Good nutrition is essential to having a healthy body to work at its best. Thanks to the food we consume daily, we nourish our bodies and receive the necessary nutrients for proper function, health, and growth.
The primary function of the digestive system involves a set of digestive processes by which the body breaks down, extracts, and absorbs nutrients it receives through food (1). Our body needs these nutrients for energy, growth, and cell repair.
Good nutrition provides carbohydrates, protein, fats, minerals, vitamins, and water, which our body needs to generate energy to maintain and carry out its functions.
Studies have shown that diet and nutrition play significant roles in our well-being and health. Therefore, what we eat directly impacts our physical well-being, mood, longevity, mental performance, and energy levels (2, 3, 4, 5).
Health Benefits of Good Nutrition
Good nutrition with physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight. Yet, the benefits of good nutrition go beyond weight and include (12, 13):
It may help you live longer
Supports muscles
Boosts immunity
Strengthens bones
Lowers risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers
Supports healthy pregnancies and breastfeeding
Helps the digestive system function
Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight
Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
Improves energy
Manage stress better
What is a Healthy Diet?
A healthy diet should focus on getting nutrients to fuel and nourish our body rather than counting calories. Healthy eating means choosing a variety of whole foods to support our health while limiting saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars (11, 14).
We can achieve good nutrition with health-promoting foods, support our gut bacteria, promote healthy weight, and help our immune system fight diseases.
A wide variety of nutritious foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and proteins like beans and legumes, eggs, fish, and chicken.
Noteworthy, good nutrition is more than just calories; one should look for nutrient density in foods. Foods high in calories don't always mean it's unhealthy. For instance, avocados, nuts, seeds, and salmon are high in calories and rich in nutrients that support our health, including omega 3, potassium, fiber, copper, vitamin E, and folate, among other nutrients.
Consequences of Poor Nutrition
When we don't get the proper nutrients for our body, our metabolic processes suffer, and our health declines.
Based on recent studies, ultra-processed foods are related to negative health outcomes, including increased disease risk and shortened life span. They are associated with depressive symptoms among American adults (8, 9).
Diets rich in ultra-processed foods high in calories, saturated fat, sodium, low fiber, and added sugars contribute to weight gain (6).
People with obesity have a significantly increased risk of diseases like heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, kidney disease, sleep apnea, fatty liver, and cancers, including cervical, colon, gallbladder, kidney, liver, ovarian, uterine, and breast cancers (7,10).
Take Action
Characteristics of our diet and habits vary according to cultural, environmental, behaviors, economic, geographical area, and food availability, among other factors. Therefore, changing and acquiring new habits requires acknowledgment, effort, and continuity.
Dietary patterns promoting health benefits consist of diets that emphasize unprocessed plant-based foods, such as vegetables, beans, legumes, fruits, and whole grains, and a variety of protein foods, such as seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds—supported by solid evidence.
To optimize our health, we must take notice of our daily diet and choose foods to obtain the proper nutrients to nourish, preserve and restore health.
References
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