The annual cost of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes are directly linked to diet. Eating healthy foods helps lower your risk and improves your health in many ways.
Healthy eating is about consistently choosing nutrient-dense foods and beverages that fit your preferences, cultural traditions, budget and more. It’s also about limiting high-calorie foods and sweets.
1. Weight Control
Maintaining or achieving a healthy weight requires limiting calorie intake while getting adequate levels of nutrients like fibre. Choose nutrient-rich foods over those high in saturated fat, added sugars, salt and alcohol.
A healthy eating plan includes a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats. Find out how many calories you need each day, based on your age, sex, height and activity level.
2. Heart Health
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in Australia. Preventative measures, such as regular exercise and eating a low-saturated fat diet can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease.
A diet rich in soluble fibre, potassium and other micronutrients can also protect your heart. Limiting salt and avoiding trans fats are also important for a healthy heart. Getting enough sleep, limiting smoking and reducing alcohol intake can also help, check this site out.
3. Optimal Brain Function
Brain health impacts the ability to think, plan and act. Maintaining healthy brain function can save economic and healthcare resources and help individuals live a fuller life.
Citicoline boosts mental energy, focus and memory. It also supports healthy levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine during aging. The patented form of citicoline in Optimal Brain is proven to improve brain function.
4. Better Sleep
Studies show that sleep is a key component to improving your health, along with healthy eating and regular exercise. Getting adequate sleep also can help prevent excess weight gain, heart disease and illness duration.
One bad night of sleep can have a big impact on your mental and emotional functioning. It can make you forget things and increase your risk for depression, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
5. Better Immune System
Your immune system is your body’s built-in defence against infections like the common cold or flu. It requires a healthy diet, exercise and low levels of stress to function well.
Eating a healthful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, especially those rich in vitamin C, leafy greens, garlic and good old-fashioned chicken soup, can help strengthen your immune system. (9,10).
6. Better Digestive System
When your digestive tract (aka the gut) is healthy, you feel better. This long, muscular tube stretches from your mouth to your anus and uses different “stops” along the way to break food and drink down into nutrients that your body can absorb and use for energy and function.
To improve digestion, chew food thoroughly and choose a diet that’s low in fat and processed foods including sugary drinks and frozen desserts with added sugar, which can be hard on the gut.
7. Better Eye Health
Getting the right vitamins and minerals through your diet helps protect against eye problems. Healthy eating is a good way to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and glaucoma that can increase your risk of blindness.
Leafy greens are packed with nutrients that support ocular health, including lutein and zeaxanthin. Vitamin A, zinc and the antioxidants in oily fish also promote eye health.
8. Better Bone Health
A healthy diet helps to keep your bones strong and prevent bone loss. You can get a two-for-one benefit by eating protein-rich foods that are also calcium-rich like salmon with the bones, beans, dairy products (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese) and leafy greens.
Foods high in potassium, vitamin K and magnesium help to absorb calcium. Add them to your diet through vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), fish and low impact exercise.
9. Better Bone Strength
Calcium and vitamin D take center stage when it comes to a bone-healthy diet. These nutrients keep bones strong so that they can absorb and process the minerals needed for muscle contraction, blood pressure regulation and nerve impulse transmission.
A cup of fat-free milk or yogurt is an excellent source of calcium, as are leafy green vegetables and skinless poultry. Avoid caffeinated drinks and limit alcohol as these prevent the body from absorbing calcium.
10. Better Bone Density
Bone density peaks in your 20s, so the food you eat is crucial to maintaining healthy bones throughout your life. You need plenty of calcium, Vitamin D and protein.
Conlcusion
Choose boiled potatoes and jacket potatoes with their skins on, low fat milk and yoghurt and lower fat cheeses to increase the calcium content in your diet. Weight-bearing exercise also stimulates bone formation.