Nutrition Vs. Diet: are You Getting the Nutrients Your Body Needs?
Author: Healing Headquarters LLC
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 easy 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 Fast 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 popular, nutrition is suffering.
What is a diet?
While many people think a diet is a set of rules you follow to try to lose weight, your diet is actually 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 fast 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 Labels 
There is much confusion surrounding nutritional labels. Most people look strictly toward the top for calories, fat grams and serving size information. The truth is that nutritional labels 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 label, is very important information if you are seeking to supply your body with nutrients, as opposed to empty calories.
The most important aspect of a nutritional label, although almost completely overlooked, is the actual ingredients within your food. While it may be easier to check to see how many calories and fat grams a certain food product has in each serving, when it comes to healthy nutrition the most important ingredient is what you are actually 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 actually 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 easy 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.
This policy is valid from 12 November 2009. I am C. Small, the administrator for this blog. For questions about this blog, please contact cvsmall.small@gmail.com. This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, since I am an Affiliate of the advertisers in this blog, if you buy something I will get paid, not much but I’m retired and need whatever I can get. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or post made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. Even though I receive compensation for the advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog may not be my own, but I agree with them. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does contain content which might present a conflict of interest. This content may not always be identified.
Tags: calories, diet, energy, fat grams, nutrients, nutrition, vitamins, weight loss
May 20th, 2010 at 2:16 am
Thank you for such a informative blog. Where else could anyone get that kind of information written in such an incite full way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I have been looking for such info.
May 20th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Glad we were able to help. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:26 am
I recently read on CNN health about a similar condition which could arise as one of the side affects of obesity. What are your thoughts? In fact, ever think about writing an article about obesity in america? I’d love to read it!
July 30th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Yes Tommie, I’m working on one now. Thanks for your comments. BTW, I wish I had read your article on gall bladder pain a few years back, I may have been able to save mine. ): Have a great weekend.
September 14th, 2010 at 7:03 am
By adjusting the questions you ask when taking care of your life, you will certainly right away change your focus
December 14th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Thank you for give very good info. Your website is coolI am impressed by the information that you have on this blog. It shows how well you understand this subject. Bookmarked this page, will come back for more. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched everywhere and just couldn’t find. What a perfect site. Like this website your website is one of my new favs.I like this info presented and it has given me some sort of commitment to succeed for some reason, so keep up the good work
December 16th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I’m still learning from you, as I’m trying to reach my goals. I definitely love reading everything that is written on your blog.Keep the stories coming. I liked it!
December 17th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Thank you for share very nice info. Your website is coolI am impressed by the information that you have on this blog. It shows how well you understand this subject. Bookmarked this page, will come back for more. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched everywhere and just couldn’t find. What a perfect site. Like this website your website is one of my new favs.I like this website shown and it has given me some sort of inspiration to succeed for some reason, so thank you
May 25th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Yeah,you could say it that way never thought of that.Very clean info,thank you
May 28th, 2011 at 10:54 am
This is very interesting post. I really liked it. Please keep posting such an informative post thanks
June 6th, 2011 at 1:45 am
I’m just eager for the following blog post.
June 10th, 2011 at 9:20 am
I really love to read this post and I am glad to find your distinguished way of writing the post. Thanks and Regards
July 12th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
I’ve been checking your blog for a while now, seems like everyday I learn something new
Thanks
August 6th, 2011 at 3:54 am
Hello, this is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting in your blog especially on how to determine the topic. keep up the good work.
August 29th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
This post makes a lot of sense !
September 12th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Awesome post. I so good to see someone taking the time to share this information
September 21st, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I would like to say “wow” what a inspiring post. This is really great. Keep doing what you’re doing!!
October 27th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Great read. Thanks for the info!