The first nutriment mentioned by the Buddha is edible food, which consists of anything that we eat or drink.The food that we consume can either positively or negatively effect both our mental and physical strength, as well as our levels of happiness and suffering. The Buddha gave an example of a couple and their child traveling through the desert,and due to shortages of food, had to eat the flesh of their child in order to make it through the desert. The Buddha then asked his followers if they thought the couple enjoyed eating their sons flesh, in which everyone responded that they could not have. He then said "Yet many people eat the flesh of their parents, their children, and their grandchildren and do no know it." (Buddha) Thich Nhat Hanh then elaborates on the Buddha's statement, by speaking about learning ways to eat that preserves the health of our bodies and mind. He then goes on to say "When we smoke, drink, or consume toxins, we are eating our own lungs, liver, and heart. If we have children that do these things, we are eating our children's flesh." (Thich Nhat Hanh) People need to take a look into how our food in prepared or created, and change it if needed in order to maximize its positive effects on our health. This applies to my life every day, when running for cross country, it is very important to maintain a healthy diet, and drink a lot of fluids. If you do not, you are more prone to cramps, injury, or even not performing to your fullest, letting either yourself or your team down. Not eating properly can lead to both physical and mental suffering, and can easily be prevented with a little knowledge and preparation on the subject. 
The second nutriment is sense impressions, the interactions that our six senses have with our environments. These interactions become a different type of food, a food for our consciousness. (Thich Nhat Hanh) Everyday we expose our minds and bodies to thousands of different stimuli, varying from commercials and magazines, to the stories of happiness and sadness on the news. All of these stimuli cause us to want or desire something in the case of advertisements, or can even cause happiness, sadness, fear, or anger if we hear a news story of a sensitive subject. We need to be careful in what we see, in order too not to let all the bad things we see effect us. We can see examples of this in most of our lives. When a particularly bad event happens, such as a child being kidnapped, there is usually an immediate response from local parents, an increase in the attention and security to their children. We need to learn to balance the good and the bad things that we perceive, in order to maintain happiness and not the fear of the bad things rule the way we live.The third nutriment is intention, the motivation of all of our actions. As Thich Nhat Hanh describes it, "If we think that the way for us to be happy is to become president of a large corporation, everything we do or say will be directed toward realizing that goal." Even if we do not realize it, when we have a goal in mind, all of our mental effort is focused on it, even as we eat and sleep. Another example given by Thich Nhat Hanh is "Or suppose we believe all of our suffering and the suffering around is is brought about by someone who wronged us in the past," we will then focus our lives at getting revenge on that person. What the Buddha taught us, is that most of the time we need to see past these immediate goals that we think will bring us happiness, as they are more often than not obstacles to our happiness. (Thich Nhat Hanh) Most of the time, people need take a step back from their lives for a second when disappointed with something, in order to truly value what they have, or what they have achieved. I remember several times in the past being disappointed with a grade i had earned, and let it upset me. It took a while, but taking a step back, I realized what I had actually accomplished, and became happy with what I had done.
The fourth and final nutriment in our consciousness. Our consciousness is shaped by the various things that we experience throughout our daily lives. Whenever we experience something a lot, our consciousness consumes it and it becomes the substance of our lives. (Thich Nhat Hanh) The Buddha gave an example of a murderer, sentenced to death by being stabbed 300 times. At first, the murderer did not die, so the king ordered him to be stabbed 300 more times. After the man had yet to die, the king ordered him to be stabbed 300 times a third time. This illustrates how our minds deal with the toxins, each time we experience them, it is like stabbing ourselves with 300 knives. (Thich Nhat Hanh) I have experienced this to some degree in school. I was able to just get by on certain classes and exams with no effort, and just never applied myself, because I was able to just get by. In the end, my grades were hurt by this, and I missed out on several opportunities because of my actions.
Buddhist principles can be applied in many ways to my daily life, in order to positively effect the four types of nutriments, and therefor positively effect all aspects of my life. Eating well and avoiding toxins will let me perform to my fullest, and will not result in disappointment, as I did the best i possibly could have, being both physically and mentally strong. By filtering what I watch on TV or the internet, and finding positive sources of information, I can reduce the toxins my consciousness is experiencing, giving me a more positive outlook on life. By taking a step back from my daily life, I can truly form good intentions and a start on a positive road to happiness and the good life. Finally, surrounding myself with good friends, family, and maintaining a strong work ethic, I can reinforce the path to the good life I have established. The teachings of Buddha can be applied to every part of one's life, we just need to take the time to learn and apply them to our individual situations and eventually find our own path to the good life by enhancing the 
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