Malnourished

These two images have something in common. Can you guess what it is? Both of these images are of malnourished kids. They both have severe health issues, and the only way to get them healthy is by getting them nourished. Now you’re asking yourself, if they are malnourished, then why is one overweight and the other one extremely skinny?

In order to answer these questions, I will need to define a couple of words.

Nutrient- A substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life. Ex, vitamins, minerals, water, etc.

Calorie- (definition that many people are familiar with) a unit equal to the kilocalorie, used to express the heat output of an organism and the fuel or energy value of food.

Every food that we eat has a specified amount of calories, but not necessarily nutrients. (Ex: processed floury and sugary foods). So the issue with overweight kids is that they are not getting enough nutrients into their body and their body is asking for more nourishment. Because they are eating crap food, such as fast food and junk food, their bodies are only receiving calories with little to no nourishment. The end result being, they gain extreme weight.

On the other hand, not only are the starving children not receiving any nutrients, but they are not receiving any calories either. This leads the body to cannibalize (eat away) its own tissues. Both of these are cases of malnourishment.

Before I defined these terms and explained how both children are malnourished, many people would never look at an overweight child or person and say they are malnourished. They would automatically say that the overweight person needs to stop eating so much and cut down on calories etc. etc.

The last thing we want to do with anyone who is overweight is to cut calories. For anyone who is trying to lose weight, listen up!! Instead of cutting calories, how about we start eating better by focusing on getting NUTRIENTS into our bodies. The most simple and most popular lifestyle out there now is the Paleo lifestyle. This lifestyle consists of meat, vegetables, fruits and....... that’s it. All of these foods are loaded with nutrients. For better nutrient content, seek out organic foods and grass fed meats.

Do the math. Let’s just say you wanted to eat a doughnut. It has 100 calories and 0 nutrients. Since the first thing we decided to do is cut calories, we now eat only half of the doughnut. Now we take in 50 calories but still 0 nutrients. There is absolutely NO nourishment for your body. Half of nothing is still nothing. So when you are trying to lose weight, don't focus on the calories. Focus on eating more nourishing food.

For more nutrition help take a look at Nutrition101Comments or questions contact at yuri@absolutefitnj.com