Good nutrition, along with regular exercise and activities that relieve everyday stress, is an essential component to a healthy lifestyle and increasing the quality and longevity of one's life. Individuals who follow a healthy diet are stronger, more productive, more resistant to illness, and generally function at a higher emotional and intellectual level.

Achieving a healthy diet and eating pattern sometimes require assistance. Poor eating habits happen over time, and individuals often develop an addiction to sugary or salty foods as well as to foods that are prepared with too much fat. Nutritionists and dieticians can help identify the pitfalls of poor eating habits, address medical issues such as diabetes or allergies, and design an eating plan to promote healthful benefits such as weight loss, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and improving blood sugar levels.

For more information on this topic, visit
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource