Can­di­da Khan

It is one of the most com­mon as­sump­tions that if you eat well, avoid smok­ing, lim­it al­co­hol, and ex­er­cise, you will re­main healthy and avoid dis­ease. The truth is that health is not mea­sured this way. Re­al­i­ty can tell a dif­fer­ent sto­ry be­cause many of us who ap­pear to do every­thing “right” can still de­vel­op heart dis­ease, can­cer, men­tal health is­sues, and oth­er health com­pli­ca­tions.

What I re­alise as a Reg­is­tered Di­etit­ian Nu­tri­tion­ist is that we need to fo­cus more on the fac­tors that can be used to ex­plain what health ac­tu­al­ly is. The truth is that health is more than what we see or feel. Ap­pear­ances can be mis­lead­ing.

Weight al­so can­not be used to mea­sure health be­cause some­one can be with­in a healthy BMI and de­vel­op a lifestyle dis­ease; how­ev­er, some­one else can be over­weight and be free of lifestyle dis­ease. Healthy habits and lifestyle changes make a huge im­pact on our risk of health com­pli­ca­tions. Fac­tors that in­flu­ence health com­pli­ca­tions in­clude:

Nu­tri­tion

Ge­net­ics

En­vi­ron­men­tal ex­po­sure

Stress

Sleep qual­i­ty

In­fec­tions

Hy­dra­tion

Nu­tri­tion re­mains one of the most pow­er­ful tools avail­able to im­prove health out­comes. Foods that are as­so­ci­at­ed with pos­i­tive health mark­ers in­clude:

a) Veg­eta­bles such as leafy greens, car­rots, bell pep­pers, broc­coli, and pump­kin, to name a few, pro­vide fi­bre, vi­t­a­mins, min­er­als, and pro­tec­tive plant com­pounds.

b) Lo­cal fruits such as man­goes, wa­ter­mel­on, and pineap­ple pro­vide di­etary fi­bre and an­tiox­i­dants.

c) Beans such as lentils and chick­peas sup­port meta­bol­ic health.

d) Nuts and seeds such as al­monds, wal­nuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds pro­vide healthy fats and mi­cronu­tri­ents.

e) Fish such as salmon and tu­na pro­vide omega-3 fat­ty acids that help sup­port brain health.

f) Whole grains such as pro­vi­sions, oats, and quinoa pro­vide di­etary fi­bre.

g) Foods from an­i­mals such as chick­en and yo­ghurt pro­vide pro­tein and sup­port gut health.

Ul­tra-processed foods, such as processed snacks, sug­ary bev­er­ages, desserts, and re­fined in­gre­di­ents, cause more harm.

Bet­ter mea­sure­ments of health in­clude blood pres­sure checks, blood sug­ar checks, blood cho­les­terol checks, vis­cer­al fat as­sess­ments, and oth­er blood tests.

The goal of nu­tri­tion and healthy liv­ing should not be the promise of in­vin­ci­bil­i­ty. No di­et, sup­ple­ment, ex­er­cise pro­gramme, or lifestyle can guar­an­tee per­fect health. In­stead, healthy habits in­crease the prob­a­bil­i­ty of liv­ing well, func­tion­ing well, and en­joy­ing a high­er qual­i­ty of life for longer. That may not be as sim­ple as the myths we of­ten hear, but it is a far more re­al­is­tic and, ul­ti­mate­ly, more em­pow­er­ing un­der­stand­ing of what health tru­ly means.

Can­di­da Khan, MSc RD al­so known as Di­di, is a Reg­is­tered Di­etit­ian Nu­tri­tion­ist.

She is al­so the CEO of Di­di’s Nu­tri­tion Con­sul­tan­cy (didis­nu­tri­tion­con­sul­tan­cy.com)