Daniel JuarezProfessor McMillenEnglish 1013 May 2017What Should We EatThere are many things that contribute to the make up of your health. Your health can be based on your physical, mental and emotional wellness.
Maintaining a healthy diet is the most important factor in ones overall health because healthy food gives one more energy and enables weight control. A healthy diet cuts down on diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. Another benefit to eating healthy is an improvement of ones overall mood. One might argue that physical exercise is the most important factor for being healthy, but that is just not quite true. Eating healthy is most important.
The healthiest way to eat is a diet called the Ketogenic Diet which consists of eating little carbohydrates, high amounts of healthy fats, clean proteins, and low to no intake of sugars regardless of if it is natural sugars or added sugars is a great way to ensure premium health. The word diet tends to have a bad connotation but a diet is simply what you eat and what foods you choose to live off. A diet is not meant to be a temporary or quick way to lose weight. A diet is meant to keep you healthy and improve yourself and the overall longevity of your body. There are many new diets, supplements, and health trends that appear all the time, but how are you to know what is really healthy for you? The ketogenic diet goes against what we have been taught throughout our lives. But dare to be different and throw away fundamental teachings and be open to knew ways and new ideas that go against conventional thinking.
The way you feel, what you eat, how you stay healthy, and what you do is the concern of the individual. Your diet is by far the most important thing for your overall health. What is health? A vague definition of health is; the overall wellness of ones self. Your health is comprised of your physical, mental, and emotional status. Each component of health can be broken down even further, but what we want to concentrate on is the physical aspect of it. Your physical health can increase, decrease, and be maintained based off two very important factors being, physical fitness/activity (exercise) and nutrition.
Maintaining a healthy diet is the most important factor in your physical health. The article “Healthy fats for healthy nutrition” elaborates on the importance of ones health saying, “Unhealthy diet is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and a major contributor to the development of cardiovascular risk factors. It also may increase the incidence of other non-communicable-diseases such as osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases and some types of cancer” (Volpe 1). Your body turns what you eat into energy in order for you to move, breathe, process information, and simply live in general. One might argue on the contrary and say that physical fitness is the more important factor of the two.
The truth of the matter is yes your physical fitness may be important but without proper nutrition, your body cannot exert the appropriate amount of energy needed to exercise proficiently. How you eat, and what you eat allows for adequate energy conversion that fuels your body enabling peak performance. Eating healthy foods that contain healthy fats, clean proteins, low carbohydrates, and low to no intake of sugars is a great way to ensure premium health, supplemental and efficient fuel for your body. This type of eating is what is known as a ketogenic diet. In the article “Escape from the Western Diet,” author Michael Pollan states that scientists who supported carbohydrates told him that he should not allow himself to be swayed by the “omega-3 cult” (Pollen 420).
Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s are what you would call a healthy fat found in such foods as avocados, fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds and many other healthy food items that your body needs. Clean proteins include fish, beef, bison, venison, chicken, and my other animals we consume. One would preferably choose to eat grass fed or naturally raised animals which consume the foods they would in the wild. These animals tend to be leaner and more healthy options due to their lack of externally manipulated factors such as antibiotics, unnatural diet, and growth hormones. Examples of carbohydrates to stay away from would be items such as, bread, pastas and rice which contain starches, as well as refined flours, potato chips, cereals and many other items that contain gluten. Many vegetables contain carbohydrates but usually have a low amount.
The consumption of vegetables is recommended do to the fact that they contain vitamins and minerals that are essential to your health. The carbohydrates consumed when eating vegetables, since they are minuscule amounts, tend to be burned almost immediately instead of stored as fat with just regular everyday activity. Low carbohydrate, high fat (healthy fats) diets have proven beneficial for your health in many ways. One of the many benefits that comes from a low carbohydrate, high healthy fat diet is weight loss.
Not eating carbohydrates is an effective way to lose weight because you get rid of excess water weight do to a drop of insulin levels in your body, which enables your kidneys to start releasing excess sodium. Low carbohydrate diets tend to shred abdominal fat storage very effectively. According to the article “10 Proven Health Benefits of Low- Carb and Ketogenic Diets” by Kris Gunners, “Having a lot of fat in that area can drive inflammation, insulin resistance and is believed to be a leading driver of the metabolic dysfunction that is so common in Western countries today” (Gunners 4). The ketogenic diet isn’t the only way to lose weight. Eating properly and exercising on a regular basis can keep you from gaining unwanted weight as well as help you lose excess weight you might be carrying. Another benefit of the ketogenic low carbohydrate diet is its effectiveness in combating diabetes, specifically type two diabetes.
When carbohydrates are taken into the body, they get broken down into simple sugars typically consisting of mainly glucose which is the most common. Once broken down in the digestive tract, they get observed into the walls of your stomach and enter your bloodstream. This processes sends a warning to your body which then in response releases insulin. Then whatever glucose isn’t used gets stored. Which is the normal response. Type two diabetics cells don’t respond that way.
Kris Gunner describes the different reaction type two diabetics cells have stating “the cells dont “see” the insulin and therefore it is harder for the body to bring the blood sugar into the cells” (Gunners 7). Consuming low to no carbohydrates then eliminates the need for high amounts of insulin which then in return lowers insulin and blood sugar levels in the body. In a study done by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans committee (DGA) found that healthy diets have a drastic influence on combatting many more diseases. In “Healthy Eating: How Do We Define It and Measure It? What’s the Evidence”, the DGA findings show that:Accordance to dietary patterns that align closely with the DGA or other recognized healthy dietary patterns have been associated with marked reductions in deaths attributable to diet-related chronic diseases. In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 different cohort studies (34 reports) of over 1 million participants, Schwingshackl and Hoffmann 30 examined associations between 3 indices (HEI 2010, AHEI 2010, and DASH) and the risk of all-cause mortality and the incidence of and mortality from 4 major chronic diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and neurodegenerative diseases.
High-quality diet patterns (HEI 2010, AHEI 2010, and DASH) were associated with a lower risk of all-cause and chronic disease deaths by as much as 15% to 22%. These findings lend support to the value of adopting any of these healthy patterns for greater public health. ” (Tangent, Staffileno, and Rasmussen 5)The benefits of eating healthy are truly remarkable. A healthy diet can reverse disease and can prevent disease from forming. In general eating healthy has its benefits. If you have ever gone a day eating right, you might have noticed that you felt good about yourself.
If you supply yourself with the right essential nutrients not only will your body appreciate it but so might your mind. Endorphins are chemicals in the brain that leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. The article “The Benefits Of Healthy Habits” explains that:Eating a healthy diet as well as exercising can lead to a better physique. Youll feel better about your appearance, which can boost your confidence and self-esteem.
Short-term benefits of exercise include decreased stress and improved cognitive function. (The Healthline Editorial Team 3)The benefits to a healthy diet is more then physical, it affects your whole entire being mentally, emotionally, and physically. Ultimately, a ketogenic, low carbohydrate, high fat diet has all the necessities for a healthy life. A healthy diet is the key most important factor in ones overall health. As one can see, the benefits of the ketogenic diet whether it be, weight loss, decrease in diseases, better mood, or more energy demonstrates the effectiveness of such dieting. If given the tools to be as healthy as you can be while staying slim and staying healthy even though it goes against what you have been taught your whole life, would you? It is a matter of understanding what it is you are consuming and how ones body processes it.
If one can comprehend that, then you shall find yourself heading towards a lifestyle change that ones body will thank. Work CitedGraff, Gerald,et al. , editors. They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in AcademicWriting.
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