It is needless to say that our life depends on our food, what kind of food, what amount of food we eat everything affects our wellbeing. Several studies show the sound and adverse effects of our food on our minds and physical health. 

Not only food but a little bit of exercise can bring monumental change in overall aspects of our lives. According to Columbia University, the three most widespread causes of death in the US are heart disease, stroke, and cancer. 

And all of these are linked to our diet. To prevent any cardiovascular disease, doctors suggest that we need to keep our blood cholesterol low. These can be achieved with the right kind of food and exercise. 

Why is eating healthy important? 

According to recent trends, like keto foods, anyone will tell you that you may need to add quinoa to your food and avoid cheese or coconut oil. Changing our food habits altogether may do more harm than good. 

In some parts of the world, rice is the staple food in some parts; it may be anything made of wheat. These food trends are built over the years and have reasons behind them, like the atmosphere that typically grows everything. 

You need to tweak your food amount and the salt and sugar content. Eating healthy should be your utmost priority if possible. As mentioned, it affects our minds and body both. 

Some food causes heartburn; some food calms our mind, whereas particular food makes our blood rush. All of this is possible because our food is full of information. 

There is a saying we are what we eat. 

The food we eat shapes our minds and behaviour at large. If we consume meat daily, we can feel agitated, whereas if we eat fruits more, we will feel relaxed and calm. Another study says food full of vitamins and minerals can decrease the chance of mental disorders. 

Of course, many people who eat meat for heat, like in cold countries, can’t reduce meat consumption overnight, nor is it recommended. When we want to change our diet plan, we should take it slow and consult a good dietician. 

Sometimes out of peer pressure, we try extreme and restrictive diets that are not sustainable in the long run. We should eat well, that’s true, but we should also like it. 

Consumption of healthy food and unhealthy food:

In simpler terms, anything closer to nature is healthy, and anything processed can be unhealthy. The more you add processed food to your platter, the more it becomes harmful to your body. The preservatives are as low as they can harm your body in the long term. That’s why processed, semi-cooked meat can be more dangerous than the actual meat itself. 

In the urban lifestyle, the tendency to depend on packaged foods is alarming. In a study, processed meat can increase the level of carcinogen in your body. Even fast foods like burgers or sweetened beverages like coke can be the primary reason for cardiovascular diseases. 

This is why many doctors suggest sticking more to whole foods. It means eating food close to its normal form. A plant-based diet can also be the long-term solution as it is seen that a plant-based diet can reduce the risk of heart diseases by 16 per cent. Maybe it’s because plant-based foods are rich in potassium. 

Also, you need to keep in mind that food is not our enemy but our friend, so you can always eat nuts or raspberries, which will satiate your taste buds and benefit your body. 

The relation between nutrition and disease: 

When we eat food, it goes through our digestive system and gives us energy. The process involves taking vitamins and minerals from food and distributing it in every part of our body, from coronary arteries to muscles in our heart. 

Our heart can pump harder to take more energy, depending on what we eat. It eventually can cause a heart attack. Salt and sodium play a critical part in our heart attacks. 

When we consume more salty food, our body will retain more water, and it causes more blood to flow, and the heart to work more eventually may become the reason for heart attack. 

Taking a diet high in saturated trans-fat will increase bad cholesterol in your body. It causes plaque to form in the inner side of the blood vessels. It forces the heart to pump more blood through narrowed channels, increasing the chance of cardiovascular diseases. 

Similarly, it is proven by various studies that when more colour and preservatives are added to the food, it increases the cancer tendencies to increase by 10 per cent. But if you consume healthy fats like olive oil, it can reduce the risk of heart diseases in your body.

Poor nutrition and how it affects our body:

When we deprive the body of its nourishment, it can lead to poor nutrition and cause various alignments like stroke or cancer. Inadequate nutrition can also be caused by eating the wrong type of food. 

Like eating foods full of salt and sugar or consuming too much, packaged foods can be the reason for poor nutrition. It can also be caused by overeating as you are eating more than your body needs. 

In the short term, poor nutrition can cause tiredness unable to work; in the long-term poor nutrition can cause,

• Tooth decay
• High cholesterol
• Cancer
• Depression 
• Eating disorders
• Diabetes 

Conclusion:

We all know that healthy eating can change our lifestyle and help us live longer, but we can’t change our lifestyle overnight. We can slowly put more veggies into our food or start eating fruit salad in the morning or eating less salty foods. 

It can be anything. Even a small change has enormous potential to alter our lifestyle. Who doesn’t want to live healthily and happily. The difference is between conscious choice rather than obligatory lousy eating.