The Importance of Daily Nutrition
The foundation of your overall health is a consistently healthy diet. Eating mostly plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, and nuts with multiple servings of fatty fish throughout the week can improve the functionality of your immune system, nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, and others. If you suffer from a chronic health condition, improving your diet with the approval of your primary care provider might improve your symptoms and increase your quality of life. It can even health with sleep, focus, and energy.
Highlights
· Benefits of good nutrition
· Risks of poor nutrition
· How to calculate your basal metabolic rate
· How to calculate your daily calorie needs
· How to calculate a calorie deficit or surplus
· Standard daily nutrition recommendations
More Benefits of Good Nutrition
Eating a healthy, balanced diet full of whole foods and plant products can improve your overall wellbeing, decrease inflammation throughout your body, and increase your chances of living a longer and more functional life. Your immune system is strengthened by the nutrition you provide for it, as are your teeth, bones, heart, and brain. Good nutrition can improve your memory, focus, and brain health. If you’re overweight, good nutrition can help you lower your weight, which can decrease your risk for various life-threatening diseases.
Risks of Poor Nutrition
Poor nutrition doesn’t just rob you of the benefits of nutritious foods. It increases your risk of chronic diseases, which in turn increases your risk of premature death. Diseases linked to poor nutrition include diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis, and obesity. It can also cause an unsafe increase in cholesterol, as well as tooth decay. Your immunity and ability to focus can be compromised by a diet high in processed foods and added sugars.
Chronic diseases like obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes compound each other and can lead to serious, even fatal, conditions. If your daily nutrition is suboptimal or you struggle with any chronic symptoms, seek primary care services to establish your current health status and chart a course to a healthier and longer life.
Your Daily Energy Needs
Everyone’s daily energy needs vary depending on their height, weight, level of daily activity, muscle mass, and other factors that are unique to each person. On average, people who are not trying to gain or lose weight should have 2,000 calories per day. You can calculate the number of calories you burn each day using the Harris-Benedict Formula, a method developed in the 20th century and updated in 1990.
The Harris-Benedict formula finds your calorie needs by multiplying your basal metabolic rate (BMR) by your average daily activity level. Your BMR is the number of calories you burn when you’re sedentary (inactive). It’s unique to you, based on your height, weight, age, sex, and genetics. To find your BMR, use one of the following formulas:
Men: 66 + (6.2 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.76 x age in years)
Women: 655.1 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
Multiply your BMR by the number assigned to the level of activity that best describes your average daily activity.
Little to no exercise: 1.2
Slightly active (light exercise up to three days per week): 1.37
Moderately active (moderate exercise up to five days per week): 1.55
Highly active (hard exercise up to seven days per week): 1.725
Extra active (a physically demanding job or a challenging exercise routine): 1.9
After multiplying, your product is the number of calories you should consume each day to maintain your current weight. Adding or subtracting 500 calories is recommended for those who want to gain (add) or lose (subtract) weight. Once you figure your desired calorie allotment per day, you can calculate the amount of each nutrient that should make up your daily calorie intake.
Daily Nutrition Recommendations
Trying to keep track of every percentage and gram you’re eating is an overly complex way to manage your diet. You can improve your health by developing a lifestyle around the foods and portions that provide the nutrients you need in the most optimal amounts. Your primary care provider is the best source of nutritional guidance for your unique health profile and physiological needs. Standard dietary guidelines are not the best recommendation for everyone, but the following nutritional values can give you a good place to start if you’re otherwise healthy.
Total fat 30%
Saturated fat <7%
Trans fat <1%
Cholesterol 0
Total carbs 50%
Simple sugars <25%
Complex carbs >25%
Dietary fiber >30g
Protein 20%
Sodium <1,500mg