The effective management of food intake and nutrition are both keys to good health. Smart nutrition and food choices can help prevent disease. Eating the right foods can help your body cope more successfully with an ongoing illness. Understanding good nutrition and paying attention to what you eat can help you maintain or improve your health. Good nutrition is much more than something to fill your stomach. What you eat can affect your health, energy, and well-being in so many ways. The most important feature of a good diet is variety. We all know variety is the spice of life, but did you realize that unless you eat a wide variety of foods, you may miss out on important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients? Eating the right mix of vitamins and minerals will help you feel and look your best at any age.
1. Why is Nutrition essential?
Nutrition is essential for growth and development, health, and wellbeing. Eating a healthy diet contributes to preventing future illness and improving the quality and length of life. Your nutritional status uses your health as determined by what you eat. There are several ways of assessing nutritional status, including anthropometric (i.e. physical body measurement), food intake, and biochemical measurement.