Nutrition’s Role in Health & Wellness

       Whole person wellness is not a new concept, but it is an important one. The concept of wellness addresses every area of one’s life, and encompasses an individual’s state of health. Every person has a great responsibility of taking care of their own body, and also considering how personal changes and actions can affect other people. Good health is provided by sound nutrition, efficient exercise, getting enough sleep, controlling risk factors and making other positive and preventative lifestyle choices. Lifestyle choices have been found to be an important factor in health and wellness, and so it is important to “take charge” of your daily life and to set healthy lifestyle goals. The secret is not medical care, but consistent self-care addressing the spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, environmental, intellectual/vocational, and social aspects of our lives. Wellness is a positive approach to living – an approach that emphasizes the whole person. Being “well” is a proactive, preventive approach to achieving optimum levels of health, and social and emotional functioning. A wellness-oriented lifestyles encourages one to adopt habits and behaviors that promote better health and an improved quality of life, along with the recognition that you have physical, psychological, social and spiritual areas that need to be attended to. It is the integration of the body, mind, and spirit; and the appreciation that everything you do, think, feel, and believe has an impact on your state of health.

        One vital aspect to whole person wellness is nutrition, as it truly affects every aspect of our body. My personal journey to better health has been a complicated and interesting, but not unique by any means. Nutrition affects many areas of our lives, and deficiencies in certain nutrients can cause major problems in our functioning, whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. All of the aspects of wellness are interconnected to make the whole person. When one part suffers, most likely all parts will suffer. Likewise, if one aspect of proper nutrition’s requirements is out of sorts, most likely other areas of our life will become imbalanced. A prime example, which is a personal one for me, is a food allergy. I have Celiac Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder where my body cannot process gluten (a protein found in a variety of grains but most notably in wheat). Long story short, my body reacts to the gluten in such a way as an immune reaction to a unwanted foreign substance. Gluten can be found not only in a variety of foods, but also in many everyday products such as medicines, vitamins and even lip balm. “Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress” (NDDIC, 2008). Basically over the course of my life I developed several vitamin/mineral deficiencies, asthma and other health related issues that are believed to have developing from the underlining condition of a gluten sensitivity. Now that I have adjusted my diet, along with several other health lifestyle adaptations, I have seen obvious changes in my health. Even though I was technically well-nourished growing up, I was also deficient in several areas, thus affecting my overall health. Nutrition is a vital part of my overall well-being and a large portion of physical wellness.

References:

NDDIC (2008). Celiac Disease. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Retrieved from http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/#what