Nutrition Notes By Theresa Stahl, RD, LDN 

Functional fitness involves teaching your body to balance its own weight and teaching all the muscles to work together rather than isolating them to work independently.  It involves understanding how the body functions as a whole. 

This understanding also is the key with nutrition. It's important to view the body as a whole. While you should eat foods you enjoy, you should also make choices that will aid your whole body, especially digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Did you know your body needs more than 40 different nutrients every day? Each nutrient plays a key role in helping your body function at its best.

When your digestive systems work properly, you utilize about 92-97 percent of the nutrients from the foods you eat.  That's efficiency!

Five tips to optimum nutrition
 
To help keep your digestive system healthy and make daily food and beverage choices that will provide optimum nutrition, remember to:

•  Eat a balance of nutrients daily, including water and fiber.

•  Don't eliminate food groups. If you do, for medical or personal reasons, then replace missing nutrients by choosing approriate alternative foods or by adding supplements, as recommended by your doctor or registered dietitian.  

•  Drink alcohol in moderation if you do indulge. "Moderation" means one drink daily for a woman or two for a man.  

•  Don't smoke.

•  Use the federal government's food guide pyramid, a great tool to help you visualize and achieve the balance of nutrients your body requires to function optimally.