NUTRITION

What Is Nutrition?

Nutrition refers to the use of food as medicine and considers how it is digested, transported, stored, metabolised and excreted by your body. Nutrients are substances obtained from food and used in your body to give you energy and structure, to regulate your growth and to maintain and repair your body’s tissues. Nutrition is one of the most important foundations for your health, development and well-being.

What Constitutes A Healthy Diet?

In order to have a healthy diet, you need to eat a wide variety of fresh and unprocessed foods. The food you consume should ideally be non-genetically modified, organic and free from chemicals, pollutants and toxins. The intake of foods detrimental to your health, need to be reduced to an absolute minimum. These include: sugars, saturated fats, trans fats (refer to NSW Food Authority website for more information regarding trans fats), cholesterol, alcohol, salt, processed foods, packaged or highly refined foods and artificial additives.

Every choice you make on which food to eat or avoid will either benefit or harm your health a little bit each time. Regular good eating habits will ultimately bring you good health. However, if you regularly choose poor food options, then an unhealthy environment will be created in your body over time. This may result in illness, disease, poor energy, sluggishness, poor bowel function, irritability, depression and sleeping irregularities. It is also important to balance the calories you eat with those you burn. If you are not very active, then you will require fewer calories than a very active person.

Will Nutritional Advice Be Tailored To Me Or Is A Healthy Diet Simply The Same For Everyone?

Your food and nutrient intake requirements are unique and so a diet schedule needs to be tailored to your needs.  Alterations in your diet or supplementation using vitamin or mineral products may be necessary if you suffer with frequent acute ailments or an ongoing chronic disease or illness. I can provide you with the right advice on what to eat and what to avoid, or what additional nutritional supplements to take or avoid for your special circumstances.  

How Strict Will You Be On My Diet?

Unlike many naturopaths, nutritionists and dieticians, I understand that it can be difficult to start and stick to a healthy diet. I know that fad or heavily restricted diets do not provide long term solutions for health management or weight loss. These types of diets may ultimately be very harmful to your overall health and well-being. I have discovered that setting realistic goals and having longer term plans and vision are the keys to success. I can help you to take small, positive steps towards achieving a healthy diet and lifestyle. Having realistic goals will allow you to make small nutritional changes gradually over time. Once one goal has been achieved, we can move onto the next one.

If you would like some personalised nutritional advice, contact me today so that we can improve your health from the ground up