all your life. The truth – you really are the nutrients you absorb. Foods contain essential nutrients that give your body the ability to heal and thrive. Everything you eat has a direct impact on your overall wellbeing.

Food is designed to nourish your whole being – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Unfortunately, most of us have a rather unbalanced relationship with food. Instead of looking for what nourishes our body, we often look for convenience. We grab burgers, fries, donuts, and soft drinks that do nothing to improve our health. In fact, the foods many Americans eat daily actually result in hormonal imbalances, weight gain, inflammation, cancer, heart disease, and other serious health problems.

Good Health Starts in Your Gut

Do you want to be healthier? Your journey starts with the food on your plate. You see, good health begins in your gut. If your diet is suffering, your gastrointestinal system suffers, too. The gut isn’t just where your food goes to be processed – it’s actually the home for much of your immune system and where your body makes many brain chemicals and hormones.

It’s impossible to be healthy without a healthy GI tract. When digestive health breaks down, your whole body suffers. But you’re the one in control! Changing what you’re putting into your body can heal your body and improve your overall health.

Understanding Nutrition and Nourishment

What exactly is nutrition? It’s defined as the process or act of being nourished or nourishing, and it specifically refers to the processes by which you take in and use food. In your body, the process of absorbing nutrients takes place within the digestive system, which includes your digestive tract (or gastrointestinal tract), gallbladder, pancreas, liver, small intestine, and large intestine.

Digestion – the process of absorbing nutrients and eliminating waste and toxins – begins in your mouth. Chewing your food and the production of saliva are both essential for the breakdown and absorption of nutrients. It sounds simple, but many of us are so rushed all the time that we don’t take enough time to simply chew our food. Want to improve your nutrition? One simple step you can take immediately is to start chewing your food 20-30 times.

Your stomach, liver, and gallbladder all help with the breakdown of foods so the small intestine can easily absorb nutrients. Gut bacteria, sometimes called the microbiome or gut flora, also help with digestion and support brain health and a healthy immune system.

But nourishing isn’t only about what your body absorbs – it’s about releasing waste and toxins, too. Waste products are prepared for elimination in the large intestines. Proper hydration is essential for this process. In fact, you should be getting half your weight in pure water every day, and here’s my recommendation for the purest water you can drink: Big Berkey Water Filters. You should have bowel movements 1-3 times daily, and you shouldn’t need to strain.

The process of absorbing and elimination is essential for the healing of your body. And when you’re focusing on good nutrition, your digestive system is able to work optimally, so your entire body thrives.

Stay tuned! Next time we’ll dig deeper into the nutrients that are the building blocks of health.

Ready to get started? Schedule your complimentary 15-minute consult today to discuss your current health situation and goals.

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