Firmly Establish Your “Why…”
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You might think that no one would have to be convinced as to why healthy eating is good. And no doubt most people would say “Sure!” But – how many people actually do it?
A simple walk down any street in America reveals the truth. It’s not so many, actually! What that means is, not all that many have their “why” firmly established.
But the fact that you are here reading this likely means that you want that firm “why” that will drive you to action. You want to be solidly convinced – you don’t want to just give assent to the concept!
So – here goes…
The fact is, your quality of life – and remember, you have only one life! – is very directly affected by the quality of food that you eat. It makes its impact in so many ways!
Nineteen Reasons Why Healthy Eating is Good
Here’s the list!
- Healthy eating helps prevent various life-threatening and serious diseases, including:
- Cancers
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- Osteoporosis
- Healthy eating directly improves your quality of life in so many areas! These include:
- Boost your immune system
- Support your muscular system
- Support your digestive system
- Help you lose weight
- Increase your energy
- Improve your chances of longevity
- Strengthen your bones and skeletal system
- Helps you maintain a healthy appearance
- Helps keep your hair, nails, skin, teeth and eyes healthy
- Supports healthy pregnancies and breastfeeding
- Healthy eating is a huge boost to mental and emotional health! Look at these:
- Reduces the risk of anxiety and depression
- Reduces the incidence and severity of ADHD
- Helps you feel better – improves your mood
- Helps prevent cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, and dementia!
You Can Do Something About Your Diet
So if you need more “why,” and a real push from behind to get in gear and go to action, these are nineteen really good reasons right off the top to get you going! This list reads like a list of all the things people fear and dread most, health-wise – or hope to attain, health-wise; the low quality of life they would like to prevent, and the good quality of life they would like to achieve.
The really cool thing is: we can do something about our diet, starting now, where we are! Later on in the blog, we’ll be discussing how to do all this in a simple and budget-friendly way – but first, we need to establish our “why” clearly. Ramen noodles are very budget-friendly, but…and it’s a very big “but!” You get the picture!
What the “Experts” say…
There are experts and then there are “experts.” Sometimes you or me – with only life experience behind us – are as expert as the “experts,” just without the official authority!! However, the “experts” DO, for a fact, back up the fact that healthy eating is, to say the least, very important when it comes to quality of life.
World Economic Forum
There have been many studies – we’ll just mention a couple here… Research published by the World Economic Forum (February 18, 2022) indicates that changing your diet could add 10 years to your life if you start in your 20s, and 6-7 years for middle-aged adults. For 80-year-olds, changing the diet could still add 3 1/2 years to life. That is no “small peanuts” – in our humble opinion!
Heart and Stroke Foundation
The Heart and Stroke Foundation – a well-respected organization specializing in heart health – has determined that up to 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented “through life choices and habits.” They have said that the way a healthy diet can contribute to this is that it improves your cholesterol levels, controls your blood sugar, reduces blood pressure, and helps to control body weight. That’s 80%, folks! That’s huge! And a large part of this is diet – plus exercise and other good life choices.
Forbes Magazine
That a healthy diet has an enormous effect on your mental health has also been backed up by research. An article in Forbes Magazine, written by Frances Bridges (January 26, 2019) summarized a couple of studies from the Deakin University in Australia and the University of Konstanz in Germany. We won’t bore you with all the details, but the first did a double-blind study of the happiness level of patients with depression – half of whom were given nutritional counseling and changed their diet. Those who changed their diet were happier! The University of Konstanz did a study analyzing 14 different food categories, and found that eating vegetables “contributed the largest share to eating happiness!”
What About the Children?
Are Children at Risk?
Children are flexible, children aren’t at risk for severe diseases like heart attacks and Type 2 Diabetes, so it doesn’t matter what children eat…right? They can safely live on french fries, potato chips, soft drinks, hamburgers…no problem, right? Wrong! It is extremely important that children get started nutritionally “on the right foot,” so to speak. Habits formed in childhood last, nutritionally, just as in all other areas of life.
Biggest Impact Later in Life
An unhealthy diet has negative effects on children even while they are children, but actually has the greatest impact later in life. No one wants to doom a child to chronic disease, heart problems, cancers, etc., when they get older, but if their diet is ignored when they are younger, in a way, that’s what we are doing! It’s so easy to think in the short term. but in this area, it’s so important not to take the path of least resistance, and just feed children whatever processed, salt-and-sugar-laden food is handy and easy at the moment!
Wrapping it up…
Nobody can motivate you better than you can yourself – if you set your mind to it! I understand very well – from personal experience – how easy it is to follow the path of least resistance – how easy it is to just “do what everyone else is doing!” However, good results only come when we break out of the mold.
There’s no better time than the present! Waiting until later just means the benefits will accrue later, and the risks of putting off good choices increase. So let’s make the all-important decisions that are necessary to take charge of our diet and health! The goal in future blogs will be to set out courses of action that are very simple and very healthy – and that keep that all-important budget in mind.
All the best!
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