The foods that are best for your body and commonly known as "health foods" tend to be fresh, whole and full of vitamins and minerals. Processed foods, on the other hand, often have nutrients added artificially and are almost always higher in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Many of them offer some health benefits, but whole, minimally processed foods are almost always nutritionally superior.
Function
Each element of nutrition is important in forming a well-balanced, healthy diet. Carbohydrates provide the body with energy; proteins help build and maintain skin, bone, muscle and organ tissue; fats enable the body to absorb essential vitamins and nutrients and provide concentrated energy; healthy cholesterol helps cells function correctly and stay stable; sodium maintains a balance of fluid in the body and fiber improves cholesterol levels and adds bulk to your body's waste products. All of these elements can be found in their purest and most beneficial forms in health foods rather than processed foods.
Guidelines
In general, a healthy food will offer a limited amount of calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium but a powerful nutritional profile with many vitamins and minerals that help the body ward off diseases, stay strong and function as effectively as possible. When a food is cooked, processed and preserved, it loses some of its nutritional value. A loss of nutrients also occurs when fresh foods begin to spoil or oxidize. Thus, the health foods that are best for you nutritionally are also the freshest and are most often whole and natural.
Balance
Healthy foods aren't limited to just one or two food groups. To get the variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your body needs, choose foods from all of the main food groups. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, those groups are grains (with at least half of daily servings being whole grains), vegetables, fruits, low fat dairy products and lean proteins. If you neglect any of these groups regularly, you could begin to suffer from a nutrient deficiency. Fruits, for example, provide vitamin C, which boosts immunity and helps discard harmful oxidants in the blood, but other food groups don't provide enough of the vitamin to keep the body completely healthy.
Food and Immunity
According to the Cleveland Clinic, you can boost the function and success of your body's immune system by choosing to eat whole, fresh or frozen foods that are good sources of antioxidants, which take away harmful oxidants from the bloodstream. The American Heart Association notes that the best source of antioxidants are fresh or frozen deeply colored fruits and vegetables. You can also find antioxidants in some canned or preserved products, but those items are less nutritious because they almost always have sodium or artificial preservatives added.
Other Considerations
To make sure you're getting all the vitamins and nutrients you need in the foods you eat, talk with your doctor or a nutritionist. Your diet doesn't have to be made up entirely of whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods, but those foods do make the healthiest basis for meals and snacks because they provide the best variety of nutrients and have proven scientific health benefits. The nutritional profile of the foods you eat may be different from what others need; for example, a woman, may need to seek out foods with a high amount of calcium because women are especially susceptible to osteoporosis. According to Katherine Brooking, a "Cooking Light " magazine dietitian, most Americans do not get enough calcium in their daily diets.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Diet, Exercise, Stress and the Immune System
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Inside the Pyramid
- Mayo Clinic: Healthy Diet--End the Guesswork with These Nutrition Guidelines
- "Cooking Ligh"; 10 Foods for Strong Bones; Katherine Brooking
- American Heart Association: Grocery Shopping and Reading Food Labels
