Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles

Importance of nutrition to good health

If you think of anyone who you would categorize as healthy, consider what characteristics of that person makes you think that. When you consider exactly what makes people healthy, things become complicated. Initially it may be the cosmetic appearance of this individual that makes you categorize them as healthy. They have clear skin, a glowing complexion, shiny hair and strong nails. In addition their lifestyles may suggest health to you. They are usually regularly active, full of energy and vitality with a positive attitude. For others, the definition of health is simply dependent on the absence of disease. When asked, people will usually include an aspect of nutrition in a description of good health. The assumption being that for an individual to display all of the above characteristics they must be eating the correct balance of nutrients in the correct quantities. An increasing body of evidence suggests that diet plays a major role in the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. There are numerous complex relationships between nutrition and health, both positive and negative. In the short term nutrition cancer affect our hydration level, concentration, physical performance, energy levels, cause headaches, boost or suppress immunity, cause gastrointestinal problems etc. Most relevant nutritional components links to each disease:

Components of a balanced diet

There are six main nutrient classes essential for survival. Every diet should contain a balance of the following nutrients:
Each of these must be consumed in the correct amounts to obtain a balanced diet. Healthy eating guidelines are published by the department of health. These recommended daily intakes are based on research and suggest levels that will not cause either deficiencies or toxicity and will not contribute to the progressions of disease, for most healthy people. The energy in our food comes from the three energy nutrients, protein, fat and carbohydrate. Regardless of the actual amount of calories necessary to sustain us and our activity levels, we should all consume a balanced diet. This means that we should consume a certain percentage of our total calorie intake from each food group. The recommended and actual percentage of each nutrient consumed daily in the UK.


As a nation we consume too much fat (especially saturated fat), protein, salt and sugar and insufficient levels of complex carbohydrate and fibre.