March 17, 2024, 2:07 PM General Care & Welfare
A healthy lifestyle has several pillars, of which nutrition and exercise are the most important. And although ‘we’ think we know what is healthy, that is not always the case. Dietitian Karin Herder, who has a practice in Druten on the Klepperheide at TrainBuiten, is committed to increasing knowledge about nutrition. But how do you reach a group of people who are not (yet) open to it?
Although the dictionary defines a dietician as ‘someone who is authorized to formulate dietary prescriptions’, that does not cover it, according to Karin. ‘It’s more about guiding clients who need help. Consider the desire (or need) to lose weight due to type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, but also malnutrition, intestinal problems, fatigue or recovery after an illness. The cases are very diverse. And that also applies to the solutions,” says Karin.
The right nutrition
As little processed food as possible, few sugars, many nutrients and sufficient energy form the basis for a healthy diet. However, the concept of ‘proper nutrition’ can differ per person and per stage of life. ‘To determine what is good for someone, you need a lot of information,’ says Karin. ‘And then it is not just about whether people have health problems, or what medication they use or how much exercise they do, but also about physical characteristics. For example, measuring muscle and fat mass is extremely important to be able to put together tailor-made nutritional advice.’
Food as medicine
Most complaints in the field of health and well-being manifest themselves from the age of forty onwards,’ Karin explains. ‘It is a phase in which people generally become less active. The body has had to do a lot for 40 years, but the organs are starting to age. However, with the right diet you can remedy or at least reduce many complaints. In that respect, food acts as medicine. It does not help with all complaints, but it does help with many. In addition, the right diet prevents certain complaints from developing. It also helps you feel better mentally. After all, the intestines and brain are closely connected.’
Prevention
Why are there still so many people today who experience problems with their weight and/or their eating habits? ‘People still don’t know enough about what is good for them,’ says Karin. ‘We eat every day, but we don’t actually know what we are eating… For example, we have ideas about healthy eating that are not always correct, and at the same time you have food manufacturers who say all kinds of things. You are being misled on all sides, and that is due to insufficient knowledge. It would be great if we could focus on some prevention in the coming years; reach people before they develop complaints. That is what not only I am working on, but fortunately also various organizations with me.’
2024-03-17 13:07:00
#eat #day #dont #eating
