Today we hear the word diet much more than we hear the word nutrition. There are so many diets on the market that it’s simple to get lost in the fad and forget what nutrition truly is. There is the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, Weight Watchers and many others, from Slim Quick to the various one-food diets, such as the cabbage soup diet or the grapefruit diet. Society has become fixated on the ‘diet’, instead of quality nutrition. Unfortunately, this fixation isn’t working. America is the fattest nation in the world, with high rates of diabetes, heart disease and other life threatening illnesses. While diets are becoming more well loved, nutrition is suffering.

What is a diet?

While many people reckon a diet is a set of rules you follow to try to lose weight, your diet is really the food that you eat to supply your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly. While an average American diet consists of large quantities of processed sugar, white flour, meat and quick foods, a healthy diet is one that supplies the body with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and enzymes. These nutritional building blocks affect your energy levels, your quality of life, and have a direct affect on your mood, memory, eyesight, body functions and lifespan. Without a healthy diet that supplies the body with much needed nutrients, you are more susceptible to colds, infections, and illnesses. Your diet, in other words your nutrition, is what sustains your life.

Nutritional Marks

There is much confusion surrounding nutritional marks. Most people look strictly toward the top for calories, stout grams and serving size information. The truth is that nutritional marks offer a look at the nutrients in one’s food, such as vitamins A, C, D and E, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and folic acid. This information, although lower down on the nutritional mark, is very vital information if you are seeking to supply your body with nutrients, as opposed to empty calories.

The most vital aspect of a nutritional mark, although nearly completely overlooked, is the actual ingredients within your food. While it may be simpler to check to see how many calories and stout grams a certain food product has in each serving, when it comes to healthy nutrition the most vital ingredient is what you are really ingesting. It may have only 220 calories, but where are those calories coming from? Are you ingesting mostly corn syrup and sodium phosphate, or high amounts of preservatives, such as sorbic acid and sulfur dioxide? The ingredients in your food are the tell-tale clues to how much nutrition you are really taking in. If your food is strictly cheese and flour, as opposed to nutrient providing vegetables and vitamins, it doesn’t really matter if the calories are low.

A Nutritional Diet

Nutrition comes from vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Food sources that are rich with nutrients are whole, living foods that are supplied from the earth. Dark leafy greens offer more calcium than milk, while beans and grains offer high amounts of iron. It is simple to turn your focus from diet to nutrition. And when you do, you might find yourself eating a diet that is rich in nutrients and optimal for losing weight.

No general screening test is more efficient, effective and affordable than a comprehensive blood chemistry panel. It allows the healthcare provider to establish a baseline of biomarkers to track the patient’s health and nutritional needs. Getting a blood test is essential to understanding your current health and your nutritional needs. What is Blood Nutrition?Blood NutritionTM, is an innovative, science-guided look at nutritional strengths and weaknesses through an individual’s blood test. This new scientific approach can offer a clear plot for your optimum health. As a result, a new generation of healthcare professionals is emerging with the tools and keys that can reveal the more subtle imbalances and help in correcting them. Blood NutritionTM is a comprehensive approach to health. To address the right cause of symptoms, one should look for their origin from a science-generated perspective by considering:• Physiological distress or disease conditions• Nutritional distress or imbalances• Mental/emotional distressAny of these factors may be the source or a contributing factor for the symptoms of imbalance. The cornerstone of an effective health strategy is a nutritional and lifestyle plot that is based on your biochemistry. Success here is dependent on the establishment of an accurate nutritional profile guided by scientific approaches such as a comprehensive blood test. Blood Nutrition and ScienceThis advanced scientific approach identifies nutritionally significant information through the careful analysis of the various blood values. Certain indicators can reveal electrolyte, mineral and other nutritional imbalances. Once addressed, one can optimize the metabolic processes and help maintain the healthy performance of the body. A balanced nutritional state is essential for achieving and maintaining health. Nutritional analysis of your Blood Test may indicate the need for:• Key nutrients such as vitamin A, B6, B12, D• Fluid and electrolyte balance• Minerals such as magnesium, calcium and iron• Tissue hydration• Antioxidants• Enzymes• Nutritional support of key organs• Nutritional support of metabolic pathways• The need for lifestyle changesNutritional ImbalancesIf you have nutritional imbalances, you may be experiencing the following:• Mental/emotional symptoms including mood swings and anxiety• Structural/musculoskeletal symptoms such as pain or stiffness• Digestive issues such as bloating, indigestion and elimination problems• Optical symptoms such as difficulty in night vision or blurry vision• Symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, food cravings• Cardiovascular health issues• Dry skin, brittle nails, hair dryness or loss• OthersAre you suffering from the effects of nutritional deficiencies or imbalances? Nutrients such as amino acids, enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes are the building blocks of the body. They provide energy, support metabolism and are needed for many biochemical reactions to sustain health. Key nutrients may become deficient for various reasons. These may include:• Disease processes, which may block metabolism• Poor dietary habits• Physical, mental and emotional stressOne of the most scientific ways to identify nutritional imbalances is to have your blood test evaluated by a nutritionally trained doctor or healthcare practitioner who is experienced in Blood NutritionTM assessment. A comprehensive blood test is affordable and results are normally received within a few days. When key nutrients become deficient, many metabolic processes are affected. The body may initially try to compensate for such imbalances. But, if they are prolonged, they may contribute to hormonal issues, metabolic disorders, increase in toxic load, oxidative stress, organ weaknesses and many other health issues. Many symptoms such as tiredness, fatigue and irritability may be effectively addressed with proper nutritional considerations. A blood test is one of the most efficient tests you can get to determine the quality of your overall health. Once you have received your test results, working with a specialist who is experienced in Blood NutritionTM will enable you to achieve the optimum health that is essential to a long life full of vitality.