Proper Nutrition: The Key to Living a Healthier Life

Life is busy, and after a long day, the last thing you probably want to do is think about proper nutrition. But consuming the right balance of nutrients is an essential aspect of supporting your overall health — and it can help you to keep up with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

At South Naperville Family Practice in Aurora, Illinois, Dr. Richard Steslow and our team understand how proper nutrition goes far beyond supporting a healthy weight. He has these insights into how your diet impacts your overall health.

What ‘proper nutrition’ means

With all of the fad diets out there, the idea of good nutrition can seem confusing. However, when you think about food as your body’s primary source of nutrients, it gets a little easier. 

Generally speaking, proper nutrition should include:

• Plenty of vegetables and moderate fruit intake
• Lean sources of protein, like white-meat poultry, fish, and beans
• Starches from sweet potatoes and occasional rice
• Healthy fats from avocados, sources like seeds, olive oil, and seeds and nuts 

You should also avoid processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugar — all of which can increase inflammation in your body, trigger disease, and cause weight gain.

Teaching proper nutrition to children at a young age can make it a lifelong habit.

Why proper nutrition matters

Eating an unhealthy diet is linked to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States. That’s because a typical American diet is too high in sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, and calories. It also lacks vegetables,whole fruits, and healthy fats.

As a result, a poor diet increases your risk of several diseases and contributes to some of the highest causes of death, including:

• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Stroke

An unhealthy diet also increases your chances of certain cancers, including those of the colon, gallbladder, liver, ovaries, uterus, and cervix.

Fortunately, you can avoid these complications by optimizing your nutrition.

How to eat to live a healthier life

Changing your diet can feel overwhelming, but Dr. Steslow and our team can help. Whether you have a specific health condition that could benefit from dietary improvements, or you want to avoid future problems, it all starts with small changes.

First, Dr. Steslow performs a physical exam and diagnoses any health issues you may have. Then, he provides personalized recommendations that can help support whole-body health. These approaches might include:

• Keeping a food diary to assess your current diet
• Identifying areas that could benefit from improvements, like eating more fresh fruit
• Reducing unhealthy fats like fatty cuts of red meat
• Learning more about portion control and good hydration

If you need to lose weight but struggle to do so on your own, Dr. Steslow might recommend a medically supervised weight loss program.

Don’t wait to see how proper nutrition can improve your overall health. Contact us by calling our Aurora, Illinois, office at 630-296-6019 to schedule an appointment today. You can also send a message to Dr. Steslow and the team here on our website.