The Top 5 Effects of Good Nutrition : Live Longer and Better
What is Good Nutrition?
Good nutrition means that the body is getting the right amount of nutrients for optimal performance. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a new food pyramid that covers the various food groups as well as the importance of exercise in creating a foundation for good health.
Understanding the top 5 effects of good nutrition can help a person to become motivated to make lifestyle changes that will increase health, reduce the risk for certain diseases and achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Optimal Performance and Function
For optimal performance and function, the human body needs certain amounts of various nutrients. Providing nutrients in these amounts to the body may not stave off every disease or turn a person into a superhero, but it will provide those things the body needs to do what it was designed to do.
Consuming the proper amount of biotin can produce healthy hair and nails; calcium helps build strong bones; Vitamin A helps promote good vision; and Omega-3 promotes good brain function as well as helps prevent cholesterol from being deposited on artery walls. On her website, registered dietician Joanne Larsen states that some research has indicated that Omega-6 fatty acids may help keep cholesterol levels in blood low.
Of course, these nutrients provide more help for the body than what is listed, and there are more vitamins and minerals needed for proper body function than those.
Disease and Damage Prevention and Reversal
There are numerous health benefits to consuming a diet based on rules of good nutrition. In children, foods high in iron and calcium help reduce the effects of lead exposure in children.
Additionally, deficiencies in needed nutrients can cause problems. A Vitamin A deficiency can cause dry skin and rashes. Scurvy, most commonly associated with sailors, but also often seen in the elderly, is easily prevented and treated with Vitamin C.
Good nutrition can reduce your risk for a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. This is one of the reasons why good nutrition matters.
Healthy Weight
Getting the right amount of needed nutrients in the right amounts, while avoiding excesses, can help the body arrive and stay at a healthy weight. Foods high in sugar and fat can contribute to unhealthy weight. Eating a well-balance diet of healthy, whole goods can help the body achieve the right weight. Maintaining a healthy weight can increase life expectancy and reduce the risk for various diseases.
Longer Life Expectancy
Tied in with all of the other effects, a longer life expectancy can come about due, at least in part, to good nutrition. Maintaining a healthy weight along with reducing the risk for various diseases naturally contribute to a longer life expectancy. The quality of that longer life can be expected to be higher for the same reasons.
Feeling Good
When the body is getting nutrients in the amounts it needs and a healthy weight is maintained, physically and psychologically a person can experience an overall sense of well-being. Having energy, looking one’s best and having few(er) health problems all contribute to this good feeling.
Moderation is Key
A word of caution: too much of a good thing can be harmful. While eating healthful foods is a good thing, as with anything, too much of any good thing can quickly turn it into a bad thing. For example, Vitamin B6 has been documented to cause neurological damage in high amounts and too much potassium can contribute to hyperkalemia.
The key to true good nutrition is to discern the appropriate amounts of nutrients needed and to adhere closely to that guideline. Balance is important. As these 5 effects of good nutrition illustrate, good nutrition matters.
References
An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality: Lead. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Last updated October 27, 2009. https://www.epa.gov/iaq/lead.html
Scurvy. National Health Services. Last Reviewed May 5, 2009. https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Scurvy/Pages/Causes.aspx
ABCs of Preventing Heart Disease, Stroke and Heart Attack. American Heart Association. Last updated April 20, 2009. https://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3035374
Ask the Dietitian. Joanne Larsen, MS RD LD. https://www.dietitian.com/index.html