A Healthy Guide to Good Nutrition

Whether you are at your ideal weight or striving to reach your weight goal, is it simply a matter of burning more calories than you take in? The answer, I suggest, is no, especially for women reaching perimenopause and menopause! Good nutrition, overall body health improvement, as well as weight gain or loss, must be factored into the equation, or you could be heading for problems. Good nutrition can help to reduce the risk of a myriad of health-related problems, the most frightening of which are surely heart disease and cancer. Proper nutrition, however, entails eating many different foods, monitoring your consumption of some food and beverage items, and counting calories. Good diets offer balanced nutrition that reduces cholesterol, blood pressure and helps with weight control.

To function properly, your body must have the correct combination of nutrients for good nutrition:

Carbohydrates. They are the primary source of ammunition in your diet. The body uses carbohydrates to build glucose, which can be used immediately or stored in your body for later. Too much glucose, however, is stored as fat. There are two types of carbohydrates to keep in mind - simple and complex. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Starches and fibers are complex carbohydrates. Potatoes would be a better (complex) carbohydrate than a sugary bread item (simple).

Proteins. Proteins help your body build and maintain muscles and other tissues. They also function in the creation of hormones. Like carbohydrates, excess protein is stored as fat.

Animal and vegetable proteins are the two major types when deciding what kind of protein to eat. Too much animal protein can cause high cholesterol, as it is high in saturated fat. To increase health benefits, try to add as many plant proteins as possible to your diet.

Fat. Strange as it may seem, fat is another nutrient your body requires. It comes in both saturated and unsaturated forms. Saturated fat puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthy, but if it goes through any type of refinement process, it can become saturated fat. This one, especially, requires reading labels to differentiate! But choosing a diet that has you eating completely fat-free, well, that’s just not healthy.

Vitamins. These are also required nutrients. Different vitamins perform different tasks within the body. They can work with the metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you can think of that you need your body to perform. It has also been noted that certain vitamins can prevent disease.

For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by preventing the buildup from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function. Vitamin B-2 is needed for normal cell growth. Vitamin B-3 helps to detoxify your body. Folic acid assists with the production of red blood cells. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps your blood clot.

All these vitamins are basic building blocks in your body. Proper nutrition can get you most of what you need; however, many of us are deficient in Vitamin D, in particular. Supplement when you need to, if you’re not getting enough from your diet.

Minerals and trace elements. These are additional nutrients your body requires, and many people often neglect to think about them when they decide to think about getting healthy. Both are used in many different body processes. Minerals help your body to make digestive juices. Phosphorus helps build strong bones. Both can be found in the foods we consume, but with a trace element, your body just needs a tiny amount. Salt is one final nutrient your body requires. You should not consume more than 2400 milligrams per day, though, as it might raise your blood pressure.

To accomplish getting the nutrients mentioned above, you should follow these guidelines to create a well-balanced, nutritional diet that will lead to a body fed by good nutrition.

To accomplish getting the nutrients mentioned above, you should follow these guidelines to create a well-balanced, nutritional diet that will lead to a body fed by good nutrition. Start by focusing on whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible—think colorful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and fiber-rich whole grains. These foods not only provide essential vitamins and minerals but also deliver antioxidants and phytonutrients that help protect your body from inflammation and disease.

It’s also important to practice balance and variety. No single food can give your body everything it needs, so mixing up your meals ensures you’re covering all the bases. Planning ahead, reading food labels, and being mindful of portion sizes can make a big difference in how your body uses what you eat. By nourishing yourself with intention, you’ll not only meet your nutrient needs but also support steady energy, hormonal balance, and long-term wellness.

Good Nutrition by Sneaking Extra Fruits And Vegetables

We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But knowing and doing are two different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is a struggle to get them all in there.

We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food. If your family is anything like mine, they would much rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli. So, we will have to get creative. Here are a few ideas to “sneak” some extra vegetables and fruits into your and your family’s diet

Start the day with a breakfast smoothie.

All it takes is throwing some fruits, Greek yogurt, and ice in a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder (or a nut butter!) in there for good measure. Just blend for a few seconds, and you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work. You can take advantage of this frozen breakfast to add many of your daily supplements, too. I like to include fiber, flax, hemp seeds, creatine, and collagen for added benefits. To make it more appealing for your kids, use some frozen yogurt or their favorite fruits in the smoothie. It will taste delicious and will be packed full of good nutrition to start the day! Caution, though: I would leave out the extra supplements for your kids. Make your and your kids' smoothies separately.

If you have time for a full-on breakfast, you can also add dried fruit to oatmeal and cereal in the morning. Banana chips in breakfast cereal or even some overnight oats you made the night before …Yum!

Quick tip: Make mornings easier by making “smoothie bags” and freezing them ahead of time. Frozen cubes of yogurt, chunks of frozen fruit stuck together in a baggie, make a morning smoothie fast and family-friendly. Mix the contents of the baggie with a splash of milk (or water works too if you have a dairy allergy - it will still taste great!) and a little protein, and you’re headed into a day started with good nutrition!

Dried fruit makes an excellent snack any time of the day.

Add some small cartons of raisins to your or your child’s lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your husband’s briefcase, and keep some trail mix sitting around for snacking. My family loves banana chips in their breakfast cereal.

Add some fruits and vegetables to sandwiches.

An easy way to get fruits and veggies into your day is by adding some sliced banana, apples, or strawberries to a nut butter sandwich. Top a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, or even make a sub shop-style vegetable sandwich by combining several different vegetables with some mayonnaise and cheese on bread.

Have a salad bar at dinner.

Set out a variety of chopped vegetables, some cheese, and croutons, as well as several choices of salad dressing, along with the lettuce, and let everybody create their own perfect salad. This is a great option with a baked potato or soup for a quick dinner.

Drink your fruits and vegetables.

When my kids were small, I invested in a juicer – a used juicer that still works great! My kids loved sitting at the bar being “in charge” of what kinds and combinations of fruits and vegetables went into each juice drink. They still remember and talk about our juicing mornings.

You could always juice ahead of time and keep an assortment of fruit and vegetable juices in the fridge, and encourage everyone to drink them as a snack. Get creative! Try starting a “family cocktail hour” by pouring everybody a glass of his or her favorite juice over ice. Add some straws, cocktail umbrellas, and sit together to talk about how everybody’s day went.

Try this for dessert.

Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit.

Quick tip: One of my family’s favorite things to do for dessert right now is to blend fresh fruit with full-fat coconut milk to make popsicles! Our favorite, at the moment, is pineapple. These are super yummy and filling with the full-fat coconut milk – and for as little as you use, the calories are low, too. You can feel like you’re cheating and enjoy dessert with your family!

Have fruits and vegetables as snacks.

You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter or cheese. Cube cheese and serve with grapes. Cut up some fresh veggies and serve them with hummus. And a favorite of kids everywhere, you can make ants on a log! Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it (That’s fruit and a vegetable in one snack!).

Try some new fruits and vegetables.

Pick something exotic to get your family’s curiosity going. You could try artichokes, plantains, papaya, mango, star fruit, dragon fruit, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store. Better yet, visit your local farmer’s market and try something from there!

One last tip, be sure to keep plenty of fruits and veggies available to munch on. There’s nothing worse than starting a new way of eating and then failing by just not having anything with good nutrition around!

Incorporate a few of these ideas, and you will have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time, and you will be fostering good nutrition in yourself and your family. Excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet and body - and is easier than you think!