We Are What We Eat

During the recent time people finally traced connection between their eating habits and health. Latest researches prove that products we consume have great impact on our health.  Our bodies receive not only organic components but also information from the food we consume. Good food helps our bodies function properly and bad food damages them and brings damage to our health.  When we receive bad “information” with food we consume our metabolic processes may suffer and this will finally result in the decline of our health.  The quantity of food we consume is also an important factor of our health. When we overeat our organism has problems dealing with this big quantity of food and it also becomes a reason of diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes and heart diseases.

Scientists and researches who investigate the impact of food on human health believe that food acts same like medicine ”“ it can cure, prevent or cause the disease. Nutritious components which exist in food help our cells to perform their functions.  “Nutrients are the nourishing substances in food that are essential for the growth, development and maintenance of body functions” (Wardlow, Insel, 62).

Different types of food  contain different amount of nutrients. Some food can provide our organism with good quantity of this necessary elements and other does not.  “When nutrient intake does not regularly meet the nutrient needs dictated by the cell activity, the metabolic processes slow down or even stop”Â  (Wardlow, Insel 69). Nutrition components which are contained in food give our mind and body information how to function and if we consume food of bad quality we receive wrong information. If we apply this approach we will see more important function of food, which lies behind quantity and taste. Researches underline that information which is contained in food has crucial importance.  This new approach gives a lot of new perspectives. Food can become the source of health and good mood, it can help to prevent diseases. At the same time knowledge about nutrients can be used for creating balanced diet which would provide an individual with necessary number of this components. Often people are not aware that their diets lack nutrients. This lack results in different health problems and people have no idea about the true reason of these problems.

Non-organic food, which became especially widespread during recent time does not contain necessary among of nutrients. Moreover, genetically modified products can become a source of serious health problems. Chemically-altered fats and sugars send wrong signals to our bodies and break natural balance of human organisms. Latest researches prove that Standard American Diet does not contain necessary amount of nutrients. At the present moment the health of American nation is in danger. Eating habits and attitude to health became the reasons of different serious health disorders. “The United States ranks ninth in life expectancy among nations in the developed world. We have a workforce plagued with absenteeism and reduced productivity because of chronic health problems, including depression” (Denton).

There is a separate branch of healthcare which investigates the quality of food and its impact on the health, physical and mental state. This branch of healthcare is called Functional Medicine. This comparatively branch gives interesting information about the correlation between food and health. Specialists who work on this field also traced relation between some complex and chronic diseases and the quality and quantity of food. They also believe that there is a direct connection between food and disease. Many researches drive parallels between diet and many chronic diseases.  “While they used to believe that diseases-such as type II diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers-were caused by a single gene mutation, they are now generally attributing these conditions to a network of biological dysfunction” (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2004). Latest research prove that balanced diet can become a good remedy for many diseases. There is no need to mention that it is better to prevent serious diseases and to have a balanced diet since childhood. But even in the cases when people are already sick Functional Medicine gives hope for recovery. Well-balanced diet, which contains necessary amount of nutrients and vitamins, can help of renew normal functions of the body. Research of the impact of nutrition on the patients with chronic diseases showed a direct correlation between their physical state and their diet. In addition, chronic diseases usually affect several systems at once. They may affect immune system, digestive system, detoxication system and many others. These systems are interconnected and that is the reason if we impact gastrointestinal system we may also influence other systems as well. Specialists who work on the field of Functional Medicine believe that providing necessary nutrients they can help sick people to restore normal functions of their organism.

Fortunately more and more people start paying attention to the quality of food they eat. Information about nutrients, vitamins and balanced diet may become very helpful for everybody who wants to live a healthy life.  Well-balanced diet which contains all necessary components for normal functioning of the organism may become a very good way to maintain healthy lifestyle.



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