What's your beverage of choice? If you said water, then congratulate yourself for recognising its importance in maintaining your body's fluid balance. It is said that water is the body's most important nutrient. The body needs more water each day than any other nutrient. Without water you can survive only few days. Water has been recognised for a number of functions in the body involving the transportation of nutrients, the participation in metabolic reactions, the maintenance of body function, and the regulation of body temperature.  Research shows that water may affect mood and concentration. Results in a recent study indicated that mild dehydration in females increased perception of task difficulty, lowered concentration, and increased headache symptoms. In this study, 25 healthy females (age 23 ± 0.6 y) participated in 3 experiments separated by 28 days. In 2 of these dehydration was induced via walking on a treadmill with or without a diuretic pill.

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Η υγεία είναι το πολυτιμότερο αγαθό και οι διατροφικές συνήθειες είναι ένας από τους παράγοντες που την επηρεάζουν. Έρευνες έχουν δείξει ότι η διατροφή συσχετίζεται με κάποιες παθήσεις όπως διαβήτης και στεφανιαία νόσο. Πόσο άραγε τρώμε?Γνωρίζουμε τους βασικούς κανόνες της υγιεινής διατροφής?Πόσο συχνα γυμναζόμαστε?

 4 στους 10 ‘Ελληνες έχουν πρόβλημα βάρους. Σύμφωνα με την επιστημονική ορολογία, η παχυσαρκία είναι η συσσώρευση λίπους στο ανθρώπινο σώμα πέραν της ποσότητας που είναι απαραίτητη για την ορμονική λειτουργία του. Στους ενήλικες η εκτίμηση της παχυσαρκίας γίνεται με τη βοήθεια του Δείκτη Μάζας Σώματος (Δ.Μ.Σ.), που προκύπτει από έναν μαθηματικό τύπο που είναι η συνάρτηση του βάρους και του ύψους. Εάν ο Δ.Μ.Σ είναι πάνω απο 25 τότε θεωρείται ότι είμαστε υπέρβαροι και θα πρέπει να χάσουμε κάποιο βάρος όσο είναι νωρίς πριν καταλήξουμε παχύσαρκοι.

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A number of people skip breakfast either due to limited time or because they think that it will help them lose weight. A healthy breakfast is an important part of balanced diet and everybody should have breakfast every day. Breakfast cereals are the major source of whole grains in the American diet. Cereals contain important nutrients such as minerals,vitamins, and fiber all of which have been linked with lower risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition cereals contain phenolic acids and phytoestrogens which have found to have health benefits. Higher intake of whole grain breakfast cereals is associated with lower risk of heart failure. In addition, increased consumption of cereals in males found to decrease the risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. More to the point, cereal consumption may play a role in maintaining a healthy BMI and adequate nutrient intake. It is important to highlight that the consumption of cereals facilitates milk consumption leading to increased calcium intake. To conclude, there is no doubt that by having breakfast cereals we could maintain a healthy diet and possibly prevent chronic diseases. So....go for breakfast cereals. Live better, live longer!!!

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Iliana Papadopoulou was born and grew up in Athens. Αt the age of 14, she had already decided that she wanted to become a dietitian. In September 2006, she went to Teesside University and studied a preliminary year of science and in 2011 she graduated with an Honours degree in Nutrition obtained from Queen Margaret University, a course which is recognised by the Voluntary Register of Nutritionists with the Association for Nutrition (AfN). Iliana is a registered associate Nutritionist and holds a PgDip in Diabetes and and MSc in Dietetics. 
She has worked as a volunteer promoting healthy eating, educating the public how to choose nourishing foods that improve overall health, and raising the awareness of the risk factors associated consuming an unhealthy diet. She has also volunteered in a Greek magazine 'Vita' as a registered nutritionist answering questions regarding health and diet which were raised by the public. Currently she is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and working as a dietitian in the NHS.

H Ηλιάνα Παπαδοπούλου γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε στην Αθήνα. Στην ηλικία των 14 χρόνων αποφάσισε πως ήθελε να γίνει διαιτολόγος. Τον Σεπτέβρη του 2006, πήγε στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Teesside όπου ολοκλήρωσε με επιτυχία ένα προκατακτικό χρόνο στις θετικές επιστήμες και το 2011 αποφοίτησε από το Πανεπιστήμιο Queen Margaret ως διατροφολόγος.  Έιναι κάτοχος του διπλώματος ‘Diabetes’ και κατέχει μεταπτυχιακό τίτλο (μάστερ) στη διαιτολογία στο Πανεπιστήμιο Queen Margaret. Έχει δουλέψει ως εθελόντρια στο Ηννωμένο Βασίλειο ως διατροφολόγος ενημερώνοντας το κοίνο σχετικά με την υγιεινή διατροφή. Επίσης έχει συνεργαστεί με το περιοδικό ‘Vita’ ως διατροφολόγος στο ηλεκρονικό blog του περιοδικού όπου απαντούσε στις ερωτήσεις των αναγνωστών σε θέματα σχετικά με την διατροφή. 

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Nutrition is the science of the nutrients in foods and their actions within the body. Nutrition plays an important role in our life and it is essential throughout the lifespan. Every day, we select a variety of foods to consume that influence our body’s health better or worse. When unhealthy choices are repeated day by day, our health become at a risk. In contrast, when we healthy choices are repeated, our health benefits. Food is a pleasure, and in some countries is a way of socialising spending hours in front of the table. The challenge, then is to combine favourite foods and fun times with a nutritionally balanced diet in order to have a better quality of life, preventing the onset of chronic diseases.  

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