Nutrition
Reinforcing your Commitment
Food powers your life. It fuels all bodily processes that enable you to move, think and breathe. There is no aspect of your life that is not influenced by what you eat. Fueling your body with processed food, fast food, sugar, fat and calorie-dense food affects who you are, what you do and your ability to pursue your dreams and aspirations. Food is that powerful – use it to your advantage.
PHYSICAL WELL BEING
Strength, agility, coordination, endurance, speed and level of performance are all powered by the foods you eat. What you eat determines how you tackle your daily physical activities, including housework, your job, school, homework, shopping, caring for a family and exercise. Eating healthy enables body movements to be executed with ease. A poor diet with unhealthy food choices can make each movement a major effort filled with stress, strain and pain. If you prefer sugar-laden simple carbohydrates to healthier whole grains, fruits and vegetables, you alternate between energy spikes and crashes. A diet filled with fried foods soaked in unhealthy saturated fats and trans fats and high-fat meats increases your risk for major diseases that impair your physical well being and threaten your life. Replace or limit foods containing unhealthy saturated fats and treat your body to the protective and restorative benefits of unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, fish and nuts.
MENTAL HEALTH
Food supplies the source of power for your brain as well as your body, and has a direct relationship to mental and emotional health and stability. Learning and memory, illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease benefit from a healthy, reduced-calorie diet that includes a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables and fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon. According to an article published in “American Psychologist” in October 2011, reducing excess calories may offer protection against obesity-related neurodegenerative processes, cognitive impairment and reduced brain volume and function.
EATING AND RELATIONSHIPS
Eating a healthy diet keeps you physically and mentally fit. When you look good, you feel good and you have self-confidence and fewer inhibitions; you are more outgoing and have a greater capacity for enjoying life. Unhealthy food choices lead to obesity and illness, preventing you from socializing with friends and family, zap your energy, leaving nothing for you to look forward to at the end of the day other than being home, sprawled out on your couch. Eating a healthy, balanced diet prevents weight gain, lowers your risk for diet-related illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and depression, and gives you the energy to have a full and rewarding social life. If overcoming bad dietary habits is a problem, speak with your doctor or a dietitian about making better food choices based on your personal lifestyle and food preferences.
