Why is Nutrition Important? You Are What You Eat!

Why is nutrition important? This is like asking “Why do we breathe?”.  If you don’t think nutrition is important, then you are basically saying that you don’t think life is important.  Pro-tip: Healthy eating can extend your life by decades.

Obesity rates are swelling in 28 of our states.  I’m no math major, but that tells me that more than half the country is getting fatter.  And obesity isn’t something these millions of people purposefully set out to achieve.  Obesity happens simply from lack of physical activity and poor nutrition.

Engaging in physical activity doesn’t take much education, its more of  a habit.  Habits are difficult to form but once you form them they are difficult to break.  It comes down to choices: going for a walk instead of watching American Idol re-runs, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, playing sports instead of watching them, etc.

But nutrition does require a little education.  Its the yin to exercise’s yang.  Its the “better half” in the marriage between the two.  Here’s the breakdown:

Energy: Would you put watered down gas in your car? I sure hope not.  The same goes for your body: if you want maximum energy is your habit to grab a Snickers from the junk food machine or trail mix from a healthy vending machine?  Replacing your unhealthy go-to energy fixes with food that actually does give you energy is the first step.  Your body’s favorite fuel comes from carbohydrates: glucose.  If you eat too many simple carbohydrates (sugar and starch), your body will store these as fat.  And if you don’t have enough glucose it will create some from your fat and protein stores.

Building Blocks: Your body requires a few essential structural components in order to maintain healthy muscles, bones, your immune system, hormonal balance, nervous system, and organs: protein, calcium, and fats.

The protein in your body is naturally broken down into amino acids, which are used to repair various parts of your body. Your body naturally produces 11 non-essential amino acids that aren’t available from food.  There are an additional 9 amino acids you must have in your diet in order to maintain a high level of protein production.  Protein is the main structural component in your cells, comprising 17 percent of your total body weight!

Calcium mainly keeps your bones (and teeth) strong, but also helps the function of muscles and nerves.  It even helps prevent your blood from clotting!

FAT.  Ok, there’s a lot of confusion over fat.  Because we describe obese people as “fat”, we automatically assume its because they ate too much fat.  Not necessarily true.  WE NEED FAT! Just not all fat.  Basically: unsaturated = good, saturated = bad.

Vitamins & Minerals: Vitamins and minerals function as co-enzymes, helping the efficiency of different chemical reactions that happen in your body.  Best if found in natural and organic foods rather than a supplement.

So that’s the run-down.  Of course that was a very simple explanation of nutrition, which is as complex of a subject as the fields its related to: biology, chemistry, physiology, etc.  Bottom line is to use your common sense!Your body instinctively knows what is better for you when faced with the choice between Coke and water, vegetables over donuts, or brown rice over Twinkies.