Food is a popular topic to talk about. It is delicious, it
can make a bad day good, or ruin a good day with a burnt dish. But, food
performs a bigger function and that is the nourishment of one’s body. What a
person eats can have an impact on their health. Nutrition is a vital role in
keeping a body healthy, and improper nutrition can increase the chances of
getting any number of chronic diseases, or make them worse.
Heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes are all chronic
diseases where nutrition plays a big part. (Sizer & Whitney, 2014) In
addition malnutrition is another health risk that is influenced by diet.
Malnutrition is the result of not getting enough nutrients and energy to
properly fuel the body. Malnutrition impacts people who restrict food intake,
regardless of if the restriction is because of an eating disorder, lack of
appetite or to lose weight. Because, with malnutrition, an individual is not
getting the proper amounts of nutrients or energy, disease is harder for the
body to fight. The immune system is impaired when a person is malnourished and
that makes it harder for an individual to get healthier so that they want to
eat properly.
On the other end of the spectrum, obesity, which is caused
by being overly nourished, can cause chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes,
some cancers and cardiovascular disease. Eating more than the body needs to use
day in and day out causes the body to have to hold on to a surplus of
nutrients. Suddenly the nutrients that help a body stay healthy are instead
leading a body down the fast track of obesity and chronic disease.
Cardiovascular disease, which is a title that cover a broad
spectrum of diseases related to “the heart and blood vessels” is a chronic
disease where nutrition plays a big part. (Sizer & Whitney, 2014, p. 428)
Atherosclerosis is the root of most forms of cardiovascular disease and is
caused by a diet high in saturated fat. Proper nutrition which encourages good
habits, healthy fats and foods to control cholesterol can help lessen the chance
of cardiovascular disease, or lessen the impact of cardiovascular disease for a
person already diagnosed with it.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that impacts how the
body deals with insulin. For overweight and obese people, type 2 diabetes is a
risk because of unhealthy diet, full of too much sugar. By continuing to eat a
diet that provides a body with too much sugar, the pancreas is unable to keep
up with demand of insulin production causing blood glucose levels to rise, and
a person to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. (Am I at risk?) However, it is
possible to delay or avoid type 2 diabetes by making appropriate dietary
changes to lose weight and add in physical activity.
A third chronic disease that nutrition can play a big role
in is certain types of cancers. Obesity, alcohol consumption, red meats and
energy intake can all impact how likely a person is to get certain cancers.
While lowing a too high calorie intake can help the chance of cancer decrease,
eating a diet high in red meat or alcohol consumption can encourage specific
types of cancers. As with the other chronic diseases, it is best to eat a
healthy diet and be physically active to avoid certain cancers.
While nutrition is not always the only determinant on
whether a person will get certain chronic diseases, proper nutrition gives an
individual the power to know they are encouraging their body to work at its
optimum level. Knowing the balance between nutrition and chronic disease is
vastly important for individuals wishing to have healthy, happy bodies. The
website nutrition.gov provides more information on nutrition and health issues
for those wishing to further educate themselves on how nutrition can impact
their body, how to reverse the chances of chronic diseases, or how to manage certain
diseases.
References
Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? -
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/index.aspx
Sizer, F. S., &
Whitney, E. N. (2014). Nutrition: Concepts & controversies.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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