Nutritional homeostasis refers to your body’s ability to maintain a stable, constant state of temperature and bodily processes. Combining the right amounts of foods, calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and supplements at the proper times helps you achieve nutritional homeostasis. Being deficient in one area can affect your overall level of homeostasis. While it’s difficult to determine when you truly achieve nutritional homeostasis, you can monitor homeostasis through your energy levels, frequency of sickness, recovery patterns and bodyweight management.
Step 1
Consult your doctor or a registered dietitian about your individual nutritional demands. The ability to maintain nutritional homeostasis may change on an individual basis. Factors that can change nutritional demands include body type, gender, activity level and food allergies.
Step 2
Consume the right amount of macronutrients -- protein, fat and carbohydrates -- to support normal body functions. Each macronutrient is responsible for a variety of body functions and must be consumed in the right amounts to keep these functions running properly. A general rule is to consume about 40 percent of the calories from carbohydrates and 30 percent each from protein and fat.
Step 3
Consume the right amount of micronutrients -- vitamins and minerals. Similar to macronutrients, each vitamin and mineral is responsible for various body functions. For example, electrolytes such as sodium and potassium are responsible for muscle function during physical activity.
Step 4
Choose a variety of foods in each of the major food groups. The food groups include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean protein and healthy fats.
Step 5
Eat enough calories to support health, performance and body functions without storing excess body fat. Your total caloric intake should be the same as the caloric expenditure through normal metabolism and physical activity. This helps to maintain a healthy and consistent body weight.
Step 6
Take dietary supplements to complement your overall nutrition plan. The specific supplements will vary based on your nutritional demands. For example, someone with food allergies may need to supplement vitamins and minerals that generally are obtained from those foods.
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