Can Nutrition Therapy Change Your Life?

Introduction

In this digital era, everything is fast. So are our food and our eating habits. While we may take care of eating at the right times, we might not be giving a second thought about how healthy it is. In the era of preventive therapy, we need to nurture mindful eating along with an understanding of nutrition.

A balanced diet can only keep you healthy, active and fit. In this blog, we will learn to know about nutrition therapy, balanced diet and how it impacts the body from a Clinical Nutrition Expert, Dr Nupur Krishnan.

Dr Nupur Krishnan is the Director of Bio-Logics Nutrition Clinic (A Division of Bio-Logics Healthcare) and has been promoting health campaigns like Malnutrition, Chronic disease control, Pregnant and Infant nutrition, Primary healthcare strategies for more than 19 years. She has also conducted many healthcare campaigns for many reputed organizations. Read on what Dr Nupurhas to say about nutritional therapy, balanced diet and its impact on our body.

Let The Food Be The Medicine!

Nutrition is an extremely important aspect for our body, without which it not only loses its gleam but also it’s capacity to work. It does your body good to just slow down a bit and take the therapeutic approach to medical conditions rather than just gorging on an assortment of medicines to treat your ailments.

Nutritional Therapy helps you take a therapeutic approach to treat your body with tailor-made diet plans which will be supervised and monitored by a nutritionist. The results of nutrition therapy on your health will be slow and steady but definitely not superficial.

Altering one’s diet or, more specifically, adhering to a balanced, wholesome diet plan can aid in managing and preventing a number of health issues and keeping some diseases at bay for e.g., diabetes, obesity, and other risk factors for heart disease and cancer.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, MBBS, MD in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

However for this to work, you need to have the right attitude about mindful eating and consuming according to your diet chart. Your nutrition expert would identify your health issues and would treat them with scientifically proven nutrition therapies. Through this, we can prevent, control and cure:

• Chronic ailments
• Toxicity
• Deficiencies

”Preventive Therapy is not only better than cure; it is also cheaper and healthier”

Getting a regular body check is definitely a mandate to understand our body better and get the right kind of nutritional therapy to suit your requirements.

Medical Nutrition Therapy can: Reduce the risk of diseases including heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Protect against many types of cancer. Reduce the symptoms and risks that result from heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD(Pediatrics)

Diagnosing Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

Vitamins and minerals are a vital part of our nutritional requirements. By choosing a varied diet you can ensure that you get your regular dose of all the nutrients you need. Some of the major deficiencies that have been observed in adults are that of Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6, Folate and Iron. Vitamin B12 is involved in various critical functions in your body like:

• Production of red blood cells.
• Maintaining your nervous health.
• Digestion of food.
• Regulating your immune system.
• Controlling the level of amino acid homocysteine in your body.
• Regulate your mood and to produce DNA.

A deficiency of Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, folate or Iron might lead to anaemia or insufficiency of haemoglobin in your red blood cells. This leads to insufficient oxygen circulation in the body leading to weakness and fatigue.

”The foundation of good health is good nutrition.”

Your body might be deficient in this due to the inadequacy of it in your food or the inability of your body to absorb it from food. There has been a rise in the number of people suffering from Vitamin B12 deficiency and those suffering from anaemia at an older age due to unhealthy eating habits and the use of certain medications that decrease absorption of B12.

Symptoms Associated with Vitamin B12 Deficiency:

• Characteristic signs include anaemia, weakness, constipation, appetite loss and sudden loss of weight.
• Numbness or tingling of hands and feet.
• Sudden imbalance, dementia, depression, forgetfulness and soreness of mouth and tongue.
• In infants, it can lead to delayed development, movement disorders, and megaloblastic anaemia.

Symptoms Associated with Anaemia:

• Paling of skin
• Loss of appetite
• Shortness of breath
• Irregular breath
• Joint cramps
• Irregular periods
• Insomnia and forgetfulness
• Heart palpitations

Mindful Eating for a Healthy Living

It is always good to restrict the consumption of medicines/antibiotics and naturally train your body to stay fit and healthy. Knowing your body, eating nutrients that your body requires and eating the right things is the key to a healthy body that is immune to diseases. Here are some tips that could help you with mindful eating.

• Keep a watch on your eating pattern and slowly chew your food and give breaks between each mouthful.
• Eat smaller portions of a variety of food. Try eating on a smaller plate.
• Eat slowly and savour each mouthful.
• Eat high calorific foods once a while to avoid binging.
• Try to consume healthy and wholesome snacks.
• Don’t distract yourself while eating as there is a possibility of overeating.
• Never eat when you are in an extreme mood. Emotional binging can prove very harmful.
• Visit your doctor regularly and keep a check on your blood.
• Keep yourself stress-free and well-rested.
• Do the regular exercise as per your body condition and capabilities.
• Drink lots of water and stay hydrated.
• At a restaurant, limit intake from the bread basket to one roll with no or a small amount of butter.

”We are in the era of preventive therapy”

Apart from these, it is also advised to always identify your health and nutritional patterns and keep them in check since excess nutrients will lead to toxicity and lack of nutrients will lead to deficiencies.

Conclusion

While there are medicines and surgeries for almost all ailments, these can only superficially suppress the condition. Once you stop the medication, it would come back. However, with nutritional therapy and mindful eating, you can not only stay healthy for many years but also treat various chronic diseases and health conditions from their roots which are a long-lasting and permanent solution to all your health-related worries.

Today’s life has become hectic and stressful. This tends to exhaust the body and affect its resilience. Resting and getting adequate sleep is important, however, what is equally important is a balanced and wholesome diet that has the capability of refuelling your body with energy.

Having worked with ministers and celebrities, Dr Nupur Krishnan suggests that inner conscious & internal call to be healthy & fit forever should be everyone’s motivation rather than time-bound slimming in size for family celebrations or occasions.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

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