5 Ways to Jumpstart Your Nutrition

March is National Nutrition Month and in honor of it, I'm sharing five ways to jumpstart your nutrition journey.

Nutrition is "the act or process of nourishing or being nourished". Proper nutrition is at the core of healthy weight loss and reversing lifestyle diseases. When I say "proper nutrition", I am referring to primarily consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean meats, and poultry.

Poor nutrition choices often result in the diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more. Too much salt, sugar, fat, and chemicals cause illness.

Not only can proper nutrition improve the diagnosis of lifestyle diseases, but it also gives you more energy to get through the day, encourages weight loss (esp when coupled with exercise), helps to clear your skin, helps your digestive system function properly, strengthens bones, boosts your immune system, and more.

Here are 5 ways to get things going in the right direction:

• Have a salad for 1 meal each day. Skip the bottled, creamy dressing and make your own with a nut base
• Have 1 smoothie each day with at least 1 leafy green in it (kale or spinach). Use water as the base
• Eat canned beans? Rinse them with water in a strainer before cooking (in water with a few spices). This helps get rid of some of the sodium
• Keep a food journal and review it at the end of each day. Missed a couple of food groups? Be sure to incorporate them into your meals the following day
• Have a glass of wine or a cocktail daily? Reduce this to weekends only. I understand that alcohol may help you relax after a hard day at work but it is hurting you to have it daily. Find a new way to reduce your stress

Remember that getting healthy is a marathon and not a sprint, so focus on these one at a time. Don't overwhelm yourself. Baby steps are still steps.

Be well, Nic