The link between spa and nutrition

What is Nutrition?
Nutrition is the study of how food nourishes your body and our behavior towards food. We all want to understand how food affects the health of our body – it’s natural, because we love food and we care about our health. Knowing and understanding nutrition can benefit both our physical and mental health, allowing us to enjoy the food we eat and appreciate our outer appearance.

Why Nutrition?

If you live to 65 years old you will have had over 70,000 meals and your body would have expelled at least 50 tons of food. From this food our extraordinary body renews its structures, and each day it builds a bit more muscle, bone, skin and blood, replacing old tissues with new ones. It may also add a little fat, if we consume too much, or subtract a little, if we consume less than our bodies require. Remember the saying “you are what you eat”, we can assume with confidence that the food we eat today, becomes a part of us tomorrow.


The value of eating nourishing nutrients benefits our body by maintaining strong muscles and bones, healthy skin, and sufficient blood to cleanse and nourish all parts of the body. This is dependant on energy yielding nutrients such as water, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. If the foods you eat provide too much or too little, the health of our body can become ill, unhealthy or imbalanced.


QUIZ:

1. How often do you drink soda?
   a. Rarely
   b. Occasionally (not every day)
   c. Frequently - at least one a day, it’s my energy source
   
   When natural foods are consumed they provide a very intricate relationship of proteins, fats and carbohydrate interlaced with vitamins and minerals. When you drink a soda, you fool the stomach with what appears to be food. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is released every time we eat to help digest protein. As you drink a soda the hydrochloric acid remains in the stomach since there is no protein to digest. The only protein to buffer the acid is the lining of your stomach – which can lead to peptic ulcers and other ailments of the digestive tract.
   



2. How often do you have a bowel movement?
   a. At least once every 24 hours or more
   b. Every 2-3 days
   c. Every 4-5 days
   
   A diet high in fiber helps keep our internal piping clean. Fiber helps maintain healthy blood sugar, digestive system and may help in weight loss. When the normal amount of fiber is consumed (25-30 grams per day), the normal transit time of feces through the digestive tract is 24-48 hours. Low fiber diets can increase the normal flow up to 96 or more hours. When fecal matter is impacted in the colon the toxins can be reabsorbed into the blood stream and begin to pollute our blood and organs, which can lead to the poisoning of the body.
   



3. How much do you exercise?
   a. 4-5 days per week
   b. 3 days per week
   c. 0-1 day(s) per week
   
   Getting at least 30 minutes of some sort of exercise, three or more times a week will help keep your heart and overall body in healthy condition. Make sure you consult with your primary health practitioner before you start a new exercise routine.
   



4. Do you believe that supplementation is part of a healthy diet?
   True
   False

Click here for an explanation