In our lifetime, we keep innovating ideas and inventions to make our life easy. Perhaps, our past lives were too menial compared to the luxury we have now. The luxury of machines and equipment were always on the last periphery. Having said that, those generations never struggled hard to maintain their sanity and live a Healthy life. They were all hail and healthy!

Over the years, our lifestyle has changed by leaps and bounds. Our daily challenges are just a click away and within a fraction of a second, we can always shift our burden to a new gadget. Billions are being spent on innovations that help us lead a better and healthy life yet we’re still far away from calling ourselves healthy.

More and more people are falling prey to lifestyle-related disorders. Despite precautionary measures, good hygiene and timely-vaccination, we are getting trapped in an unhealthy life. What could be the trigger and the possible reason for this? Why are personal development and health falling apart even after trying so hard to make our lives easy?

I encounter a lot of people who complain of vitamin -A, C, D, Iron Deficiency and other lifestyle disorders. Any disease or deficiency takes time to develop, it doesn’t happen overnight. Surely, they must be struggling hard to fill this gap the best way. But our busy lives are making us so mentally and physically exhausted that we don’t pay much attention to daily essentials that we get from a well-balanced meal. Living a normal life itself has turned out to be a luxury now!

I am unsure of how many of us are aware of micronutrients? If you’re someone who’s hearing it for the first time then micronutrient is a chemical element or substance which is required for the normal growth and development of living organisms or in easy terms it’s all about Vitamins and Minerals, Similar to calcium, Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Fluoride, Iodine etc. If you are taking good care of your diet then you don’t need to depend on supplements to fill gaps caused by vitamin deficiency. They should always be the second option. But how many of us can afford a sumptuous and balanced meal together? Hardly anyone! Either time factor, non-availability or source could be the hindrance to getting all the required nutrition.

A recent survey claims that 55% women and 24% men are anaemic (Iron deficiency).What if our children are also getting affected by this micronutrient deficiency?

There is no point in ignoring the fact that these essentials are required at every age. As a mum, I know it’s not easy to make your child eat whatever is healthy. Including green leafy vegetables and salads into your cooking to form a well-balanced meal can be a daunting task. I must confess that I cannot always cook a healthy meal with all the nutrients, though I try my best.

Over the years, I learned that there is absolutely no shortcut to healthy life. If you want to be healthy, the only way is the right way and here’s how you can go about it:

Voluntary involvement
Firstly, you must convince yourself of the positive changes you’re going to make in your lifestyle. Get your facts right on unhealthy lifestyle and how it is detrimental to health. Start with little initiatives and follow them through. Breaking self-made rules will ultimately harm you.

Never skip breakfast
Skipping breakfast or gobbling it down is the major problem that needs to be resolved. You need to invest at least 10-15 minutes while you take your breakfast in the morning. Please make sure the diet is well balanced & that you are not starving yourself to shed a few extra pounds. You should always eat your breakfast like a king!

Healthy Munching
Keep a box of dry fruits or healthy juices to munch on between meals or to kill your hunger pangs. This is one of the healthiest snacks you can always afford to carry around and eat when the hunger strikes.

Drink lots of water
Whether it’s summer, winter or you spend a lot of time in AC environments where you’re rarely thirsty for water, your body does require at least 7-9 glasses of water to stay hydrated. The quantity may vary depending on your weight and height. Keep a bottle with you and make sure you drink at least 2 to 3 litres of water a day even if you are not thirsty.

Limiting tea/coffee
Anything beyond a limit is harmful, the same rule applies to your daily intake of tea & coffee as well. Heavy amount of caffeine can kill a good night’s sleep which would later translate into tiredness. You can switch over to green/organic tea as a substitute.

Sunlight
Stealing few minutes out of your working hours for basking in the sun is important. Nature always heals you better. This will also compensate your Vitamin D intake & boost your energy levels.

Enjoy seasonal fruits
The fear of pesticides in our daily grains and fruits keeps haunting us. Not everyone can afford organic fruits as they are expensive and rarely available. But you can always relish seasonal fruits all throughout the year. They carry minimum chemicals and are healthy for all ages.

Sleep on time
Please switch off your internet connection after a certain period, especially during the night to avoid disturbances. A good sleep is required to recharge your energy levels every day.

But what if we are missing out on these daily regimes and not getting our quota of daily nutrition from a balanced diet? Is there a healthy substitute that can help us in taking better care of ourselves without investing much time?

Recently I attended an event organized by Tropicana where India’s top nutritionists were on a panel discussion. They cleared our doubts about packaged juices and healthy eating and how we can compensate our deficiencies.

Tropicana juices (TROPICANA Essentials-Fruits & Veggies (Source of vitamin A & C with no added sugar and preservatives) can be used as a supplement for micronutrient deficiency. They are nowhere claiming and recommending substituting your staple food with juices but with hectic lifestyles, it can surely help you to balance the micronutrients required by your body.

Although it is recommended to consume 5 servings of fruit and veggies per day, the average intake is only 3.5 creating an average deficiency of 1.5. Just 1 serving (200 ml) of Tropicana Essentials FRUIT & VEGGIES is equivalent to consuming 1 serving of fruits and vegetables thus helping to bridge the nutritional gap.

Getting your daily dose of nutrition just got easier!!

Published at: https://www.tinystep.in/blog/the-balanced-diet-mantra—get-the-essential-nutrients-you-are-missing-out-on!-xyz