Proper and healthy nutrition is one of the most important issues of the modern man today. Human health, productivity and mood are directly conditioned by the diet that is applied on a daily basis. A man today, on the one hand, is accustomed to the accessibility of a large number of diverse foods, and on the other hand, stimulated by a quick lifestyle, believes that everything that is on the market is a healthy and useful food. But the truth is hidden far behind. The still-famous Greek doctor Hippocrates said: “Your food will be your cure.” After decades of research, modern medicine has come to the conclusion that the cause of man’s diseases is the food they eat or the one he does not eat.
If we want to stay healthy we should be familiar with the basic principles of proper nutrition. Prerequisites for proper nutrition are the supply of sufficient food and a balanced amount of healthy eating.
Adopting the principle of proper nutrition is usually not easy because the habits acquired are difficult to change, but the adoption of healthy habits is the price of a healthy life!
The goal of balanced nutrition planning is to achieve energy and biological value and nutrition structure that promotes health and prevents illness.
There is no Perfect Recipe
There are many possible and different ways to eat healthily – there is not a perfect recipe, a plan and a program that is ideal for every person. What is often forgotten is that healthy eating does not just mean avoiding unhealthy food, but it also means consuming the other, healthy, to a greater extent. Therefore, it’s not just about giving up. Perhaps the bigger challenge is to eat all this varied healthy food so that we can provide the nutrients we need.
Common Sense
More or less we all know the basic things about healthy eating, even if we may not completely abide by them. The problem with modern eating theories is that they often refer to science, and in fact offer completely false and confusing tips that mostly go against common sense. Indeed, when in magazines, on the Internet and television, we begin to listen to the convincing explaining of such and similar things, we begin to doubt ourselves and think that perhaps we do not know enough about nutrition.
Scientific vs Alternatives Recommendations
To name just a few that have been presented as “scientific knowledge” for decades, and which have led the generations to eat wrong: margarine is good and butter is not good, it is necessary to eat refined vegetable oils, avoid fats and replace them with carbohydrates, milk and dairy products are not good and similar. On the other hand, today’s “alternatives” in nutrition popularize some recommendations that have no basis in science or in practical experience: that cereals are harmful to human consumption, that gluten should be avoided, that only raw foods are healthy and similar. How to deal with all this?
- Rational nutrition is a resonance between the amount of food consumed and the amount of food consumed for appropriate processes in the body such as thermoregulation, internal organs, physical activity, and others. Thus, a deviation from this balance leads to insufficient or too rich diet, nutrition and rational means at the same time taking foods that are less expensive, but equally worthy so that does not diminish the nutritional value of food.
- A balanced or moderate diet is another principle that represents the optimal amount of nutrients. It must neither be overabundant nor insufficient, not only in the energy sense but also in terms of the intake of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. Overly or insufficient nutrition can lead to various disorders and as a result, many diseases can occur.
- Various and mixed nutrition is very important and includes two concepts: food groups and types of meals. During the day it is necessary to take food from all 7 groups: cereals, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and legumes, fats and sugars. Due to the richness of our and foreign cuisine, of course, if possible, dishes should be diverse and without frequent repetition.
- Equilibrium of the diet (daily rhythm of the meal)
It is necessary to take more meals with smaller food amount during the day. It is especially wrong if we take the entire amount of food in one meal! In this way, the digestive organs and the whole organism are weighed down.
What are the Ideal Nutritional Measures?
- Carbohydrates should make about 45-65% of the daily caloric intake. The body prefers them as a source of energy. They are found in plants, but also in dairy products.
- Proteins: 10-35%, important for tissue construction and body regeneration. They are found in animal products, legumes, and stone fruits as well as in protein supplement snacks sourced by True Protein, for instance.
- Fats: 20-35%, they are about twice as caloric than the previous two, but depending on the type and quantity they are necessary and healthy. Fats are found in oils, dairy products, meat, stone fruits.
Of course, this does not mean that you need to eat fries and bread the most, and a little less sausage and bacon!
Healthy food does not have to be expensive and packaged well! It’s important that it has as little additives as possible and to be as natural as possible! Therefore: eat everything and eat moderately.
That is what a healthy diet is all about!