Fitness: The importance of good nutrition in daily life

There are lots of nutrients that the body needs for vital everyday functions which it cannot make by itself, but instead needs to receive via the diet. Eating a balanced diet full of a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, high in good quality proteins and unprocessed fats will provide your body with all the different minerals, vitamins and other nutrients it needs. Giving your body all these sources of nutrients on a daily basis will allow it to function at its best. What this means in reality is that you will have a higher functioning immune system, much more energy, a better and more efficient digestive system, improved cognitive function, and will experience better quality sleep, among many other benefits.

As well as these benefits, good daily nutrition habits will inevitably give you a leaner body that will be ‘insulin sensitive’. There has been a lot of focus on sugar in the press recently and this is the main reason why. Insulin sensitivity means that your body is able to deal with sugar/glucose properly, using it in the right way, for energy, as opposed to storing it as fat. A diet high in processed foods and sugar will bombard the body with glucose, leading to an environment that is unable to cope, altering the body’s response to sugar. What this means is that instead of your body being able to use sugars for energy, they are instead stored as fat, levels of blood glucose remain at a constant high (a precursor to type 2 diabetes) and hormone levels can become disrupted – not good! The body has become insulin resistant if reacting in this way.

So there’s a choice… If you want to feel good, look good, have lots of energy and have everything inside working at its best, developing a good daily nutrition habit is so important. Not only will you feel great, but also you will be protecting yourself against possible disease and future illness – that’s a reason if nothing else! That’s not to say you can’t have the odd treat, but at least if you do you can be confident that your body won’t be suffering as a consequence and you will continue to feel full of life and vitality.

By Sarah-Jane Holt, personal trainer for Matt Roberts at the City Training Club – www.mattroberts.co.uk/london-gyms/city