Basic health starts with your diet. And if you don’t develop proper eating habits, you’re bound to suffer the consequences later in life, or early on in some cases.
For example, studies have recently shown a link between the foods you eat and brain health, even going so far as to suggest that the foods we eat can either promote or deter the onset of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. With this in mind, not only does eating healthy affect our physical health but our mental health as well.
But how else do the foods you eat affect your body and your health? And what types of foods are the best for the human body?
The answers to these questions have been studied by science and dieticians for decades, and some of them might surprise you.
Here, we’ll explore 4 ways that the foods you eat affect your health, and what you can do to change your eating habits.
Oral Health
Maintaining oral health should be one of your top priorities. After all, you have to use your teeth to eat with. But if you eat the wrong foods, over time, you can develop some serious oral health problems.
Studies have shown that gum disease not only affects the mouth but other parts of the body as well. And if infection from gum disease enters the bloodstream, this will eventually affect the heart. From here, a host of other problems can emerge.
But maintaining oral hygiene can be as simple as changing your diet. As such, avoiding processed foods, sugary foods, sticky foods, and anything containing high levels of acid or carbonation should be avoided.
Additionally, without proper brushing, flossing, and rinsing, you could be subject to the onset of tooth decay or gum disease which may have to be corrected through dental surgery. And this can be quite costly.
However, if you’re finally beginning to take your oral hygiene seriously but you still have significant decay, you should consider using teeth veneers until you can afford to have your dental issues corrected.
Mental Health
The types of food you eat also affect your mood and your overall state of mental well-being. As such, it’s even more imperative to take what you eat into consideration. And even though a dozen donuts might sound delicious, you’re probably better off removing these types of foods from your diet entirely.
If you think about it like this, your brain is never truly “off.” This means that, like your body, it requires fuel to operate at an optimal level. And if you’re feeding your brain the wrong foods, you can suffer from a host of issues.
Regarding the brain, a few problems associated with improper diet are as follows:
- Confusion
- Difficulty with simple tasks
- Slowed motor skills
- Problems with concentration and focus
- Altered mood
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mental fatigue
For maximizing your cognitive ability, it’s recommended that you eat foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. And typically, foods containing these elements are often fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and the like.
Physical Health
Finally, your physical health bears the full brunt of an improper diet. And though many physical problems may take years to develop, you can begin to see the effects of an improper diet rather quickly in some cases.
For example, in the 2004 documentary titled Supersize Me, Morgan Spurlock reportedly ate only fast food from McDonald’s for 30 days. And the consequences that ensued caused a host of physical problems.
Reports from the documentary concluded that Spurlock’s weight rose by 27 pounds, and his blood pressure along with cholesterol levels rose dramatically just over the course of 30 days. Additionally, his liver function was adversely affected as well.
Experiments such as these show the real danger behind eating processed foods, and of eating any foods that are otherwise unhealthy.
As such, incorporating more natural foods into your diet such as fruits and vegetables can help you maintain a healthy weight along with proper blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In addition, staying away from fried foods or anything with a high concentration of fat is also highly recommended.
Our diets play such an important role in our overall health. Unfortunately, our culture seemingly promotes life on the go, and in doing so, the diets we keep are less than ideal due to our faced-paced lifestyle. However, our health depends on making proper choices when we eat. And if you want to enjoy a full life, implementing proper eating habits is absolutely essential.
