Eating healthy is important to maintain weight as well as reduce risk of many diseases. It is especially true for chronic diseases like diabetes or heart diseases. In many cases, risk of having cancer is also contained if you follow proper diet chart and continue healthy eating habits. Let us now look at some of the diseases, which we can prevent if we eat healthy.
Healthy Eating Habits to Prevent Diseases
Heart Disease:
If you start consuming diet that is low on salt then it will help to prevent high blood pressure or hypertension, which is the result of higher intake of sodium. In addition to it, if you eat food which has less of saturated fats or cholesterol then you will have lesser chance of suffering atherosclerosis in which arteries become narrow.
Hypertension, atherosclerosis as well as obesity are the three main reasons for increasing chances of heart diseases, which consist of several cardiovascular problems resulting in heart attacks, heart failure, strokes and coronary death.
Type 2 Diabetes:
You can prevent Type 2 Diabetes by following a balanced diet that is low on fat, carbohydrates and sugar since obesity is one of the primary factors, which can result in development of Type 2 Diabetes. Another risk factor is Prediabetes that is a situation where blood sugar levels are more than normal but not so high that you will be considered diabetic.
The chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes in the next ten years are quite high in such people. The risks can be reduced if the person is able to reduce his weight by five to seven percent. Some of the other things that can be done include making fat consumption 30% of total calorie intake and saturated fats to be reduced to 10% of calorie intake. Additionally, the person will have to start eating more of legumes, vegetable, and oatmeal, as all these are high fiber foods.
Cancer:
Cancer can be caused due to many reasons but healthy food is known to prevent it. If your food consists of a mix of vegetables and fruits then it protects the immune system from diseases, including cancer. Many of the leafy vegetables have carotenoids, which work like anti-oxidants and prevent growth of cancer cells.
Similarly, berries have Vitamin C as well as ellagic acid that help to prevent skin, breast and lung cancer. Chances of cancer become lower if we take whole grains that are rich in phytochemicals. Lastly, green tea has polyphenols that also works to protect us from cancer of liver, colon and prostate.
Osteoporosis:
You can fight against osteoporosis by consuming food, which is low on fat and has good amount of calcium and Vitamin D such as broccoli, skimmed milk and cheese, which is low on fat. Take foods that have good amount of calcium such as soy foods that improve bone density as well. You will also have to reduce intake of carbonated beverages since many of them have phosphorous which leaches calcium out of your bones.
As we grow older, our capacity of making Vitamin D from skin starts to reduce and thus you will have to supplement the requirement with food products, which are rich in Vitamin D. Some good options for food items that are rich source of Vitamin D include fish, egg yolk and dairy products. People in the age group 1-70 need to have six hundred international units every day while for older people aged more than seventy the amount is fixed at 800 IU per day.
Summary:
Healthy food can be a great way to fend off many diseases which are often life threatening. Healthy food helps in improving our immunity power and fights against diseases.