Why is nutrition important? The answer is because all living things need nutrition to survive. You need proper nutrition to stay healthy.If you answer that question why is nutrition important by the way people eat today, you would think it is not very important. Have you ever noticed people eating at various restaurants, some of the people think it is their last meal the way they pile up the food. Maybe they think if I eat a lot of food I will get all the nutrition my body needs. Yea right.Have you noticed what types of foods their consuming? My wife and I went to a buffet style restaurant the other day and I noticed the food section that had a lot of food remaining was the vegetable and salad section; the fried chicken and beef section was constantly running out of food. As they are eating all that food, they are not thinking why is nutrition important to me?Maybe by defining nutrition we can find out why is nutrition important to everyone. In the Dictionary it defines nutrition as “the act or process of nourishing or of being nourished.” Are we nourishing our bodies by over feeding it? In the Encyclopedia it states “For good nutrition a person should eat a well-balanced diet, that is, one that provides an adequate amount of each of the classes of nutrients each day, furnishing at the same time an adequate but not excessive number of calories for the body’s energy needs.”Wouldn’t it be great if every time we ate something, there would some type of voice or indicator stating the benefits or warnings of what we just ate or drank. For example, “Johnny you just ate some fried chicken, from this chicken you getting some protein, but you are getting a whole lot of fat that your body doesn’t need! If that were the case just maybe people would think twice about what they are eating.Aside from the food consumption, do we get enough nutrition from the good foods we do eat? The answer is no because nutrients in our soil have been depleted. The foods we consumed 50 years ago are not the same foods we eat today. So what do we do to get the proper nutrition our body needs? The only way I know of to get the proper nutrition that our body needs is through nutrition supplementation. To be healthy or to stay healthy, it is vital to take nutrition supplementation.
How Do We Determine Nutritional Need?
Today, we’d like to focus on the amount of nourishment and physical exercise our bodies need and how best to accomplish these objectives. It is very important to study and understand our own bodies’ individual needs, in terms of physical needs, caloric intake, and nutritional health. If you know where to look, you will find libraries, doctors, and fitness centers are stocked with nutritional information and guidance for healthy living choices for people of all ages.A healthy body requires nutrition to nurture our bodies and keep them fit and in working order. Every day, the vitamins and minerals we consume in our foods provides us with nutrition we need to thrive.How can we ascertain our individual nutritional needs? Simply by getting more information about our own individual needs and the needs of our loved ones, we can start to make smarter choices on the foods we purchase, prepare, and present to our families.When it comes to day-to-day life, nutrition is defined as what we consume as it relates to what we need to keep our bodies healthy. Thanks to recent participation of the USDA in our daily food requirements and the FDA keeping up the standards of safe eating, nutrition has become more of a common household word.So what actions should we take with regards to nutrition? How can we find out what our nutritional requirements are, how to fulfill them, and in which foods to find the best nutritional value? Nutrition in its own right hasn’t garnered the amount of attention it probably needs. We hear all sorts of buzzwords regarding milk and cereals fortified with vitamins, our daily vitamin intake, and what nutritional value we get from our food choices. But how does all this actually apply to our daily body functions?Our vitamin and mineral requirements frequently outweigh our caloric needs. Here is where supplemental vitamins and minerals are necessary to fill the gap. All these things are part of our basic nutritional needs.Because everyone has individual needs and because there are so many different facets to nutrition, nutrition is a very complex topic. Men and women have very different needs, and even young women’s needs are different from that of older women. Continual education and reevaluation of our nutritional needs as we age is a necessary part of our bodily health.It stands to reason that an athletic middle-aged hiker would have differing nutritional needs from a person who suffered from heart disease. So many different elements factor into our nutritional health, it’s easy to see how it can become so complex. In a perfect world, everyone would have their own scale they could use to determine their bodies’ physical and nutritional needs on a cellular level to recalibrate every so often for optimum nutrition. People need to realize that everyone is different, and a good nutritional education is the key to having our body run as efficiently as it can. The goal of everyone’s life should be good nutrition.
Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?
There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.
In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.
But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.
Different Types of Financing
One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.
Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.
But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.
Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.
Alternative Financing Solutions
But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:
1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.
2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.
3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.
In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:
It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.
A Precious Commodity
Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).
Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.
Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?