The reason, scientist think, lies in the balanced nutrition the French consume compared with the American diet.

Americans eat meat in the morning, in the form of bacon, ham or sausages with eggs, another animal protein. They eat meat at lunch, when they are pressed for time and grab a hamburger (again meat and white flower bun) and they eat meat at dinner as well. All the while drinking coke and other sugar laden drinks.

The French eat croissants in the morning. They do not drink huge amounts of carbonated sweet drinks but they drink red wine which has, as it been discovered lately by the Americans, antioxidant and Resveratrol which is beneficial to the cardiovascular system and protects the body against tumors. On top that the Americans are more stressed and work harder and longer than any other nation except Japan.

Because of that, proper nutrition is of the utmost importance. Proper nutrition help in reducing the risk of illness, it improves the body’s immune system, it help us maintain optimal weight (optimal for our bodies that it, not for the pages of fashion magazines). It’s hard to get fit or exercise when you do not eat right and your body works twice as hard to muster the energy to break down harmful additives and not much is left as fuel for the muscles.

When we are eating a balanced and nutritional meals our skin looks better, nails grow stronger and hair becomes shinier. When we look good, we feel good, we are happier, and the brain is clearer. Our memory benefits, our vision gets better and over all we improve the quality of our lives.

With so many diets on the market and gyms in every corner, the question that keeps coming up is, why? Why is this generation so overweight when we have all those new exercise techniques and sport research to maximize the exercise effectiveness?
The simple answer is nutrition. People just do not know how to eat right.

Eating right doesn’t mean skipping meals. It does not mean avoiding certain foods all together. A Balanced nutrition means you should have a little of every food group; proteins, carbohydrates and fat. Balanced nutrition has to include all three, plenty of water, and vitamins and minerals. But on that a bit later.

The objective of a correct nutrition is to supply and maintain the body with the elements it needs for healthy normal function. Thus, if you avoid completely one of those ingredients you are not getting the nutrition you need.

Many articles have been written about the Atkins diet for example. Dr. Atkins believed that the fat content in our food is not the reason why we are overweight. In his opinion the culprit is the carbohydrates. Under his guidelines you could eat all the fat and proteins you like, but eliminate the carbs almost completely.

People did lose weight on his diet, but did they become healthier? No, they became slimmer and sicker. The huge amounts of animal protein they were consuming contributed to a dangerous rise in cholesterol levels, which is an unwanted outcome.

Nutrition is not about weight but about health. A balance diet has to include a lot of vegetables and fruit, which do contain carbs. A balanced nutrition has to supplement all the body systems and keep them in optimal working order.

Since most vegetables and fruit in our modern, hurried world are not grown organically or without pesticides, herbicides or hormones, fruit and vegetables do not contain the amount of vitamins they used to. Our society lives on processed foods that are easy to eat, and fast to digest but they do not supply the body with the vitamins it needs.

Recent research in the United States showed that most people, especially children, have a deficiency in Vitamin D. It might be caused by an unbalanced nutrition or it might be caused by not enough time in the sun. Now that we have discovered how harmful the sun is to our skin, we cover ourselves with clothes and sun blocks. We stay indoors during daylight hours in offices and closed spaces where the air is forced in by machines but the sun doesn’t shine. Now the doctors recommend loading ourselves with huge amounts of Vitamin D to make up for the loss.

This would have been avoided had we kept a balanced nutrition that includes fresh produce, meat, fish, grains and some outdoor activity. Good nutrition is the most important element to a healthy, happy and active life.