Eat right for your body’s sake

Ours is an age of high stress, what with all sorts of issues clogging our thinking, keeping us awake at night, and driving us silly during the day.

We worry about identity theft, national and global insecurity occasioned by terrorism, economic issues, health scare… The list is endless.

We engage in work — in the office, while commuting, at home, everywhere. Obviously, modernity and its trappings have come at a huge price, and we all seem caught up in its grip.

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In our bid to catch up in one area of life or the other, we have become so busy that we engage in diet of convenience, eating foods that are lacking in essential nutrients that should nourish every part of the body to good health and keep them going against all odds.

Our diets, because we get and consume them mostly on the go, are now full of sugars, fats and empty calories that literally bloat us up, giving us unwieldy weight that can make the scale squeal uneasily.

Yet, experts assure that we can help our body realise its full potential by eating right, such that, in a short while and henceforth, our health sill peak, literally from head to toe.

Nurturing your hair

To start with, having a head full of hair is an indication of good health, even when you are already greying. Trichologists (experts in scientific study of the health of hair and scalp) say hair loss occurs as a result of many factors, among which ageing, hormonal factors, medical conditions and medications.

Worse, the type of diet we take can affect our hair health. If you love processed foods, know that they often lack vitamins and essential minerals that one needs to maintain a healthy hair and prevent hair loss.

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic, united States of America, looked at 11 studies on the relationship between iron intake and hair loss, and concluded that treating iron deficiency may help hair to grow and stay healthy.

To maintain hair health, therefore, you need a diet that is high in nutrients. You must cut out junk food and include more variety with fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Also, eat iron-rich foods such as lean red meat, turkey, egg yolks, dried beans, dried fruits and whole grains.

Brighten your vision

Your eye is the window to your body, as they reflect what is going on inside of you, literally. Nutritionists say people who consume the most lutein — a carotenoid found in plant foods — are 43 per cent less likely to develop macular degeneration (leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 60). Lutein — also called “eye vitamin” — helps filter blue light, preventing it from damaging retinal tissues. Foods rich in the carotenoid include carrots, spinach, broccoli, eggs, tomatoes, corn, pepper, avocado, among others.

Pamper your skin

Experts say the skin is the largest organ in the body, with an adult person’s skin weighing some 3.6kg and two square meters! Dermatologists say the skin does a lot more than make us look presentable and that, without it, we’d literally evaporate.

Consultant Dermatologist, Dr. Simeon Akindele, says, “The skin acts as a waterproof, insulating shield, guarding the body against extremes of temperature, damaging sunlight and harmful chemicals. It also exudes antibacterial substances that prevent infection and manufactures vitamin D for converting calcium into healthy bones.”

In addition, he notes, the skin “is a huge sensor packed with nerves for keeping the brain in touch with the outside world, while at the same time, allows us free movement, proving itself an amazingly versatile organ.”

This being the case, why not take care of your skin? You can do this by eating foods packed with vitamin A, which helps balance the pH of your skin’s surface, making it just acidic enough to fend off harmful bacteria. Again, researchers at the National Cancer Institute, USA, found that people with the highest intakes of carotenoids — pigments that occur naturally in carrots — were six times less likely to develop skin cancer than those with the lower intakes.

Guard your heart

Your heart is the intelligence and must be protected. You need a healthy heart to engage in all sorts of endeavours open to man. Cornell University researchers say eating one red delicious apple a day can block LDL (‘bad’ cholesterol) oxidation, resulting in an eight per cent drop in LDL levels. Better still, apples contain soluble fibre, which scrubs artery walls clean.

Tone your muscles

Physicians say muscle mass peaks between age 18 and 25, after which it starts to decrease every decade and progresses as we age. To maximise muscle growth, they advocate health diet. Beef happens to be the perfect muscle food because it’s rich in protein, zinc, and creatine — a naturally occurring amino acid (protein building block) that’s found in meat and fish, and also made by the human body in the liver, kidneys and pancreas.

Strengthen you bones

We use our bones a lot, since it’s the skeleton that holds up every other part of the body. However, experts lament that until one snaps, we hardly give them much thought. They recommend two glasses of vitamin D-fortified low-fat milk every day. This provides the body with the right amount of calcium and vitamin D — perfect combination of nutrients for break-resistant bones.

Say no to beer belly

Ours is an age of high stress, what with all sorts of issues clogging our thinking, keeping us awake at night, and driving us silly during the day.

We worry about identity theft, national and global insecurity occasioned by terrorism, economic issues, health scare… The list is endless.

We engage in work — in the office, while commuting, at home, everywhere. Obviously, modernity and its trappings have come at a huge price, and we all seem caught up in its grip.

In our bid to catch up in one area of life or the other, we have become so busy that we engage in diet of convenience, eating foods that are lacking in essential nutrients that should nourish every part of the body to good health and keep them going against all odds.

Our diets, because we get and consume them mostly on the go, are now full of sugars, fats and empty calories that literally bloat us up, giving us unwieldy weight that can make the scale squeal uneasily.

Yet, experts assure that we can help our body realise its full potential by eating right, such that, in a short while and henceforth, our health sill peak, literally from head to toe.