Top Health Benefits Of Eating Healthy

The benefits of eating a healthy diet have been widely recognized ever since the 1960s when hospital costs exploded and America started to recognize the importance of a healthy body and mind.

Modern research is constantly proving the benefits of eating nutritious food, which can help you live longer, cleanse your system, boost your immune system, prevent heart disease, improve mental health among other things. 

Top Health Benefits Of Eating Healthy

Here are the great health benefits for everyone to consider

• Food is the Fuel Our Bodies Need

With most processed food containing high-calorie content, a lot of calories from food have to be burned just to digest it. An average-sized American man will eat about 3,500 calories a day, consuming about 36 kilograms of food. If he wants to lose weight he has to eat less – for every 100 calories eaten, only 90 should be stored in the body as fat and 10 should be used as energy for daily activity.

So, if he only burns off 90 calories a day, he will gain around 11.6 pounds of fat in just a year. In contrast, eating healthier can increase your metabolic rate so you can burn more calories and help to shed off excess weight easier.

• Eating More Nutritious Food Helps Prevent Diseases

Even though there are several risks for heart disease in the modern world, an increasing number of people are living long and healthy lives because of the improvements in medicine and technology. However, the importance of eating more healthy food cannot be overemphasised. Studies show that shifting your diet to healthier foods can drastically reduce the chances of getting heart diseases and diabetes.

• Reduces Symptoms Of Stress

While stress is a part of life, studies show it can have an adverse effect on mental health and even health. One study showed that overeating can trigger hypertension and cravings for unhealthy food which affects every aspect of mood – sleep, concentration, appetite and weight control.

• Eating Healthy Offers Relief from Constipation

Those who eat healthily often find relief from constipation. The fibre in a variety of fruits and vegetables works to cleanse the digestive system, moving waste through your body. Compare this to processed foods which often bind the bowels, creating the need for an over-the-counter laxative or stronger medicine.

• Eating Healthy Can Reduce Cholesterol

Eating healthy can reduce your cholesterol levels. Those who eat a high fibre, low-fat diet see cholesterol levels peak and fall to healthy levels. Eating a variety of healthy foods, as well as exercising regularly can keep cholesterol levels in check.

• Eating Healthy Can Help You Lose Weight

Reducing your intake of refined carbohydrates and eating more fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins if you are overweight can help you lose weight. These foods promote satiety which means that your brain will stop making you want to eat more food with these foods.

• Eating Healthy Can Keep You Regular

Eating a diet high in fibre can keep you regular. It may not sound like such a big deal until you have painful, uncomfortable bouts of constipation. Fibre-rich fruits and vegetables will move waste more quickly through your system, keeping you healthy and regular.

• Eating Healthy Can Aid in Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance

Along with eating lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, adding in some simple exercises can help you lose weight and keep it off.

• Eating healthy helps keep your weight in check

If you’re overweight, trimming down to just the right size isn’t as difficult as it may seem at first. Eating healthy is key to getting your weight down, as the excess sugar and fat in junk foods and processed foods can really weigh you down both physically and mentally.

• Eating healthy is great for your digestion.

The more fruits, vegetables and whole grains you eat, the healthier your digestion will be. In fact, people who eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day are much less likely to have digestive issues like gas or bloating than those who don’t get enough fibre in their diets.

• Eating healthy can reduce your risk of a number of different diseases.

People who eat a healthy diet have significantly lower rates of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, which are all major killers in the United States. A Harvard Medical School study know that eating whole grains were linked with a reduced risk of dementia due to age.

• Keep your body healthy for life by eating healthy. 

A diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes provides many health benefits for our body. Eating a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables can give you more antioxidants than drinking green tea extract does. Antioxidants help your body fight off harmful free radicals, which can contribute to conditions like cancer, heart disease and arthritis. 

Eating a variety of fibre-rich foods each day can help you look younger and reduce your risk of colon cancer. A diet that includes a variety of whole grains and legumes helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease. Foods that are high in protein and fibre help your body fight off illness and disease.

Folic acid is a B vitamin that may help prevent certain cancers, especially colon cancer. Folate, also known as folacin, is found in certain foods like leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and beans. Eating more folacin may protect against colorectal cancer. Folic acid protects against breast cancer. B-vitamins and folacin lower homocysteine, which links to cardiovascular disease.

Eating healthy could help you reduce anxiety and depression. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that help fight depression. Eating whole grains helps maintain a healthy mood by providing an adequate level of tryptophan in your diet.

Conclusion

Eating healthy has so many benefits that it’s hard not to benefit from doing so. From the mental peace that comes with eating fruits, veggies, and whole grains every day, to the energy boost you get from drinking plenty of water every day and ditching sugary drinks, these are some major reasons why you should be more mindful when choosing what goes into your body.