YOUR BODY MATTERS!

Supposing you just procured the car you have been dreaming of; a Mercedes Benz S-class, Range Rover, Land Cruiser, J-wagon, BMW. Never will it occur to you to use the lowest grade of fuel possible, let alone, neglecting timely and proper maintenance as well as servicing the car with the motive of keeping it in good condition. This is absolutely not going to happen ones you have spent millions of money on a luxurious car, you would extremely be careful about keeping it in an optimum condition.

According to the scriptures, specifically, Psalm 139:14, the Psalmist says "....I am fearfully and wonderfully made....". The text depicts the fact that the human body is far more pulchritudinous, sophisticated and marvellous than any automobile one can think of. Our bodies are a prodigy of infinite engineering intelligence.

A healthy diet (optimal diet) chosen from the best foods will provide the essential nutrients needed for growth, maintenance, and energy. When we choose low quality foods or do not eat enough of the good foods to meet our requirement, the body machinery suffers. And if we overeat highly refined foods, we can easily become overweight and lack vital nutrients. Our Creator, God cares about our health and so should we. This is confirmed in the scriptures according to 3 John 2, "Beloved, I wish you above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in GOOD HEALTH, even as thy soul prospereth".

In this episode of "YOUR BODY MATTERS"; we would like to hint on the principles of healthful food choices. To ensure healthy eating habits, the kind of food choices one makes should be healthful. Keep in mind the following simple principles:

• Variety: It stand to be an important principle of eating well. It ensures that one varies his/her choices within each food group from day to day. For example, one should eat different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains nuts and seeds. The reason being that different foods in the same food group contain different nutrients altogether, however, this guarantees a wide range of nutrients to support a healthy body, and the distinctive textures, tastes and colors improves the enjoyment associated with eating.

• Moderation; Some important components of a healthful diet we should eat only in small amount such as fat and added sugars. Fat rich foods provide taste but relatively few nutrients. The human body as it is well crafted by the Master Engineer, God, requires adequate amounts of the indispensable fats(monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in oily fishes, nuts and seeds), sugars, as well as small amounts of salts to maintain electrolyte balance. The key here is to balance the amount of energy we consume with the energy we expend in physical activity if we are to remain at a healthful weight.

• Nutrient density: It defines the micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) a food provides relative to the energy the food provides. Select foods that provide more nutrients relative to energy. Practical way to stick to this principle is to make plant (whole) foods the foundation of the diet.

• Energy/calorie control; During meal planning, one of the formidable principles we cannot do away with is ensuring that whatever we are ingesting contains sufficient number of calories to meet our energy requirement. This can be partly achieved by being meticulous when making food choices. Example, instead of snacking on highly refined and processed foods, it would be healthful and prudent to snack on fruits and vegetables. The former has large amounts of their nutritional elements (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants) removed, thus providing ultimately calories. On the other hand, to ensure calorie control, balance is pivotal in the sense that our input should be equal to our output (i.e energy from food into the body = energy being used by the body). Neglecting equality could lead to weight gain or loss.

• Balance; Ensure that you consume sufficient but not too much of each type of food.

Author's Name: Pius Sarfo Buobu

Contact: +233244944249

Email: foodandnutritionhub01@gmail.com