Diet: For a better hygiene of life

With a balanced diet, having gustative pleasure is now possible



Dietetics is a practice that consists of adopting a balanced diet, it aims to help you maintain or regain your ideal weight, preserve or improve your health.

The diet to be followed depends on your metabolism.

The recommended eating plan will therefore vary from one person to another, from one environment to another, from one metabolism to another and so on.

It is therefore important to define all these criteria with a dietician who, after taking note of all these elements, will be able to determine which diet is best for you.

Why adopt a healthy lifestyle?

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can prevent the development of obesity, the source of many chronic diseases that are difficult to get rid of. A healthy lifestyle allows us to take care of our bodies and has an influence on our self-esteem, confidence and motivation.

Our daily behaviours therefore have an impact on the various aspects of our health. Having an optimal lifestyle allows us to protect ourselves against possible pathologies and to improve our quality of life. It is also a factor in longevity.

Nutrition plays an important preventive role in the fight against the development and establishment of diseases while helping you to maintain a healthy mind.

Food, an important pillar for a healthy lifestyle

Being at the heart of a healthy lifestyle, diet is an important factor on which you should focus all your efforts in the quest for well-being. So eat a balanced diet.

What are the recommendations for a better balanced diet ?

1 - Monitor your diet

To do this, it is recommended to limit fatty foods, reduce the amount of sugary snacks and avoid overly salty meals. Refined white sugar and over-processed food products (especially those from the industrial market) should be avoided.

Nutritionists and dieticians strongly recommend eating fruit and vegetables at every meal. If you are not used to it, start by gradually introducing them into your diet in small portions.

Then, over time, increase the portion sizes of these healthy foods by decreasing the portion sizes of foods to be avoided.

2 - Evaluating and satisfying your nutritional needs

In addition, respect your nutrient requirements (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates). Avoid too much or too little nutrients in your diet.

It's all about balance. It is also recommended by nutrition experts to respect meal doses at different times of the day.

So you eat a hearty breakfast, then gradually reduce the doses throughout the day to finish with a light supper.

To help you, you can use various methods from the latest technological developments such as total body mass measurement via biphotonic absorptiometry as well as calorie monitoring to measure your real calorie expenditure.

3 - Variety of pleasures

Favour foods such as fish, vegetable oils, nuts, etc. These are sources of good fats and promote good brain development.

Vary your sources of nutrient intake by maintaining reasonable amounts. This will allow you to continue to enjoy eating, but it won't be a guilty pleasure.

Avoid sources of excess saturated fats such as deli meats, cheese, etc. Also consider limiting your consumption of red meats such as beef.

Avoid addiction to substances such as sugar, alcohol but also hard drugs.

4 - Hydrate well

In addition, it is essential to stay well hydrated. It is therefore recommended to drink enough water at a rate of at least 1.5 L per day. Also moderate your daily consumption of beverages such as soft drinks, tea, coffee, ice cream, etc.

When and for what reasons should I consult a dietician ?

Generally speaking, it is the doctor treating a patient with so-called co-morbidity factors (diabetes, obesity, liver failure, kidney failure, etc.) who refers the patient to a dietician.

1 - Clinical obligations

There are also other clinical situations that may lead a treating physician to refer a patient to a dietetic specialist. Here are some of them:

  • eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, pica, etc.);
  • taking certain medications (cortisone, hormone therapy, etc.) that can affect weight;
  • adapting the nutritional profile after surgery (e.g. bariatric surgery, bowel obstruction, etc.) ;
  • the taking of certain drugs that induce a cessation or reduction of saliva secretion in parallel with sialagogic drug therapy;
  • in the case of anti-cancer therapy because the treatment induces alterations in taste, appetite, deficiencies, etc. ;
  • Dyslipidemia ;
  • patients prone to hypoglycaemia attacks;
  • cancer patients prone to undernutrition and sarcopenia;
  • etc.

2 - Personal initiatives

It is also possible to consult a dietician on one's own initiative. Here are some situations that may lead you to seek the services of a dietician :

  • you lose a lot of weight unintentionally and this is dangerous for your health;
  • you have gained a large amount of weight and you want to reverse the balance before it affects your health ;
  • you wish to carry out a food rebalancing in order to have a better quality of life and a longer lifespan ;
  • you practise sport and would like to achieve particular results in terms of performance, muscle gain, loss of fat, etc. ;
  • you are pregnant and would like to improve your diet for your health but also for a more fulfilling pregnancy;
  • after a certain age because food that is too rich can be harmful to your health;
  • You want to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet but you are afraid of doing it wrong and unintentionally causing deficiencies;
  • etc.

Consulting a dietician allows us to adopt measures that improve our nutritional hygiene and therefore our quality of life. We should not wait for the illness before resorting to the benefits of dietetics because it is often too late and the body has had time to suffer.

Dietetics does not only concern our plates but it is part of a more global framework with other disciplines for a better hygiene of life.

Discover our 10 tips to lose weight and keep fit or make an appointment with our dietician.

Gustative pleasure is a pleasure and must remain so!