Have you ever wondered why good nutrition is a key to good health? Well, Hippocrates knew the answer more than two thousand years ago; he said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. In other words, good nutrition plays an essential role in both health and diseases; especially that nutrition is involved in all life stages, from the pre-conception phase to being an elderly. That is why establishing healthy eating habits early in the life cycle and receiving proper nutritional education is essential for adequate growth, managing diseases and conditions, and growing old in a healthy way.
Hippocrates, aka The Father of Medicine, also knew more than that. He knew that having a healthy and balanced diet and lifestyle is fundamental by saying “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health”. So, considering that it’s not only about the quantity of food we consume, nor only about the quality of food, what matters is not only to create a balance between both food quantities and qualities, but also to be active and stay in shape in order to minimize the risk factors of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardio-vascular diseases, and the metabolic syndrome.
So this is where dietitians step in; we are here to guide you in pinpointing what is healthy for you, to set a balance in your life as well as to tackle poor nutritional habits so you can lead a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Seeing that almost everyone has a complicated relationship with food, let’s start re-evaluating it closely to improve your food choices and together build a harmony in your life.
And remember, it’s never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle!
Joana Abou-Rizk
Nutrition and Beyond 