Proper nutrition is key to good health. Pair a balanced diet with physical exercise and you will have an immune system that could effectively prevent any infection or illness. Eating a balanced diet and being physically fit are two important components of a sound body and mind. As our energy is sourced from a balanced plate of food, nutrition plays an essential role in our physical fitness too. Without nutritious food, physical fitness cannot be achieved. Food is the fuel of our body. Food with high nutritional content boosts our stamina and helps us exercise better. It is scientifically proven that nutrition can help you enhance your physical health, athletic performance, and fitness. Keep reading to find out more about the role of nutrition in physical fitness.

What Does Nutrition Do for Your Body?

Also known as the study of nutrients in food, the functions of specific nutrients, and the relationship between diet, health, immunity, and disease, the concept of nutrition is important in understanding the effects of nutrients on our body. Borrowing several ideas from molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics, nutrition also helps us understand more about our dietary choices and physical health.

So when we say nutrients? What do we mean? We refer to proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. The right balance between these nutrients will help us remain healthy for the rest of our lives. Your ideal diet includes several components essential to overall nutrition. It is also important to pay attention to the number of nutrients you consume.

• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates provide us with the energy to exercise. Mostly stored in the muscles and liver, carbohydrates can be found in foods such as pasta, bagels, whole grain bread, and rice. These foods have a low-fat content but will provide the consumer with energy, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Carbohydrates are required for energy to perform physical activities.

• Protein: These essential nutrients are also known as the building blocks of body tissue and often provide the body with as much energy as carbohydrates. This nutrient can be found in the human muscle, bone, skin, hair, and almost all other parts of the body. The right amount and type of protein will help you shed some extra weight and will help you exercise better. Make sure you consume fish, seafood, skinless, white-meat poultry, skim or low-fat milk, skim or low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, eggs, and beans.

• Water: This important nutrient aids our digestive process, normalizes our blood pressure, stabilizes our heartbeat, flushes down bacteria from our bladder, protects organs and tissues, and cushions or joints. On top of it all, water carries nutrients and oxygen to our cells. Water helps us prevent headaches and promotes weight loss in our bodies. It also helps us maximize our physical potential.

• Fat: This nutrient comes in different forms, such as saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Fat usually has a negative connotation but it is an important nutrient that helps the human body absorb fat-soluble vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. These vitamins can only be absorbed with the help of fat. Fat provides our body with energy and helps us keep our blood pressure under control.

• Vitamins: This essential micronutrient helps us heal wounds and bolster cellular damage. They convert food into energy and ensure the proper maintenance of the body. Vitamin A helps us maintain healthy tissue and bone tissues, while vitamin B6 helps us make red blood cells and maintain overall brain function. Make sure you eat lots of broccoli, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables, carrots, turnips, and pumpkins.

What Does Exercise Do for Your Body?

The human body is a laboratory of complex systems interconnected in a labyrinthine structure of all the parts that makes the body complete. Malfunction of one part can sometimes take a toll on the entire body. This is when exercise comes to the rescue. It helps the human body to function properly. Exercise is a bodily movement performed consciously in order to maintain our health and fitness.

There are several benefits of exercising regularly. To begin with, exercise helps in enhancing our way of life, increases our life expectancy, and helps us in maintaining our fitness. Not only does it help in having stable emotional well-being, but also in boosting our self-confidence. It helps in the smooth functioning of the circulatory system, stimulates the release of endorphins, makes us feel relaxed, increases our metabolism, increases our stamina, burns unwanted calories, prevents, to a major extent, the risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and blood pressure-related abnormalities. It also helps in relieving stress and anxiety. Without physical activity, our body loses its strength, endurance, and ability to function properly. Exercise thus keeps all parts of our body in continuous activity, making our lives healthier.

How Do Nutrition and Exercise Complement Each Other

Physical activities of all kinds require energy. And energy can only be provided to the body with the right quality of food. Proper nutrition and physical exercises can reduce the risks of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and some cancers, along with some associated disabilities. A balanced diet containing carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fat, fiber, and water also promotes healthy weight loss and provides you with an enhanced metabolism that inevitably helps you with the physical exercise of all kinds.

If you or someone you know wants to make some major changes in your lifestyle or wants to become significantly healthier for a sound body and mind, support them by contacting us. We will help you keep your body healthy and our team of highly-qualified and reliable doctors will guide you through each step