If you want to live your happiest and healthiest life, you must realize how much control you have over how you feel. The choices you make every day affect your health. Whether you are focused on prevention of a specific disease or you just want to feel your best, making changes in your diet is one of the easiest ways to improve your fitness and health. Likewise, eating poorly is the quickest path to sickness and a low-quality life.

Why is nutrition important for overall fitness and health?

Improves Endurance

Eating right and supplying your body with the nutrients it needs heightens your endurance. This is especially important if you are an athlete or your hobbies are physical in nature, but even casual fitness buffs should care about endurance.

The more you are able to do the better you feel. When you can push yourself longer and harder during a workout you will experience greater benefits. Proper nutrition makes exercise as beneficial as possible.

Builds Immunity

Eating right makes you stronger in terms of fitness, but it also strengthens other things about your body. When you have a nourished body it is better able to defend itself against sickness. Good nutrition improves your immunity, so you suffer from fewer minor illnesses.

Helps You Combat Existing Disease

In addition to the minor ailments you avoid when you are eating right, you are also able to ward off serious diseases that have yet to occur, and manage those from which you currently suffer. Nutrition helps you improve your immunity and gives you the strength to battle your current ailments.

Some research has shown a vegetarian diet is helpful for those battling fibromyalgia. Researchers believe this is due to the increased intake of antioxidants. Studies have also shown plant-based diets are effective in combating the growth of cancer cells for the same reason.

In addition to this research, most health professionals agree that a healthy diet improves health conditions for a person suffering from heart disease or Type 2 diabetes. In both cases achieving a healthy weight plays a role, but there are also benefits regarding cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Even when changes are not as drastic as switching to a plant-based diet, research has shown eliminating processed foods plays a significant role in improving health.

Increases Cognitive Function

Good nutrition is an important part of cognitive function. Research shows children who eat healthy perform better in school. The entire public school meals program is built around this premise. A starving brain is incapable of learning, while a well-fed brain exposed to proper nutrition performs at optimum levels.

Improves Quality of Life

Overall, good nutrition is the key to a happy, healthy life. When you feed your body well it responds well. There is a strong connection between your actions and how you feel on an everyday basis. If you are struggling with any problems, be they health related or otherwise, take time to evaluate your current state of nutrition. Improving your diet might not solve all of the problems you face in life, but it will surely make you better able to deal with those problems.