A Guide to Nutrition Therapy: What are its Benefits on Your Health?

Food nutrition is one of the key factors responsible for a healthy life. By consuming a well-balanced diet that includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and protein, you can improve your health [1]. Moreover, simply eating on time isn’t enough. You must watch what you eat too. This is why it is key to understand the importance of nutrition and how you can practice mindful eating. After all, a healthy diet keeps you fit and active by boosting your immune system.

To help you practice mindful eating by choosing food with the right nutrition value, you can seek guidance from experts. Nutritionists can create customized diet plans to suit your eating and health requirements. This kind of therapeutic approach is called nutrition therapy. Read on to know more about the benefits of nutrition therapy and how it can change your life for the better.

Nutrition therapy: What are the benefits?

Nutrition therapy contributes to your mental and physical wellness, bringing about a lot of positive changes in your life. A therapeutic approach, properly monitored by an expert, is effective because it adheres to a tailor-made diet chart. It is often slower to deliver results, but those achieved through nutrition therapy are often more consistent and long-lasting.

Another benefit of nutrition therapy is that your nutrition expert can help you identify, prevent and control nutritional deficiencies or any other chronic ailments. Nutrition therapy is also referred to as preventive therapy as it helps to understand what kind of nutritional requirements are required for your body.

The various advantages of nutrition therapy or counseling are listed below.

• Helps you make smart food choices to a lead a healthy life
• Manages chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol better
• Promote sustainable weight loss
• Boost the immune system and keeps you energized
• Cultivates healthy habits that contribute to your overall wellness
• Enables you to stay fit and healthy by minimizing stress and anxiety

Medical nutrition therapy: Why is it needed?

Medical nutrition therapy or MNT works towards improving the dietary health of an individual similar to nutrition therapy. However, this method is designed to treat specific medical conditions with the help of customized diets. MNT needs to be followed under expert medical guidance and aims to counsel patients on various lifestyle changes to be followed for managing chronic ailments.

Poor nutrition can cause a lot of health issues. In fact, many studies have linked diet and nutrition as major risk factors that can affect your health [2]. With the help of MNT, you can address your health concerns better.

Some of the benefits you can get with MNT include the following:

• Keep your weight under control
• Minimize risks of heart ailments, diabetes and obesity
• May protect you from cancer
• May reduce the incidence of stroke and kidney stone issues

Nutrition & diet therapy: Are they the same?

A diet therapy or therapeutic diet is a specifically designed meal plan that is prescribed by a doctor or a dietician. Nutrition & diet therapy are similar as a tailor-made meal plan is devised to fit the nutritional requirements of an individual.

Ideally, such diets are prescribed to,

• Manage any food allergies
• Modify nutritional requirements
• Increase or decrease your weight
• Balance essential nutrients required for a body
• Modify textures for individuals who are unable to chew or swallow their food

Some of the most common therapeutic diets for modifying nutrient intake include diets for diabetics, low sodium diet, renal diet and high fiber diet. In case there is a problem in swallowing or chewing, tube feedings with liquid diets are provided [3].

It is essential to keep a close watch on what you eat and how you do it. Avoiding processed foods and consuming healthier food alternatives are some helpful starting points. Exercising and keeping yourself hydrated are equally important. To get advice from top nutritionists and dietitians, book an online doctor consultation on Bajaj Finserv Health. Get tailor-made diet plans, tele-consults with specialists, and enjoy the benefit of special offers on healthcare services at partner healthcare centers.