Nutrition and Chronic Disease: This Is What You Need to Know
Nearly half of the adults in the U.S. have at least one preventable chronic disease.
It’s an unfortunate reality that many of us deal with life-long struggles due to a lack of education about behavioral and dietary choices. As a result, many people turn to exercise and medication in hopes of treating or preventing these illnesses.
What’s often ignored and is a main component of health is nutrition. Keep reading to find out the relationship between nutrition and chronic disease so that you can make informed decisions for your well being.
Can Poor Nutrition Lead to Chronic Diseases?
One of the four main risk factors for chronic diseases is poor nutrition. The others include excessive alcohol consumption, tobacco use, and insufficient exercise.
To understand why this is, it’s helpful to think of our bodies as if they were machines. Just like a car needs a certain type of gas and regular maintenance, our bodies need proper nutrition and exercise.
Poor nutrition is malnutrition, which can be broken up into three categories:
- Undernutrition (i.e. not getting enough macronutrients)
- Micronutrient-related malnutrition (i.e. getting too much or not enough minerals and/or vitamins)
- Overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases
If your machine (your body) doesn’t get what it needs over time, it can lead to the following chronic diseases.
Chronic Diseases Associated With Poor Nutrition
While the scope of chronic diseases linked to poor nutrition may be wider, these are some of the illnesses that are linked to not eating a proper diet:
- Arthritis
- Brain dysfunction
- Cancer
- Dental disease
- Diabetes
- Heart diseases (as well as high blood pressure and cholesterol)
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
Luckily, we have the education and power to make good nutritional choices to reduce the risk, progression, and symptoms of chronic diseases.
Using Nutrition to Fight Chronic Diseases
As it’s said, “we are what we eat”. To work towards our healthiest selves, we can integrate balanced nutrition into our diets to improve our lives.
Rather than thinking of it as a diet or a short-term goal, think of working towards good nutrition as a life-long journey. Start with one area at a time to make a smooth transition.
One thing you can do is start cutting out processed foods. Processed foods are any ingestible items that have been altered before reaching your hands (and mouth). Sometimes, this is a good thing, as processing allows for long-term storage while killing off harmful bacteria.
However, when foods are processed, essential nutrients are often destroyed or removed. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies, which can lead to chronic diseases over time.
Work towards creating an organic, fresh, and balanced diet. This includes eating plenty of whole fruits and vegetables (roughly 5 portions per day), reducing added sugars, and eating plenty of nutritious carbohydrates and polyunsaturated fats (i.e. walnuts, seeds, or fish).
Good nutrition isn’t always about counting calories, but it’s always about making calories count.
Nutrition and Chronic Disease Go Hand-in-Hand
By investing in your nutrition, you can prevent and reduce symptoms of chronic diseases to strive towards wellness.
Keep learning about nutrition and chronic disease so that you can make informed decisions. Then, take things day by day and make small changes for a better future.
For guidance, consider using our nutrition services to help you in your journey.