Eating well is one of those elusive things that we know we should do, but don’t. Like flossing. But also like flossing, proper nutrition is incredibly important to our overall health. We should be placing a focus on proper diet, exercise, and yes also dental hygiene, but it can be tough. Life gets in the way. We don’t always feel we have the time. The benefits of taking care of ourselves in this way can get lost, but they do exist. And once you get into the habit of paying attention to these things, you’ll notice a difference.
Here are some of the ways you stand to benefit from proper nutrition.
Nutrition to Make You Feel Better
The first thing you’ll notice is the simple fact that you feel better. You’re body works overtime when it has to digest unhealthy food. The leads to feeling sluggish and tired. And when we’re tired, we tend to be more cranky. But proper nutrition ensures your meals act more as a fuel source than a drain. This is what our meals are supposed to be, but we’ve gotten away from that with the increased ease of finding meals that don’t benefit us nutritionally.
Affinity Acupuncture offers nutritional counseling that personalizes a plan just for you. Visit us today to learn more.
Nutrition for Stronger Immune System
Different foods affect our internal systems in different ways. Not paying attention to what we are putting into our bodies can lead to a weakened immune system. Nobody likes to get sick. So give yourself the best chance at staving off common colds and infections by keeping your immune system strong. Proper diet helps your body to run as smooth and efficiently as possible. You’ll thank yourself the next time you see your coworkers reaching for the kleenex while you feel great.
Nutrition for More Energy
As we said earlier, healthy food turns your meals into an energy source. Clean food means your body doesn’t have to waste its energy breaking down your meal and can instead mine it to give you the power to finish out your day strong. Have you ever noticed an afternoon slump in your energy? Perhaps you’ve wanted to take a nap behind your desk? This is most likely because your lunch is sitting too heavy in your stomach and is draining you of your energy. Paying attention to your meals can help avoid this.
Nutrition to Reduce Risk of Disease
Heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure—all of these things can be mitigated by a healthy diet. The foods we eat translate into what our body becomes. And if you give your body unhelpful things to work with, it will turn that food into undesirable results. Whether it’s making use of vitamin E to reduce the chance of blood clots, reducing sugar and salt to help with diabetes, or reducing cholesterol to help your heart stay healthy—our food can have a large impact on susceptibility to dangerous health conditions.
Nutrition to Lose Weight
The most noticeable result of a proper diet is lost weight. We carry around the excess of what our body doesn’t use from our food. And unhealthy food has a lot of this excess. Not only does losing weight make us look better, it makes us feel better and reduces our chances of future health problems. Obesity is a major health issue in the US. Along with exercise, a nutritional diet can stave off the negative effects of carrying around extra weight.
Nutrition for Stronger Microbiome
We each have a microbiome living in our stomachs. That’s right, living. This is a collection of various bacteria, microbes, and other microscopic single-celled organisms that have a drastic effect on our health. This microbiome helps with everything from mood, to memory, to how well our digestive system operates. The foods we eat either help or harm this complex and important system living inside us. Focusing on foods to help this system thrive can help our microbiome work in our favor at all times of the day.
How Do You Know You’re Doing It Right?
Eating healthy can be difficult. There are countless articles on the internet and many of them contradict each other. So who do you trust? The most simple answer is to trust yourself. Find foods that aren’t overly processed, contain a lot of vegetables and fruits, and make you feel better after you eat them.
But if you want to be absolutely sure that you are getting everything you need from your diet, consult a professional. Affinity Acupuncture in Nashville, TN offers nutritional counseling. Our experts offer nutrition education to their clients. But if you really want to dig in, you can sign up for the Affinity for Nutrition program.
This program involves a discussion of your personal habits and goals, leading to a personalized plan to help you reach them. With all the information out there, a direct conversation with a professional will give you the clearest path toward optimizing your meals.
Contact Affinity Acupuncture today for Nashville Acupuncture treatments and appointments!
