Healthy Living
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Healthy Living
The food we eat affects our health and the general wellbeing our bodies. This effect also includes risks against certain diseases. Healthy living entails good eating habits, a healthy environment and good physical exercise and activities to keep in shape. Keeping the best body health entails maintaining a healthy weight, having an active physical activity and eating well. Eating healthier does not entail make huge changes but just a checked daily eating habits that ensure good nutrition. Good nutrition is important to have good health. Good nutrition is needed for prevention of common ailment and also more life-threatening diseases and illness. Research has shown that one-third of heart diseases and cancer can be prevented by having good nutrition. Good nutrition entails eating a balanced diet that is described in the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid. This pyramids explains that for one to live longer they must eat healthy with a balanced diet. This balanced diet is composed of foods that must contain proteins, dietary fat, carbohydrates fiber and calcium and vitamins CITATION Wil17 l 1033 (Willett, 2017).
Foods rich in proteins is must for a daily meal since proteins are needed for the everyday functioning of the body. Proteins are the building blocks needed for growth and maintenance, act as the factors necessary for the biochemical reactions in the human body, facilitates transportation and storage of other nutrients and bolsters the immune system to ensure a healthy living. Therefore, taking food rich in proteins is essential. Food that contains high sources of proteins includes meat dairy, fish, lentils poultry and beans. Too much protein can be harmful to especially the animal-based proteins to the people suffering from kidney disease. However, older people should consume more plant-based sources which contain high-quality protein CITATION Kre18 l 1033 (Krebs-Smith, 2018).
Dietary fats and oils are important for the body as they are required for the production of energy and cell growth. Some fats such as omega 3 are essential for emotional and physical health. Other functions of fats include absorption of nutrients, production of hormones and protection of internal organs. Food rich in fats includes animal oils and the plant oils such as olive oil. Fats should be taken with a proper check as bad fats can affect causing diseases and wrecking the diet. Fats require metabolism. Metabolism is the energy needed to burn the fat calories consumed daily. Everyone has different types of metabolism rates which range from high metabolism which depends on the food we eat. Having high metabolism will ensure that the calories we consume have no ill effect on our health and people with low metabolism must be careful not to consume food with high calories since the fat will be accumulated resulting to obesity or unnecessary weight gain CITATION Wil17 l 1033 (Willett, 2017).
Foods rich in carbohydrates provides the body with the necessary energy for daily activities. Carbohydrates are the main sources of energy for the body. The sources of carbohydrates range from bread, sugar starches and pastries. Carbohydrates are also essential in controlling the energy and mood levels, prevention of rapid spikes in blood sugar, building waistline fat CITATION Sch15 l 1033 (Schwingshackl, 2015).The diet should also contain foods rich in fiber and calcium. Calcium is essential to the prevention of osteoporosis, depression, sleeping difficulties and anxiety. Calcium is essential for all age brackets and therefore it is necessary to eat food rich in calcium such as milk, soya drinks, cheese and other dairy foods leafy vegetables and fish. Fiber is an essential tool to enable the body to stay regular and lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Fiber is also essential in helping lose weight and having an even skin. Foods rich in fiber include fruits and vegetables beans and nuts CITATION Sch15 l 1033 (Schwingshackl, 2015).
On top of these foods, it is important to eat food that contains vitamins. Vitamins are important nutrients with a diversity of roles in the human body. These nutrients are needed for the maximum physical function daily and in any workout function. Vitamins provide the necessary energy and other requirements by the body during a physical exercise which is largely energy production. Through direct energy production and indirect ways such as calcium metabolism and general health, vitamins are essential for exercising activities CITATION Wil17 l 1033 (Willett, 2017). Antioxidants vitamins also play are significant role in preventing heart disease and cancer. The major sources of antioxidants vitamins include the common vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices, seeds and nuts. Antioxidants vitamins work well when taken together with spices to improve exercise performance, fitness gains and bolster general health of an individual. Vitamins play a significant role in controlling chemical reactions within the body during the processes that convert food to energy. Vitamins can be found in leafy vegetables, fruits and even some are made as supplements and multivitamins CITATION Seb14 l 1033 (Sebrell, 2014).
Therefore, to live healthily it is essential to make sure that every diet contains food that contains each of these nutrients for health and longer life. On top of that, it is important to take plenty of water. Drinking water is also essential to good health as water is needed to maintain regular blood volumes, reduces toxins in the body and also helps in weight loss. It is recommended that an average person should take two litres of water daily CITATION Sim15 l 1033 (Simpson, 2015).
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Krebs-Smith, S. M. (2018). Update of the healthy eating index: HEI-2015. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 1591-1602.
Schwingshackl, L. a. (2015). Diet quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score, and health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 115, 780-800.
Sebrell, W. H. (2014). The vitamins: chemistry, physiology, pathology, methods. Academic Press.
Simpson, S. J. (2015). Putting the balance back in the diet. Cell 161, 18-23.
Willett, W. a. (2017). Eat, drink, and be healthy: the Harvard Medical School guide to healthy eating. Simon and Schuster.
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