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Healthy eating is a central part of general wellness. When paired with physical activity, good nutrition can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic ailments, like heart disease and cancer, and promote your overall health.
3 Big Benefits of Healthy Eating
1) Everyday Wellness
Healthy eating affects how you feel on a daily basis. A balanced diet can help increase your energy level, reduce your risk of obesity, improve your muscle strength and even build stronger bones and teeth.
Simple Tips to Improve your Diet
- Replace soda with water
- Opt for vegetables instead of potato chips
- Order a salad in place of fries
- Choose foods that are rich in calcium, fiber and protein
Smart food choices can also help to limit your trips to the doctor by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
2) Disease Prevention
A poor diet can often lead to major health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and type-2 diabetes.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the typical American diet is too high in:
- Calories
- Saturated fats
- Sodium
- Added sugars
And does not include enough:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Calcium
- Fiber
Unfortunately, unhealthy eating habits have become commonplace in America. Today, obesity-related illnesses contribute to nearly one in five premature deaths in this country.
3) Improved Mental Health
While they may seem unrelated, there is a strong connection between nutrition and mental health. Recent research suggests that healthy eating can help both the body and the brain.
“A very large body of evidence now exists that suggests diet is as important to mental health as it is to physical health,” says Felice Jacka, president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. “A healthy diet is protective and an unhealthy diet is a risk factor for depression and anxiety.”
Start Slow but Stay Consistent
Don’t worry about drastically changing your diet right away. It’s better to make gradual, but permanent adjustments instead. For example, you could start by eating a small salad once a day, and then incorporate additional healthy changes in subsequent weeks.
What to do to Stay Healthy
- Eat breakfast
- Drink water
- Know your food’s Ingredients
- Practice mindful eating
Over time, you can work to revamp your whole diet to include the right balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Advantage Care Health Centers specializes in providing medical, dental and mental/behavioral health services to children and adults. We are committed to improving the wellness of the Long Island community one patient at a time.
