Essay Example on How Dieting Can Save Your Life Cutting out Processed Food

Dieting describes the practice of eating food, especially in a supervised and regulated version to maintain, decrease or increase body weight. The practice is also aimed at preventing and treating certain diseases, including obesity and diabetes. A restricted diet is, in most cases, pursued by individuals who want to lose weight. Good nutrition is an essential part that contributes to a healthy lifestyle. The diet taken by an individual can help attain and keep healthy body weight, cut down the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease and enhance overall health.

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Healthy diet

Unhealthy habits of eating have led to an obesity pandemic across the world. Even for individuals at a healthy weight, if they incorporate a poor diet, it is linked to primary health threats that potentially contribute to diseases and even death. These illnesses involve hypertension, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and type 2 diabetes (Marchesini et al., p. 2035). When an individual makes smart choices of food, he or she potentially helps protect themselves from the above-identified health issues.

The risk elements for adult chronic illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and hypertension, are increasingly witnessed among young persons. In most cases, the illnesses are attributed to unhealthy habits of eating and increased weight gain (Marchesini et al., p. 2035). The dietary habits developed during childhood usually transfer into adulthood. Therefore, teaching the children ways of eating healthy during a young age helps them remain healthy across their life.

It is dangerous to ignore the association between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced risk of chronic disease and the general health of an individual. When an individual takes required steps to eat healthily, he or she will be on their way to getting necessary nutrients for the body to remain active, healthy and strong.

A healthy diet is perceived as advantage to protect against malnutrition effects. Nevertheless, rapid urbanization increased the generation of processed food, and change of lifestyles are associated with a change in dietary habits (Marchesini et al., p. 2039). Individuals are currently consuming certain foods that have high energy content, free sugars, fat and salts. It is also established that individuals fail to eat enough vegetables, fruits alongside other dietary fibre, including whole grains. The actual composition of a balanced, diversified and healthy diet is found to vary based on personal characteristics including gender, age, degree of physical activity and lifestyle. It also varies depending on locally available foods, cultural context, and dietary customs. Nevertheless, the primary principles regarding what makes up a healthy are found to remain the same.

According to the World Health Organization, eating healthy can prevent one from noncommunicable diseases. It is established that an unhealthy diet and failure to engage in physical activity lead to world based on risk to health (World Health Organization). WHO offers certain guidelines regarding keeping a healthy diet. First, people should ensure they eat fruits and vegetables in their diet every day to reduce the risk of noncommunicable disease. The practice also helps to provide that there is enough daily dietary fibre intake. Vegetable and fruit intake is potentially enhanced by eating raw vegetables as snacks and fresh fruit (World Health Organization). One can also always include vegetables in their meals and eating multiple vegetables and fruits.

People also need to reduce their total fat intake to ensure they prevent unhealthy weight gain. Low intake of fat also lowers the risk of developing non-communicable diseases. Individuals should also reduce the high consumption of sodium and increase their consumption of potassium. High sodium intake and lack of sufficient consumption of potassium result in high blood pressure. As a result, the condition increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.

The majority of individuals in most cases are not aware of the salt amount they typically consume. In several nations, most salt is found in processed foods such as processed meats, ready meals and salty snacks. The salt is also found in foods that are consumed frequently, especially in large quantities such as bread. Other causes of high salt amounts include adding it during cooking or at the pint of consumption such as table salt. Some of the food manufacturers have started reformulation of recipes to reduce sodium amount. Therefore, people are encouraged to examine nutrition labels to identify the sodium content in a given product before consuming or purchasing it. Potassium potentially mitigates the adverse impacts of high consumption of sodium on blood pressure. Potassium intake is enhanced through the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Ultra-processed foods

Individuals who consume lots of ultra-processed foods have a likelihood of experiencing heart disease. They also tend to die sooner than individuals who typically stick with foods that are in their original form. Ultra-processed foods are, in most cases, high in fat, sugar, and empty calories (Moreira, p. 185). Consumption of such foods is found to have been associated with an increased risk of multiple multiple health issues that potentially contribute to heart disease. They include high blood pressure, depression, cancer and obesity.

Conclusion

Eating healthy is important to individuals. It helps lead a healthy life and prevent the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity. People who consume less amount of processed foods are unlikely to suffer heart disease or cerebrovascular disease. Reducing modern lifestyles and eating habits that incorporate ultra-processed foods can reduce health risks and improve the lives of individuals.

Works Cited

Marchesini, Giulio, Salvatore Petta, and Riccardo Dalle Grave. "Diet, weight loss, and liver health in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Pathophysiology, evidence, and practice." Hepatology 63.6 (2016): 2032-2043. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.28392

Moreira, Patricia VL, et al. "Effects of reducing processed culinary ingredients and ultra-processed foods in the Brazilian diet: a cardiovascular modeling study." Public Health Nutrition 21.1 (2018): 181-188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017002063

World Health Organization. “Healthy diet.” (2020). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet