Food and nutrition play a necessary role in maintaining your ideal weight. Reaching your ideal weight is not a cosmetic issue but an important factor in maintaining good health.
From a medical point of view, each person’s ideal weight is measured by the body mass index. This index is obtained by dividing our weight by the square of our height. Our weight will be ideal if our body mass index is between 20 and 24.9.
An index above this level considers overweight, and if it exceeds an index of 30, we are talking about obesity.
Table of Contents
Food And Nutrition Are Not The Same
Food and nutrition are terms that go hand in hand, but they are not the same. While food refers to the consumption of liquids or solids, nutrition is the process by which our body converts these substances into components that make our bodywork, that is, nutrients.
To increase our body’s health and nutritional status, our eating habits must be appropriate. In this sense, the Mediterranean diet offers many health benefits. On the one hand, this diet increases the consumption of olive oil, fish, and nuts. On the other hand, their recipes offer a balanced ratio of essential nutrients (grains and vegetables as a base for meals and meats, or similar “side dishes”). Likewise, the richness of micronutrients it contains is highlighted using seasonal vegetables, aromatic herbs, and seasonings.
How Does Diet Affect Our Health?
Overweight and obesity causes incorrect eating habits, put our health at risk and are among the causes of numerous pathologies:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Hypercholesterolemia
- Respiratory problems
- Osteoarthritis, osteoporosis
- Musculoskeletal problems ( back, legs, hips)
- Heart and brain pathologies
- Gynaecological problems
Food And Nutrition: False Myths
Although we have healthy food products that guarantee us a nutritious diet at our disposal, our diet contains an excess of fats, sugars, and salt, which only makes us gain weight and runs the risk of deteriorating health.
We often consume food or adopt habits in our diet, believing that they are suitable for our health, although, in reality, they are nothing more than false myths. To take care of our health and develop recommendations for healthy eating and nutrition, we must begin by disproving some of the false claims:
“You Have To Eat Everything But In Little Quantity”
A healthy diet is not about eating everything. Precisely, adequate food and nutrition must be based on eating many things (fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes) and reducing many others (sugar, saturated fats) that do not add so much value to us.
“Carbohydrates Make You Fat,” “Fruit Makes You Fat Because It Has A Lot Of Sugar”
A healthy diet and nutrition must abandon the idea that these food groups are better off. Fruit contains healthy sugar, which is nothing like refined sugar in quantity or components. The caloric content of carbohydrates will depend on what we accompany it. A salad with sauces, fatty cheese, and other dressings is much more nutritious (and less nutritious) than a pasta dish with vegetables.
“Drink Two Liters Of Water A Day, Lose Weight”
Water is essential for our health and is the basis for healthy eating and nutrition, but it does not promote weight loss. Half of the water necessary for our body’s proper functioning we already obtain from food, and the other half will depend on our daily needs and the degree of our activity.
“If I Eat Light Foods, I Can Eat More”
Knowing what we eat is also part of proper diet and nutrition. You should always take the time to read food labels, as light means a low sugar or fat product (which has been replaced by sweeteners and other ingredients), but that doesn’t necessarily mean low in calories or fat. In any case, processed foods, light or not, are not recommended for a healthy diet.
Towards A Healthy Life
To avoid obesity and reduce the risk of disease. We must follow three basic principles, forgetting all the false myths about food and nutrition:
- Eliminate foods with added sugars and saturated fats, avoid processed foods and reduce your salt intake.
- Increase the intake of fruits, vegetables, cereals (if they are whole, better), and legumes.
- Exercise for at least thirty minutes a day. In addition to proper nutrition and proper nutrition, exercise prevents overweight and is beneficial to our health.