Our nutrition: the basis for a healthy life
Today we are witnessing a "revolution" in health care. More and more people want to take responsibility for their own health. We are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of optimal nutrition and a balanced lifestyle. Conclusion: "Those who eat a balanced diet increase their chances of staying healthy, mobile and mentally fit for longer."
Orthomolecular medicine
Deficiencies and metabolic disorders are compensated by administering the required nutrients as specifically as possible in addition to the daily diet - orthomolecular medicine defines itself as follows:
Orthomolecular medicine - an orchestra of 45 members - is the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease by altering the concentration of substances in the human body that are normally present in the body and necessary for health.
Everyone has individual nutritional needs.
Due to our individual genetic make-up as well as our lifestyle, our daily food intake and other basic conditions, the body's biochemistry works a little differently for each of us. What is sufficient for one person may already be too little for another (e.g. hobby sports - competitive sports). These differences are also noticeable in nutritional factors: for example, eating large amounts of salt triggers high blood pressure in some people, while it has no effect on others.
Too much refined sugar and fat leads to adult-onset diabetes in many people, but not in all. For example, a smoker needs two to three times the amount of vitamin C than a non-smoker.
Tastes are different
Children like different foods than adults. Older people have different energy needs than young people who work physically or do a lot of sports. People who want to lose weight have to follow different rules than people who are underweight. And not everyone wants to live a vegetarian lifestyle and only shop at the health food shop in the future.
Many people are beginning to discover the health-promoting properties of micronutrients - vitamins, minerals and trace elements, fatty and amino acids and secondary plant substances - for themselves, but just as many enthusiastic "micronutrient fans" have already been won over by this form of food supplementation.
Optimal "micro-nutrition" not only has a preventive effect. For most diseases, targeted supplementation with micronutrients in terms of type and dosage can make a significant contribution to optimizing treatment (physiology, efficacy, reduction of undesirable side effects of medication, ...). Optimal nutrition can provide us with drive and energy, increase our physical and mental well-being and generally help us to lead a long, healthy and productive life.
What is the importance of micronutrients?
High-quality micronutrients are not just there "to strengthen a little"! An insufficient supply of micronutrients and a disturbed micronutrient balance of the body lead to performance deficits and promote everyday disease patterns. It is important that the micronutrients, which are supplied as food supplements, are available in exact quantities, produced from high-quality raw materials and in the right form, at the right time and in the right place.
Micronutrients are constantly consumed - they are "broken down" and excreted from the body and need to be replaced quickly. Because most of them cannot be stored in large quantities, smooth operation in the tissues requires a steady, daily supply of nutrients.
What is important is how many nutrients from the food arrive in the cell.
We always assume that everything we eat and drink (incl. micronutrients) automatically reaches the right place in the body (to the cell or organ of success). However, this is not self-evident. From the cell's point of view, it is not decisive how much is "pushed into the mouth" - but how much of a nutrient actually reaches the individual cell.
The Austrian Food Pyramid
Austrian Federal Ministry of Health
The Austrian food pyramid shows what a healthy diet can look like in the best case - varied, wholesome and colourful. The food pyramid provides information on the type and quantity of food and beverages that should be consumed. All foods are allowed if they are in the right proportion to each other.
The food pyramid is based on the building block principle and consists of six food groups and one drink group. The levels of the pyramid indicate how often different food groups should be eaten - the lower a food is in the pyramid, the more and more often it should be consumed. The boxes also represent the number of servings.
In addition, regular physical activity is important and is the ideal complement to diet. Move as often as possible in your daily life to promote your health and well-being in the long term.
Details of the Austrian Food Pyramid
The Austrian food pyramid consists of 7 levels. The first level stands for the foods you should eat every day and the seventh level stands for those you should rarely eat:
- 1 Level: Non-alcoholic beverages - daily
Fluids are vital for the body. However, in order to make healthy choices when it comes to drinks, it is important to keep a few things in mind.
- 2 Stage: Vegetables, pulses & fruit - daily
Vegetables, pulses and fruit contain many important substances such as carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins, minerals and trace elements as well as secondary plant compounds. In addition, vegetables and fruits - with a few exceptions such as avocados and olives - are mostly low in calories and fat. Depending on the variety, they have a high liquid content. Therefore, it makes sense to include apples, pears, peppers & co. in the diet in abundance.
- 3 Step: Cereals & Potatoes - daily
Cereals, cereal products and potatoes are good sources of carbohydrates. Whole grain cereals in particular contain vitamins and minerals, as well as a high proportion of dietary fibre.
- 4 Step: Milk & dairy products - daily
Milk and dairy products contain high-quality protein and are considered a source of calcium and some vitamins (such as vitamin A, B2 and vitamin B12).
- 5 Level: Fish, meat, sausage and eggs - weekly.
Fish and meat provide protein as well as various vitamins and minerals - e.g. iodine, vitamin D (fish) or B vitamins and magnesium, iron and zinc (meat). Fatty sea fish also contains omega-3 fatty acids, and eggs are a good source of protein.
- 6 Step: Fats and oils - daily
One to two tablespoons of vegetable oils, nuts or seeds daily. High-quality vegetable oils include olive, rapeseed, walnut, soya, linseed, sesame, maize germ, sunflower, pumpkin seed and grape seed oils. Use spreads, baking and frying fats (butter, margarine, lard) and high-fat dairy products (whipped cream, sour cream or crème fraîche) only sparingly. Give preference to low-fat preparation methods (e.g. steaming, simmering or grilling). Only rarely deep-fry or bread.
- 7 Level: Fatty snacks, sweets and salty foods - rarely
Processed foods are often particularly high in fat, sugar and salt. These include, for example, sweets, pastries, fast food products high in sugar and/or fat, snacks, nibbles and high-energy drinks (e.g. soft drinks, energy drinks and iced tea).
The following factors mean that nutrient requirements vary from person to person:
- Activity and sporting activity
- Alcohol consumption
- Age
- Occupational and psychosocial environment
- Coffee and tea consumption
- Genetic differences
- Gender
- Contact with environmental toxins
- Illness or surgery
- Lifestyle
- Mental and emotional stress
- Smoking
- absorption problems
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Growth
Cause: Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the general term for an incorrect or insufficiently composed diet. A distinction is made between malnutrition and undernutrition. In both cases, there is a long-term deficiency of important nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
However, there are also deficiencies in the case of overweight - in this case, it is assumed that due to obesity there is a danger that, among other things, fat-soluble nutrients are blocked in the fatty tissue or other tissue and are therefore no longer sufficiently available to the body (e.g. fat-soluble vitamins, iron, ...).
An unbalanced diet (vegi, vegan, etc.) can also trigger a nutrient deficiency.
What is part of a healthy lifestyle?
- To live a healthy life, a balanced diet is not enough.
- You should be physically active every day. Move at least half an hour a day.
- Stand more and sit less (e.g. at the screen, in front of the TV,...).
- Be outdoors every day. Get out into the fresh air.
- Take care of balance and relaxation after stress and hectic.
- Make sure you get enough sleep.
- Do not smoke and drink alcohol in moderation.
What else you should know about micronutrient supplementation.
Die Präparate sollten orthomolekular sein, bedeutet:
- The composition of the product with regard to active substances and excipients should only contain substances that are normally present in the organism and necessary for health.
- Non-physiological, absorbable excipients are avoided wherever possible.
- The active ingredients should have a high degree of biological effectiveness, i.e. be optimally utilized by the body.
- A high ratio of active ingredients to excipients (in some forms of administration this is often not guaranteed, e.g. preservation, flavouring, etc.).
- The dosage of the ingredients must be as natural as possible and measured in such a way that - depending on the objective - a preventive or ad hoc effect can be achieved.
Not without expert advice...
As mentioned at the beginning, everyone has their own individual nutrient needs. In order to determine these and to be able to use supplementation in a targeted manner, we recommend a preliminary discussion with your doctor or pharmacist, who can also offer you the appropriate specialist advice - even if micronutrients are available over the counter. If your current life circumstances are taken into account here, and you only use high-quality and effective products for supplementation, nothing more stands in the way of a sensible nutritional supplementation.
