The Importance of Diet for Overall Health Goes Beyond Just Weight

You know your diet is important. You try to eat well, paying attention to essential nutrients and the number of calories you consume. But despite all your efforts, at times it can still be difficult to maintain a healthy weight and keep up your energy level. Maybe you feel sluggish fairly often, or are have trouble sleeping. Perhaps you get irritable without good reason more often than you’d like, or are having trouble maintaining a healthy sex drive. All of these symptoms may mean that despite your efforts, your diet is not quite working for you. Your diet’s effect on your body is much more complicated than the relationship between calorie consumption and weight—it also influences a number of other essential bodily processes, such as your hormone production. And new research suggests that what exactly constitutes a healthy, balanced diet may differ based on your individual needs. Read more…