Functional nutrition goes beyond simply counting calories and ensuring a balanced diet; its focus lies in fueling the body with natural sources, improving digestion, immunity, and energy levels while increasing physical stamina. Start by eating whole, unprocessed foods as close as possible to their natural state, and don’t forget to stay hydrated! Drinking enough water can boost energy and protect against health problems.
1. Listen to Your Body
A personalized functional nutrition plan takes an integrative approach to health by emphasizing whole foods and tailoring its offerings specifically to each person’s individual needs. A plan will account for any deficiencies, digestive health concerns, genetic predisposition, or lifestyle factors as part of its plan.
Make an effort to observe how different foods affect you; take note of which ones boost energy and which ones make you feel drained. Aim for whole foods closest to their natural state, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins. Water consumption helps combat dehydration, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy brain functioning.
2. Focus on Whole Foods
Functional nutrition takes an individual approach to diet. Instead of advocating one singular nutritional philosophy for all, functional nutrition provides tailored dietary solutions tailored to each person and tailored to help prevent and treat chronic diseases. Focusing on whole, nutrient-rich foods while taking into account each person’s physiological makeupand lifestyle needs, functional nutrition offers tailored diet solutions tailored specifically for you.
When creating a functional nutrition plan, it’s essential to focus on whole foods rather than processed ones with preservatives or added sugars. Include nutritious fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds along with lean proteins in your meal plans for maximum effectiveness. Make sure to hydrate properly, as this will aid digestion and decrease cravings for unhealthy snacks. Take your time to enjoy meals while keeping meal timing considerations in mind.
3. Hydrate
Hydration is essential to cell health, and people who become dehydrated can suffer symptoms such as fatigue, bloating, headaches, and lack of energy. Health coaches can assist clients in creating sustainable hydration habits, such as sipping a glass of water right when they wake up and carrying around a water bottle with them throughout their day.
Hydration needs may differ based on individual factors like activity level, temperature/humidity conditions, health conditions, and medications taken. Aiming for half of your body weight in ounces per day in water and other hydrating beverages should help ensure you remain properly hydrated. Make the task of drinking fluids more appealing by adding fruit such as strawberries, mint, or cucumber slices into your fluid intake regimen.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Functional nutrition plays a vital role in supporting healthy sleep. This involves addressing common sleep challenges like fatigue, poor workout performance, and difficulty falling asleep, as well as making sure clients consume foods rich in micronutrients that may be lacking according to nutritional assessments (iron, B12, vitamin D3, calcium, and zinc).
Functional nutrition emphasizes gut health as an integral component of immune function, so this means selecting natural and organic sources of food that support diversity in gut bacteria composition and boost immunity.
5. Move More
Movement is key to maintaining good health and reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease. Moving more each day doesn’t just involve hitting the gym or joining a new sport; even for avid exercisers, sitting too much throughout the day can undermine its benefits by increasing insulin resistance, poor blood sugar control, high levels of triglycerides, and chronic diseases. Here are some strategies you can employ each day:
Try standing while talking on the phone or using a stand-up desk if possible, as well as considering active commuting like walking or biking for shorter trips (if feasible).
6. Support Your Gut
An optimal gut microbiome is essential to proper digestion, hormone balance, and immune health. Thankfully, you can support it with various food choices! Functional nutrition emphasizes whole food sources and takes an integrative approach, tailoring advice specifically for individuals’ sleep cycles, stress levels, and lifestyle considerations.
An individual with high inflammation levels might require more anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, leafy greens, and berries, while those suffering from low energy might benefit from more carbohydrate-rich whole grains and fruits.
7. Focus on Healthy Fats
Functional nutrition can seem intimidating at first, as many perceive it to mean simply taking supplements and restricting major food groups. But in reality it means going back to basics, paying attention to your body, and eating mindfully.
Functional nutrition involves assessing your client’s current diet, health history, food sensitivities, nutritional goals, and genetics to create a customized approach. Focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods that fit individual needs can help optimize nutrition and address root causes of health issues while reframing their relationship between food and their bodies—and you! Plus, it’s completely customizable. Let’s get going—here are some simple and sensible functional nutrition principles that should help get you underway!
8. Get Enough Vitamins and Minerals
Your body requires vitamins and mineral nutrients in order to function normally, such as vitamins A, C, E, and K, as well as folate/folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, and cobalamin.
Diet is by far the best way to obtain essential vitamins and minerals. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low-fat dairy is ideal; taking supplements may cause side effects such as nausea or fatigue over time. A functional nutrition plan views your entire body as an interconnected system and takes lifestyle factors into consideration to create a tailored food and supplement plan that best meets your individual needs.
9. Keep It Fun
Functional nutrition emphasizes a personalized and sustainable approach to eating that recognizes food as medicine while still remaining fun and enjoyable—for instance, enjoying meals with family or friends over fast-food outlets like KFC or choosing grilled over fried options and opting for yogurt parfaits over ice cream sundaes as dessert.
Functional nutrition involves considering your body as an interconnected system and taking into account factors like sleep, stress management, and physical exercise to promote overall wellness. By following these basic guidelines, you can start building a personalized nutrition plan!
