by Fiona Mather

Created on: December 21, 2009

Something described as nutritious conjurs up thoughts of food that is good for us, full of nutrients. One definition of nutrition is act of nourishing.

Nutrition is important because the food we eat is meant to sustain our bodies by providing everything that the bodies cells need to thrive. By putting nutritious food into our bodies we are hopefully going to reap the rewards of optimum health and well being. Food that is not nutritious is depriving the body of vital nutrients and the outcome of this sustained will be malnutrition.

By feeding the body what it needs the less likely it is that a person will crave what may be described as junk food, food with little or no nutritious content but containing many empty calories. It is these empty calories that cause the body to gain weight, and the reason why people overeat, because although they may eat to excess they are not ingesting anything nutritious so the body is crying out for essential minerals and vitamins. They are denying  their body the nourishment it craves for each and every cell to function to the best of its ability. 

Minerals and vitamins are important for the body to function correctly. These are found in fresh fruits and vegetables. It is said that a diet which consists of fruit and vegetables of all the colours of the rainbow is highly nutritious. Orange, red and yellow fruits and vegetables contain beta carotene, vitamin A. Green vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, broccoli, sprouts etc. contain phosphorous, iron, potassium and other minerals and some may contain vitamin necessary for building strong bones and of course spinach is a good source of iron. There are many varieties of fruits and vegetables containing these and many more vitamins and minerals.

Seeds, nuts, pulses and legumes are also important for providing the body with vital nutrients.  

Of course eating things like chocolate and occasional fast foods will not harm the body if for the main part a healthy diet is maintained, as long as these are eaten in moderation. listen to your body and eat  to nourish it and it will look after you both physically, mentally and emotionally.  Compare your body to a car, if you put in good quality fuel it will run well. Put in sub standard fuel it will function poorly.

                   

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