Why Is Nutrition Important

Why Is Nutrition Important

People often fear the unknown when it comes to their health. Not only unforeseen things like a fatal accident, but the concern of receiving a doctor's diagnosis of cancer or having a massive heart attack. What many people choose not to recognize, is that they can take steps to prolong their lives in good health if they eat right. Of course, healthy eating won't prevent you from getting into a car accident, but it can ward off many serious health issues. Did you know that, according to US Department of Health and Human Services, 310,000 to 580,000 deaths are directly related to unhealthy eating and inactivity? Premature deaths due to unhealthy eating and inactivity tops deaths caused by guns, drugs, alcohol, sexual behavior, and even motor vehicles!

The Results of an Unhealthy Diet

Why is nutrition important? Most Americans worry about excessive weight gain but often for the wrong reasons. The media plays a huge role in what Americans view as the ideal body type. Because of this, people often try overnight diets, seeking to lose weight quickly to look better. However, crash dieting and dangerous weight loss supplements can wreak havoc on an already stressed body. Do they work? Consider the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion statistics:

• nearly two-thirds or 61 percent of American adults are seriously overweight or obese
• obesity rates have nearly doubled in children over the last 20 years

It is evident that we aren't doing something right. Extreme dieting isn't the answer.

Americans are forgoing the prescribed vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and instead eat foods high in sugars, sodium, and saturated fats. The result? More and more people are dying from diseases directly related to this unhealthy diet including:

• diabetes
• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• stroke

Many cancers have been found to be directly related to diet as well, such as:

• colon
• esophagus
• lung
• mouth
• prostate
• stomach

Osteoporosis is another disease directly related to poor eating habits.

Unhealthy Eating Costs Money

Nutrition experts agree that unhealthy eating costs money. When you ignore the importance of nutrition, you set yourself up for a lifetime of health problems. Health conditions, such as diabetes, are often directly related to poor eating habits. Compound that problem with diabetes-related conditions, such as blindness and amputation, and the risks increase. Not only are you playing Russian roulette with your body, but you are also costing your pocketbook even more. Rehabilitation and treatment for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis are expensive. Why is nutrition important? Each year approximately $71 billion are spent on medical costs, loss of productivity, and loss of life, according to the US Department of Agriculature. This statistic only touches the major health-related diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Other nutrition-related health issues, such as osteoporosis and obesity, add an additional $130 billion in expenses as well. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses that it costs 1,000 times more to treat these diseases than to prevent them!

Taking Care of Your Body

Taking care of your body is an investment in your future. Eating the right foods gives you more energy, builds up your immune system, and helps keep your body in good working order. Essential vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants, that are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and high protein meats, like chicken, give your body what it needs to maintain strong muscles, good eyesight, and, hopefully, a disease-free life. Paying attention to what you put into your body will pay off, not only in weight loss but also in a healthier lifestyle!.