Should you be concerned about the connection between nutrition and chronic diseases and the leading causes of death.

     Even though we, as Americans, may know that it is important to eat healthy foods and to live a lifestyle that is considered as healthy, there still seems to be a struggle with meeting the healthy nutritional goals. Many individuals may not even be thinking about how healthy eating is significant with the multitudes of health benefits or how nutrition can be connected with diseases and that our nutritional choices can create an impact, positive or negative, on our health as a whole. There are consequences to our health in the form of malnutrition and the development of chronic diseases if we decide to live our lives in a way that we receive improper or inadequate amounts of nutrition. When we take a look at nutrition and how it is directly related to various diseases we may begin to realize that we need to supply our bodies with various nutrients, and in proper amounts to reap the benefits to our health. Otherwise negative lifestyle choices may leave us prone to illnesses such as catching colds or the flu. In the book: Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies; it indicated that what we choose to eat will have a profound affect on our health, that four out of ten factors in the leading causes of death in the United States were nutritionally related which included Heart Disease, Cancer, Strokes, and Diabetes Mellitus. We may also be increasing our risks of developing other diseases as well, such as obesity, hypertension, depression and more (Sizer & Whitney, 2013). In the Article: The Building Blocks of a Healthy Diet; it demonstrates how very important it is for individuals to eat a nutritional, healthy, balanced diet that will provide the body with fuel for energy and can build up the immune system. Proper amounts of nutrients can also improve the cardiovascular system, reducing the risks of heart disease. Good nutrition can also slow down the aging process, help improve the function of the brain, plus much more (Richards, 2009). Our body needs the necessary nutrients so that it can continuously renew itself.

References:

Richards, S. (2009). The building blocks of a healthy diet. Practice Nurse, 38(3), 12-17.

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.