It takes a lot more to understand what nutrition really is than eating certain kinds of foods, especially after the introduction of the new food pyramid that has made the number of choices with regard to dietary intake much more complicated and the confusion is further compounded when you are bombarded with prime time specials that aim only to tease your mind into believing clever marketing ideas. To understand the true meaning of nutrition requires more than being convinced by clever marketing campaigns and in fact likening the functioning of the human body to that of a car assembly plant would make far more sense.

Thus, at a car assembly plant, more and more parts keep steadily entering it and the correct parts need to be put in the right places in the right ratio to one another to ensure that the plant continues to run smoothly. In fact, if any one or more parts are missing, the cars produced would not be able to perform their intended functions and though a temporary shortage of a part can be tolerated, if it were to take place over say a month, the results would be disastrous.

Missing Parts

Similarly, when understanding what nutrition is, you would need to look and see what would happen when cells in the body had missing parts? Nourishing the cells is done by consuming adequate amounts of food, and if cells fail to get the proper raw materials, the body would not be able to carry out its vital functions.

The sad part of it all is that the food that we consume today does not really contribute to providing proper nutrition to the cells in our bodies and so it requires consuming nutrient supplements that will help to ensure that the cells are provided with proper amounts of nutrition.

However, at the same time it is also certainly necessary to eat foods that contain enough vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants and plant sterols and even glyconutrients which will help to provide our bodies with proper nutritious content. These items can thus be considered as being vital to proper nutrition and though they need not form the bulk of all food that is consumed, it is enough if they are present in small quantities so as to help the cells perform their proper function.

Thus, vitamins and minerals, plant sterols, antioxidants and glyconutrients when present in small quantities will make up the critical parts that will keep the cells functioning properly and because the body does not store extra nutrients, there is no need to consume too much of these items. In effect, vitamins and minerals are used in the form of enzymes as well as are catalysts that help make chemical reactions in a person’s body.
Finally, when considering what nutrition is, you need to ensure that you are consuming all of these four vital components that will help your body gets proper nutritious content and also keep the body well balanced and allow the cells to function properly.