Is your current nutrition adequate? Here’s all you need to know!
“Inadequate nutrition contributes to an estimated 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age in developing countries”, says a report by NCBI. Nutrition is all about the supply of food required by human beings and their cells to stay alive. As per science and human medicine, nutrition is the practice of consuming and utilizing the consumed food. With so much of sensitization towards health, immune system and nutrition people have shifted towards the ‘right’ diets.
But, we are often overwhelmed by the daily decisions like what to eat, when to eat and in which proportions. Is your current nutrition appropriate for your immune system?
Well if you don’t know the answer, don’t be disheartened because you aren’t alone. With so many options and decisions, it can be hard to know what to eat and what is adequate.
The requirements of nutrition change with different stages of life. It’s an established fact that every year in the world, over 6 million children die because of the infections caused by malnutrition due to a breakdown in the immune system. Thereby we must ensure that whatever food we are consuming has enough nutrition to keep our immune system strong and intact. Also, one must ensure that the extra demands placed on their bodies are taken care of.
To meet the regular demands of your body, you must consume certain things on a daily basis. Proteins keep our immune system strong. Dairy products and eggs are biologically valuable protein. Try to add them into your daily nutrition. Vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene are the first defense line of the human body against free radicals. Also, antioxidants are vital. Antioxidants are basically the micronutrients that can also provide protection against free radicals. They prevent foods especially fats from oxidation and spoilage. Moreover, it also prevents chain reactions by counteracting combination of oxygen with other substances. And, immuno nutritional elements contain some effective vitamins that support and stimulate the immune system of human beings.
Except these there are some other foods as well that you must consume like 4-5 liters of water on a daily basis, kilojoules for energy (especially carbohydrates), essential fatty acids from foods like olive oil, fish, nuts, avocado and alike, fat soluble and water soluble vitamins, essential minerals such as iron, calcium, and zinc, phytochemicals derived from plants (they provide protection against heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, arthritis, and osteoporosis) and a varied diet inclusive of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and lean meats.
The bottom line-The nutritional requirements of the human bodies change as we move through different stages of life (infants to children to youngsters to pregnancy to menopause). But, one must ensure that he takes a varied diet. It must include plenty of nutrition-dense foods regardless of the age and stage of life. As per NCBI, People who have varied diet are 5% to 10% less immune to diseases. Also, never forget to exercise. One must be active and should at least exercise 30 minutes, 5 days a week.-
By RAJAT TREHAN Clinical Nutritionist,Health, Wellness and Fitness
