Long live the resistance
Dull hair, a limp feeling, a persistent cold that just won’t go away. If you are passionate about losing weight, there is a chance that you lose sight of the balance in healthy food. The result: vitamin deficiency, little energy and more prone to diseases.
If you eat enough and varied, you will get enough nutrients. If you eat less, you will be deficient. That is precisely the intention for carbohydrates, proteins and fat. Because of this you will use your fat reserves and you will lose weight. But a lack of nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, you have to avoid. This leads to a reduced resistance.
Your resistance ensures that bacteria and viruses that enter the body are combated and do not make us sick. And if we do get sick, a good resistance ensures a faster recovery. But how do we keep our nutrients, and therefore the resistance, at the right level during dieting?
Not too strict
The Vitamin Information Bureau knows what to do. “If you stick to the recommended food intake schedule and choose the leanest form of it while dieting, you will lose weight in less calories exceed the energy requirement, but still get enough vitamins”, the agency states. “The general rule remains: do not go on a diet too strict. The chance that you will keep it up is small and the chance of vitamin deficiencies increases. And whatever diet you follow, always try to stay healthy and varied.”
Take care of your body
The most important advice: eat enough vegetables and fruit. Broccoli, spinach, mushrooms and cabbage, for example, provide an antioxidant boost. And fruit is full of vitamin C. Strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit or kiwis; all delicious and healthy. However contradictory if you want to lose weight, our body also needs fats. So eat a small hand every now and then nuts for the good fats, minerals and vitamins and once a week Fatty fish. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water! Those two liters of water and herbal teas that are always recommended with a diet don’t come out of the blue.
Helping hand
In a diet where you do not meet the recommended amounts for foods, a (multi) vitamin supplement is worth considering, according to the Vitamin Information Bureau. Choose a variety that contains around 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals. This way you can be sure that you are getting enough of all important nutrients.
In a period when there is a lot of cold, you can also choose to give your resistance an extra boost with a resistance-enhancing supplement with, for example, echinacea or elderberry.
intestines
By the way, did you know that 80 percent of the immune system takes place in the gut? This is regulated by the intestinal flora, the collective name for the good and bad bacteria in the intestines. Normally, the good and bad bacteria are in balance. If this balance is disrupted by unhealthy or one-sided eating, a antibiotic treatment or laxatives, a probiotic may help. Probiotics consist of beneficial bacteria that restore the natural balance in the intestinal flora and strengthen the resistance in the intestines. They are available in powder or capsules and in the well-known yogurt drinks.
