How fitness and nutrition affect your health

Why looking after your health is important

As we mentioned above, looking after your health is important as  In terms of DNAFit, we’ve noticed that we all need to change the way that we view health. There is no longer a view that the same things work for all people, and it is through this difference that we focus on personalising our fitness and nutrition.

Along the same line is the fact that many of us take a reactive approach to our health. This means that when we get sick, for instance, we go to the doctor. It’s so easy to put things off but when it comes to your health it could be too late. This is why we view people’s health from a preventative and proactive point of view.

By knowing how your body responds to different types of nutrition and fitness, you will be able to make informed, proactive choices that will not only give you effective results in the short-term, but in the long-term as well.

Fitness and nutrition for the benefit of your health

Two of the main ways, alongside proper sleep, that we can ensure that we maintain our health is through regular exercise and proper nutrition; a balanced diet. These factors contribute positively to our physical and mental health.

In terms of fitness, many of us work in offices during the day and then perhaps we go home and watch television, sleep, rinse and repeat. This leads to many of us falling into a sedentary lifestyle that lacks activity.

Studies show that any and all physical activity is an integral component in the body's energy balance. The benefits of physical activity extend well beyond achievement and/or maintenance of a healthy weight.

In fact, a thorough review of the scientific literature by the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee has shown that regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of many conditions that impact physical and mental well-being, including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression.

Now, this activity doesn’t have to be major, at first. Everyone starts somewhere and doing something as simple as taking the stairs every day or making a concerted effort to go on a 30-minute walk contribute greatly to your health.

We also know how important it is to eat correctly, especially with all the additives in food and availability of fast food restaurants that have contributed to the worldwide problem of obesity.

This isn’t to say that you should become vegan, but it does mean that you should focus on getting all the right nutrients from the foods that you are eating daily. A serving of fruit and/or vegetables with each meal that you eat every day is a great way to start balancing your diet and fighting off disease and illness.

Nutrition is also important if you are training as you will need to replenish your energy stores after high intensity bouts of training. Whether you want to lose weight or build muscle, only half of that comes from the gym; the other half comes from your diet.

Maintaining a balanced diet throughout the day that is focused around protein, fats, whole grain carbs and vegetables, and snacking on healthy options rather than processed foods and sweets, you will feel satiated by the time you go to bed and your body won’t be starved of the fuel that it needs.

This means better sleep and bigger results from your training.

How understanding your genes helps you optimise your lifestyle for better health

Finally, we get to your genetic response. Although we all know that we should be active and eat healthily, we are still all so different. Our genetics play a key role in helping us to understand how our body responds to certain modalities of training and foods and can give us insight into what needs to change in order to get the best results.

This is simply personalising your dietary and fitness habits even further so that once you start seeing results you are able to maintain them throughout your life. To us, the most important thing is long-term sustainable fitness and nutrition, rather than short-term fixes that are only effective in the here and now, but not the future.

By applying science to our habits, we are able to get a holistic picture of where we are right now, where we want to be, and what is going to be a reality when we are older. Preventative health takes into account that we are making positive changes now so that we have a better chance of living an active, healthy life well into our older years.

Want to learn more about a healthy, balanced diet? Download our eBook, The beginner’s guide to healthy nutrition, for some expert insights from our wellness team.

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