A balanced diet boosts the brain

Nutrition is a key component of our life. Every living cell in our body depends on energy to carry out its activities. In an era where development is at the forefront, you need to work hard mentally and physically. There is a very high correlation between the quality of feeding and memory use. Brain cells absorb and consume a lot of energy than other body cells. A physiology professor published a research study that clearly explained the link between poor memories with slowed response and poor feeding lifestyle. This also means you need to pay attention on nutritional requirements of your body in everyday life. It is important to feed on particular food nutrient based on your daily body needs or activities you perform. Good body function is highly dependent on the energy input and output in form of energy. Many societies suffer nutrition related body illnesses due to lack of enough information about feeding habits. It is very necessary to have a nutrition policy in place or nutrition advisors right from the grass root level. In many clinical settings; it’s evident that many metabolic illnesses are linked to poor feeding habits. A few years ago I was forced to wake up past mid-night to attend to a business tycoon who had been admitted in the hospital due to severe generalized weakness, nausea and headache. When we took history, it pointed at an imbalanced feeding lifestyle. He liked to take a meal with red meat on a daily basis. He reported no other history of medical illness and on examination he had no indication of physical illness or malformation. We checked serum iron levels in blood and the result of his blood test was found to be more than 4 times normal. There are various factors that can be linked to high iron levels in blood but iron dietary intake is one of the major risk factors to consider. One of the measures taken in this case is to regulate dietary iron intake and treat complications or challenges caused by the underlying illness. Some food contents contain high contents of iron and people with iron overload need to avoid meals with high iron contents. It is not good to over-feed on a meal simply because it is tasty for you but you should consider its nutritional contents or health benefits before consumption. Poor feeding is not only linked to scarcity of food but largely depends on the quality of food intake. For example a few months ago, I attended a football game for under-12 year Old’s in Ndera sector of Gasabo district. I had been notified of elite and young talented footballers that attracted me to attend their games. One of the talented young boys was questioned as to why his performance during the match was below expected strength. The boy talked to me from the sidelines that he was not happy with meals at home and had lost appetite to feed regularly. He narrated that they had harvested a lot of beans and sweet potatoes at home and ate them on a daily basis. It is not good to feed on very high contents of carbohydrates or proteins. This is because metabolic inhibitory mechanisms will usually create space for accumulation of toxins from excess food nutrients. Health advisors at the grass root or sector level should try to carry out extensive sensitization on good feeding habits and the health benefits. Health advisors should be aware of the nutrition health needs for their citizens. This will help peasant farmers or local citizens to plan well for their plantations and harvests for domestic use.People should be advised to import and look for the most nutritious food plants. In addition, well-balanced meals and nutrients help boost the body immunity. Before you fall sick, the body defense mechanism tries to fight off the infection. When you feed well, you equip your immune cells with strength to defend your body from any foreign aggression caused by bacteria, viruses or toxins. It should be well-known that malnutrition is one of the major factors that diminish the strength of immune cells or immune system. A good nutrition policy is an important health protector in the society.