Health is the real wealth for human beings as a whole however this wealth needs proper care and maintenance which you can provide through healthful diet habits and a healthy lifestyle. You can easily understand the importance of diet for your health with the fact that the deficiency of needed amount of nutrients in the body can cause you to suffer from chronic diseases and even death sometimes.
As per the report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) approx. 50% death rate in the US caused by cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer which were closely associated with vital nutrient deficiency and wrong food choices.
So it is very important to understand the concept of healthy and unhealthy diet not only for your survival but in a more precise term for a healthy and long lasting survival. Diets that you eat every day are the ultimate source of energy and nutrition for your organs and tissues needed for their smoother functionality.
A well-balanced diet, boost your immune system, promotes healthy and faster growth and protects you against infection, frequent fatigue and chronic disease which grow and develops rapidly in the lack of proper nutrition level in the body.
You can increase the importance of a healthy and balanced diet by combining it with a structural daily physical routine for your well being. This kind of healthy lifestyle habits will help you to lead an active and successful life in all respect.
When a healthy diet routine is combined with a planned workout routine it helps you to maintain healthy body weight by preventing rapid and unusual weight gain which is the second largest health concern around the world.
People who are overweight or obese are more likely develop chronic health concerns very easily at the very early stages of their life such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, osteoporosis and many more.
While discussing the importance of diet for your health you must understand as well as consider the fact that eating healthy also emphasizes to avoid those food choices which are health-wise absolutely bad, such as excess sugar and salt additive foods.
These foods primarily give invitation or create favorable condition for the growth for minor to major health concerns. Whereas their health values are almost nil so there is no meaning to eat them if you are truly a health conscious person.
A balanced diet will be well a wise combination of all types of naturally grown and grass-fed diets which will fulfill the necessity of vital nutrients in your body such as Vitamin A, B, C, E, K, Iron, Zinc, Selenium, Calcium, Protein, etc.
Important Dietary factors and their Health Impacts
Below we have enlisted important ten dietary factors or sources and their associated health risk under the condition of their deficiency.
- Excess Intake of unprocessed red meats (more than 3.5 ounces serving in a week)-It can cause 0.4% of cardiometabolic deaths.
- Lesser intake of polyunsaturated fats (Less than 11% of calories especially when taken as a replacement of refined carbohydrates and saturated fats)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 2.3%.
- Lesser consumption of whole grains (Less than 2.5 servings in a day)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 5.9%.
- Excess Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (Any intake limit is risky for health)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths 7.4%.
- Very low level of fruit intake (Less than 3 servings in a day)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 7.5%.
- Very low amount of vegetable intake (less than 4 servings in a day)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 7.6%.
- Lesser intake of omega 3 fatty foods or fishes (Less than 2 servings of fish in a week)-It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 7.8%.
- Excess Intake of processed meats (Any intake limit is risky for health)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 8.2%.
- Lesser consumption of nuts and seeds (Less than five or 1-ounce servings in a week)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 8.5%.
- Excess sodium intake (Greater than 2,000 mg sodium in a day)- It can cause cardiometabolic deaths by 9.5%.
7 Health Benefits of Eating Healthy Diet
Improves Heart Health
A healthy diet routine consisting of fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and low-fat dairy protects reduces your risk of developing heart diseases by keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol level in check or in a controlled position.
Increased level of blood pressure, as well as high cholesterol level, are dangerous for your cardiovascular system and it can easily cause major heart health issues like coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, arrhythmias, and heart attack.
Heart diseases are the biggest cause of death around the world every year and men are the greater victim of this disease with comparison to women. A healthy and balanced diet also helps you in maintaining your body weight to the normal level by keeping your high calorie and fat intake rate in check.
Being overweight or obese your risk of developing heart disease increases by tenfold. However, this risk can be subsided by maintaining a restricted diet routine which will be a balanced combination of all necessary nutrient sources which are healthy for your heart health and for reducing and balancing your weight at a proper level.
High blood pressure or high cholesterol issues are primarily caused by excess salt and saturated fats intake as these are two primary triggers for these health conditions. So your diet routine must exclude all the diets which are loaded with excess salt or saturated fats.
One important food which is primarily considered for improving heart health and often recommended by the professional dieticians is fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
Sea fishes such as salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, sardines, lake trout, etc, are some prominent omega 3 fatty fishes which you must include in your diet routine at least 2 to 3 servings in a week is must for every individual if they want to keep their health in healthy working position.
Cardiovascular diseases are spreading like an epidemic around the world and the number of death caused by this health concern is increasing year by year which creates a necessity to make awareness among people that they can protect their life and health by little chances in their lifestyle as well as in their diet habits.
Along with healthy and heart-friendly food intakes, you should also focus on cardio exercises which are best and safe for improving your heart functionality. Daily cardio workouts at least for 20 to 25 minutes are enough to keep your blood circulation level in heart and other organs in a smother and healthier way.
Some small daily life activities such as walking, stair climbing, jogging, running, skipping, swimming, cycling, etc are nothing but the cardio exercise which you can do anywhere without joining a gym or necessity of using the special workout equipment.
So improve and balance your heart with little bit extra consciousness regarding your dietary intake and your physical activities and live longer as well as healthier.
Reduces Your Cancer Growth Risk
Unhealthy diet routine or deficiency of vital nutrient in the body increases your risk of developing certain types of cancer in the body which is again a life-threatening condition just like the heart disease.
Lack of nutrition in diets and unhealthy foods intake such as processed foods or packaged foods which have high added sugar and salt level can damage your health anyways. Also, it causes you to gain weight rapidly which again increases the risk of some kind of cancer.
Excess fat accumulation in body especially fat in the abdominal area gives birth to several kinds of health concerns cancer is one of those health risks. However one can reduce their weight to the healthy level by changing their diet routine and by avoiding the consumption of high sugar and salt added diets and drinks.
As per the report of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, obesity-induced cancer count is increasing rapidly which can cause an advanced level of cancer in which treatment process is very complicated and risky.
In this context, a healthful diet routine consisting of fresh and seasonal fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich diets, legumes, nuts, can protect you against the growth of many types of cancer. It was found in a study conducted in the year 2014 that changes in diet have reduced the growth risk of colorectal cancer, liver cancer, etc.
This particularly gets possible because many fruits, nuts, and vegetables are rich in antioxidant properties which prevent the growth of cancerous cells by protecting cells from damaging and also by protecting against the attack of free radicals damages induced cancers.
Make Bones and Teeth Stronger
A calcium-rich diet in your day to day diet routine helps to make your bones and teeth stronger and prevent the aging-related bone loss and its related health concerns. Low-fat dairy products such as milk and milk made products are the ideal sources of calcium.
Apart from milk, some other healthy sources of calcium include dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, kale, fruits juices, soy products, cereals, certain fishes such as tinned salmon (with bones), pilchards, sardines, etc.
Apart from calcium, Vitamin D is another vital nutrient for maintaining and boosting your bones and teeth health. It prevents aging-related bone deterioration issue such as osteoporosis, arthritis, etc by strengthening them from inside.
Vitamin D stimulates the calcium absorption ability of your body so along with calcium-rich diets one should also focus on more Vitamin D rich diets sources for stimulating their overall bones and teeth health.
Sun is the purest and best source of Vitamin D which is vital for boosting your bones and teeth strength. So everyone must spend some time under sun rays to grasp Vitamin D nutrient for them. Sun rays of early morning time are the most beneficial and safe for your health.
The dietary sources of Vitamin D include fortified cereals and oily fishes. With increasing age, the bone density and strength automatically started to shred with each year which needs external support for maintaining the bone mass density. This requirement can be fulfilled with regular calcium and vitamin D rich diets intake.
Magnesium is another vital mineral for maintaining bone mass density and preventing aging-related bone and teeth diseases in the body. Magnesium-rich diet intakes also fulfill the Vitamin D deficiency in the body and prevent the mortality rate caused by its deficiency. Some important sources of magnesium include whole grains, green vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Control and Prevent Diabetes
Diabetes is another diet-induced major health concern which develops due to imbalanced and unhealthy diet routine habit. People who are overweight or obese especially having excess abdominal fat have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than the people with normal body weight.
This means by reducing your excessive weight you can control your diabetes level to the normal level and can prevent its growth risk if you have not yet developed this chronic disease.
Lose weight by following low fat and low-calorie diet routine. Also, exercise at least five days a week for 30 minutes to reduce your weight to a healthy level. This will also help you in reducing your high blood sugar level, high blood pressure, and cholesterol level.
Diabetics are required to limit their diet doses in order to cope with their diabetes symptoms otherwise uncontrolled diet intake will elevate your sugar level leading to cause emergency situations. So it’s better to consult with your doctor regarding your dietary limit to know your ideal dietary limit for maintaining.
Also avoids the consumption of added sugar and salt-rich diets such as soft drinks, excess alcohol intake, processed foods, and fried foods high in trans. and saturated fats etc. which can elevate your diabetes level.
Stimulates Gut Health
A healthy diet routine is also beneficial for improving your gut health. Your colon is full of beneficial bacteria which stimulate your gut health by fighting with harmful or dangerous bacteria and viruses. Also, it naturally produces vitamin B and K which is good for your gut health as it stimulates the digestion process which is a vital function of the human body.
However when you consume unhealthy foods such as diets rich in high fat and sugar content then it affects gut microbiome leading to inflammation and its associated symptoms develop in the body.
This issue can be dealt with by avoiding the intake of such gut unfriendly foods. Also, you can boost your gut health by eating more green vegetables, fresh fruits, fiber-rich diets, legumes, whole grains, etc.
These healthy foods are good sources of prebiotics and probiotics which stimulate the growth of good bacteria in the colon that improves your gut health. Fibers are good sources of prebiotic which you can get through fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, etc.
Fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, and kimchi are healthy sources of probiotics. Fiber-rich foods are also beneficial for improving your bowel movement which prevents your risk of developing diverticulitis and bowel cancer.
Controls Your Weight
Foods are the ultimate source of excess fat accumulation and weight gain in the body which is the root cause of many chronic health issues. However, by following a balanced diet routine including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and a moderate level of low-fat dairy products, unsaturated fats, and meat, can help you to keep your weight in a balanced level.
Also one should avoid the consumption of high fat and sugar loaded diets which are the leading cause of weight gain. Also, a well-balanced diet routine must be backed by regular exercise routine as it will stimulate your weight loss goal.
A restricted diet routine not only helps you in getting your desired weight but also help in keeping it off permanently. By lowering your weight to the healthy level you can ensure healthy heart health, can reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol level and reduce the risk of diabetes disease.
Also, excess body weight can cause you to grow some types of cancer. However, by maintaining your weight to the healthy limit with the help of a planned and balanced diet routine, you can prevent the growing risk of all the chronic health concerns.
Boosts Your Mental Health
A healthy diet routine is not only beneficial for your physical health but it is equally beneficial for improving your mental health as well. There is scientific evidence, which proves that certain diet intakes work as a natural stimulant for improving your mood by increasing the level of feel-good hormones in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin.
Likewise, a balanced and healthy diet routine helps in coping with major mental health concerns such as depression, stress, anxiety, etc. Also, it prevents aging-related memory loss problem by increasing the growth of new brain cells even at an older age.
Foods which are good for brain health include whole grains, whole fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fatty fishes, and Mediterranean diets, etc. Also, some foods can elevate your mental health condition in worst position so these must be avoided. Foods that are unhealthy for your mental health include diets loaded with high glycemic value such as cakes, soft drinks, refined carbohydrates, white bread, biscuits, etc.
In the major cases of depression, dementia, and other mental health concerns medical help must be taken to avoid its chronic symptoms growth risk along with maintaining a healthy diet routine.
The above-mentioned points are quite enough to make you understand the importance of diet for your health. So follow the diet suggestion mentioned in this article for living a healthful life without any dependency on medications or medical treatments.
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- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322268.php
- https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/food-and-nutrition/eating-well/health-benefits-of-eating-well
- https://www.pritikin.com/how-important-is-diet-to-your-health
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