What Is Holistic Nutrition

When Hippocrates, the great Greek physician of 5^th century B.C, said “Your food shall be your remedy. Let Food be your Medicine and let Medicine be your Food”, he must have not known that he was setting a trend. Actually, this only paved the way for what is called now as Holistic nutrition. Holistic nutrition is based on the principles of using assortments of foods and nutrients, for helping a person achieve maximum energy levels and get the overall benefits mentally, spiritually, and physically. In fact, this form of science believes that our bodies need a certain balance of vitamins, proteins and other nutrients. However, it is believed that every single individual is essentially different and needs a different balance of foods and nutrients to reach a particular balance to make him/her healthy. The philosophy of Holism believes every individual to be different and thus creates a different type of food plan for different people.

The focus of Holistic nutritionist is basically on having foods which provide the right amount of nutritional value and complement the diet with minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acid, and all other nutrients when required. However, this type of holistic or wholistic food plans is much more than just having a balanced diet. Holistic nutritionist believes that diet and nutrition play an important role in deciding the mental and physical health of a person.

Also known as, “alternative medicine”, or “complementary medicine”, holistic medicine is an assortment of therapeutic and self-help application which has been drawn from many cultures from across the world. Holistic practitioners emphasize on prevention as the best cure and they are often seen as educators who encourage, empower, and edify their patients to lead healthier diet. It is often used in combination with the usual medicines to facilitate the body’s natural healing processes.

The Basics Of Holistic Nutrition

Even though holistic nutrition is mostly tailor made for different individuals, there are certain factors, which apply to everyone and should be followed by people who want to pursue a holistic nutrition plan. Some of the basic aspects of a holistic nutritional plan are as following.

Opt for foods, which are organically grown, and contains no chemicals, pesticides and insecticides.
Avoid foods with preservatives, additives. You also need to keep away from junk food and processed food.
The water, which we drink, is almost always chlorinated and contaminated. Try to have pure water and in ample amount. Avoid sugar and caffeine.
Avoid cooking food in microwaves and avoid any kind of genetically engineered food. Chewing foods is also an important part of holistic nutrition. Chew foods properly before swallowing it.
Try to have foods in their natural state as much as you can. Incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Have foods, which are freshly cooked as they have more energy than the foods, which are leftover or previously prepared.

Getting Started With Holistic Nutrition

The first thing, which you need to take care of when you are starting with holistic nutrition, is that you need to give time to your body to adjust to the change. In addition, while you are applying holistic rules you need to take care that you make the changes gradually to give your body time to adjust to changes.
Holistic nutrition is also about self-discipline. When you are trying to adapt to holistic nutrition plan you need to be patient and to stick to the plan for better results. Don’t make very drastic changes all at once, make small changes and with time you would be able to adapt the holistic nutrition plan wholly.
When you are making diet changes, you need to constantly monitor your response to the changes to know how you feel. That way you will be able to know what benefits you are getting from which diet. It is just a way to make the changes according to the response of your body.
Remember that holistic nutrition is a way to better quality of life. Actually, it is a way to address good digestion, sufficiency, equilibrium, and moderation for each individual.

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