What Are 5 Benefits of Healthy Eating?
We hear it all too often as those around us question the point of being healthy. As if it doesn’t matter because we all die eventually anyways.
The truth is that healthy eating has nothing to do with living forever. It’s completely about feeling great the entire time you are alive!
Think back to the day you felt your worst when you lost your state of health. Did anything matter to you more than feeling good again?
Healthy eating is a large part of practicing prevention of disease.
A Longer “Health Span”
A longer health span can look and feel very different from a long lifespan.
The difference is that “health” refers to being free from illness and pain, whereas “life” encompasses all experiences that include pain and suffering.
That is why your quality of life matters so much more than the amount of time you are alive.
A Resilient Immune System
A strong immune system keeps you healthy by protecting your body from harmful invaders. You can become sick from endless varieties of bacteria, viruses, toxins, and molds. A healthy immune system is efficient at keeping these types of foreign attackers out of your system.
How does all of this relate to healthy eating?
What you eat has a huge impact on the type of microbes that live in your gut.
It’s explained well by this nutrition and immunity article by Harvard University; “A high-fiber plant-rich diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes appear to support the growth and maintenance of beneficial microbes. Certain helpful microbes break down fibers into short chain fatty acids, which have been shown to stimulate immune cell activity.”
A keyword in there is “maintenance.” Microbial populations in your gut are always changing according to your lifestyle habits.
Think of your gut like a parking lot. Parking lots only have a certain number of spaces. What you eat will determine which microbes take up more spaces. Eventually, all cars are replaced with new ones.
The more healthy eating we practice and maintain, the more beneficial microbes we will have to keep our immune system consistently healthy.
Consistent Bowel Movements
Eating healthy food comes with abundant dietary fiber. Fiber is important for consistent bowel movements (and stable blood sugar.)
In the bowels, dietary fiber feeds those gut microbes and allows them to take up and keep all the best “parking spaces.”
Eating food that contains fiber is eating food in its whole form.
Cheaper Groceries
Purchasing in-season fruit and vegetables is the cheapest way to shop! Especially if you aren’t buying unhealthy snacks on top of real whole foods.
It’s a true story that in 2022 we got 60lbs of in-season root vegetables for $24. That’s a lot of food and healthy calories for an impressive price.
Whether shopping for healthy food comes easy to you or not, this healthy eating doctor tailors all the delicious and healthy recipes to your personal needs.
Knowing what to eat makes grocery shopping extremely simple, especially when you have new recipes to try!
Muscle Growth and Strong Bones
Adequate nutrition comes from food that contains it! Junk foods and processed foods are void of nutrition.
The more empty foods you eat means less opportunity for body growth and maintenance.
Strong muscles and bones decline with age. Think of these important body components like they are batteries. The bigger and stronger batteries you have, the longer it will take for them to deplete charge.
To build big batteries you need to consume nutrient-rich energy.
Therefore, eating healthy can potentially increase the length of time you can remain physically independent later in life.
Look Ahead Long Term
In general, it’s common practice to “band-aid” the symptoms of sickness with medicine for short-term relief. This gives you the illusion that everything is all better after taking a couple of drugs here and there.
In the long term, bad eating habits often create ideal conditions that host chronic diseases in your body. Healthy eating is an important factor to living a high-quality life free of preventable chronic disease.
