You might be wondering how you can benefit from eating a healthy diet, and the truth is that eating healthy can help you prevent nutritional deficiencies and reduce your risk for developing chronic diseases. A balanced, varied diet can improve your health, but remember that it only reduces your risk for diseases and does not prevent disease. Talk to your doctor for the best health information.
Fractured Bones
Eating a healthy diet may reduce your risk for bone fractures because of osteoporosis, or weak bones. Your bone mass increases until it peaks in early adulthood, and then it decreases for the rest of your life. Your goal in eating a healthy diet is to slow down the rate that you lose bone mass and reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. Calcium is essential because it is the main component of bone mineral, and you can get it from yogurt, milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables and calcium-fortified juice, cereal and soy products. A healthy diet provides other nutrients that support bone health, such as potassium from fresh fruits and vegetables, vitamin D from milk and fortified cereals or juice and magnesium from nuts. Numerous factors affect your risk of fractures, so talk to your doctor about other ways to prevent a devastating broken bone.
High Cholesterol
Hypercholesterolemia, or high levels of cholesterol in your blood, can increase your risk for heart disease, but eating a healthy diet can help you reduce your bad LDL cholesterol levels. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend avoiding trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils and replacing unhealthy saturated fats, such as from meat and butter, with unsaturated fats such as those in nuts and vegetable oils. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber, which also lowers LDL cholesterol. According to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center, you may have lower cholesterol if you include nuts and legumes such as beans and lentils in your diet. A healthy diet can improve your heart health, but consult your doctor if you have concerns.
Iron-Deficiency Anemia
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the cells in your body, and anemia occurs when you do not have enough healthy red blood cells. Iron-deficiency anemia is a common form of anemia in infants, adolescents and women of child-bearing age, and you can reduce your risk of iron deficiency by choosing iron-rich foods. The iron from animal sources such as beef, shrimp and dark meat chicken is in the heme form, which is easy for your body to absorb. If you depend on non-heme iron from vegetarian sources such as raisins, lentils, nuts or spinach, eating a healthy diet is even more important because some dietary factors, such as vitamin C, help your body absorb iron. A healthy diet with seafood, poultry, dairy or other animal products can also help you prevent megaloblastic anemia resulting from vitamin B12 deficiency.
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