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Wholesome, nutrient-dense foods are plentiful, but so are highly processed junk food products. As these two ends of the dietary spectrum indicate, what you eat can shape your health in more ways than one: Food has both the power to heal and the power to harm.
When it comes to weight control and sustained wellness, your food choices also have the power to supercharge your efforts, or derail them completely.
Whether you’re unsure about your nutritional needs or overwhelmed by your dietary choices, you’re not alone, and our team at Nova Physician Wellness Center can help. Here we discuss five top benefits you stand to gain from nutritional counseling.
1. Learn your body’s specific nutritional needs
Your personal nutritional needs are specific to your age, gender, and activity level as well as your weight loss/weight control goals and your unique health, food sensitivity, and disease management needs.
Using metabolic and health testing, we determine the number of daily calories you require, as well as how those calories should be broken down into three macronutrient categories:
- Complex carbohydrates
- Lean protein sources
- Healthy unsaturated fats
We also determine your essential vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, dietary fiber, and hydration needs, and provide detailed dietary and meal planning guidance to help you meet all your nutritional needs with confidence and ease.
2. Understand how healthy foods support you
You know that fruits, veggies, and whole grains are healthy food choices, but we want you to understand how wholesome foods support your health and wellness goals.
For example, we teach you how foods that are rich in dietary fiber — like berries, legumes, and whole grains — are often rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants too. Fiber-rich foods keep you satiated longer for easier weight control, support optimal digestion and gut health, and help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure levels in check.
Whether it’s in the form of complex carbs with dietary fiber, lean proteins, or unsaturated fats, clean eating provides optimal body fuel, and nutritional counseling covers it all.
3. Empower behavioral change around bad habits
Knowing which foods and nutrients support better health can get you off to the right start, but it’s just as important to understand why certain foods and nutrients (i.e., saturated fats, added sugars, sodium, and alcohol) are bad for you — and how they can undermine your health and wellness goals when they’re more than an occasional treat.
For most people, improved wellness through good nutrition involves making behavioral changes around bad food habits as well. To help you develop a positive relationship with food and a more balanced approach to eating, we may emphasize practices like mindful eating, portion control, and strategic snacking.
4. Lose weight and manage your weight long term
By giving you a deeper understanding of nutrition science and its practical application in your daily life, nutritional counseling empowers you to make informed choices on your own behalf — whether you’re meal planning, grocery shopping, or dining out — so you feel more confident in your health as well as your ability to manage your weight.
The right dietary approach promotes gradual, sustainable weight loss. When restrictive dieting and deprivation aren’t part of your weight loss plan, it’s much easier to reach your goals and maintain your results — as well as the healthy eating and lifestyle habits that built them — over the long term.
5. Manage, reverse, or prevent chronic disease
Nutritional counseling gives you the information and tools you need to improve many aspects of your health. The right diet can correct nutritional deficiencies, ease systemic inflammation, reduce chronic pain, improve digestion, and foster healthy blood sugar (glucose), blood pressure, and blood lipid (cholesterol and triglycerides) levels. It can also:
- Help you sleep better
- Increase your energy levels
- Reduce your stress levels
- Improve cognitive function
- Help regulate your mood
Healthy eating can prevent, control, and in some cases, reverse chronic conditions like insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), and unhealthy cholesterol levels; it can also help prevent or control Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders.
Start benefiting from nutritional counseling today
No matter what your health and wellness goals happen to be, nutritional counseling can help you realize them. Ready to learn more? Schedule a visit at your nearest Nova Physician Wellness Center in Fairfax, Lansdowne, Vienna, Arlington, or Charlottesville, Virginia, today.