How does eating healhy effect your body?

Answer 1

Usually very slowly. While Hippocrates was quoted as saying (translated) "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food," we know that modern medicines, in contrast with foods, tend to act quickly.

However, everything we take in affects us in short-term and long-term ways. The disadvantage of conventional medicine vs food is usually its desirable short-term effects and undesirable side effects.

The advantage of a healthy diet is usually long-term healthy effects vs the weeks or months it may take to notice any beneficial effect at all.

Where eating healthy (or unhealthy) can have immediate effects, is when consuming or eliminating foods to which one is allergic.

The reason why allergens are important to health, is that many foods touted as "healthy" for many can be deadly to some. This is why many products list on their labels that "wheat, soy, milk, nuts, shellfish, peanuts," etc., may have been processed by the same equipment, even though these same foods have healthy qualities, and are used around the world with great success.

Interestingly, gradual, controlled introduction of allergens has been shown to reduce or eventually eliminate Allergies. In this way, a normally unhealthy food may act as a kind of "vaccine" to allow the body to gradually adapt to it.

Eating "healthy," therefor, can be different for everyone. While some foods have medicinal qualities that help to fight disease, these same foods can interfere with an individual's defense mechanisms. Antioxidants, for example, can defeat your body's attempt to oxidize cancer cells, so moderation is key, and more is not always better.

Some foods that are touted as "healthy" may actually have unhealthy elements in them. Fish has often been cited as a source for healthy oils, but that depends on what the fish eat. Some are farm-raised on feed with no healthy oil, and when sourced in Mercury-tainted waters, fish can be quite unhealthy. Always look at all sides, from the intrinsic aspects of the food, to how it is raised, treated, preserved, and delivered. Some foods only start out healthy (many meats, vegetables, milk products), while some are not necessarily healthy until they are properly processed (ie: soy).

In general, you are safest developing your own healthy diet by gradually introducing new foods, and keeping a diary of what you eat and how you feel. When you find that some foods produce allergic responses like sinus problems, headaches, or a coating in the throat, back off and try something else.

Don't let this scare you away from some spices and peppers, which sometimes produce an initial inflammatory reaction, followed by a general feeling of well being and strengthened immunity. Examples of these foods are Ginger, Turmeric (Curry), hot peppers, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), which smell bad to many people.

Speaking of smell, fermented foods like cheeses, sauerkraut, kimchee, natto, kefir, yogurt, beer and wine, all have demonstrated health benefits, by virtue of the bacteria or yeasts that ferment them. Each of us has a few pounds of bacteria in our guts, and without them, it would be impossible to fully digest the food we eat. Traditional foods that contain friendly bacteria may sometimes be repulsive, but they often contain nutrients we cannot digest by ourselves, and introduce beneficial flora that allow us to better utilize the other things we ingest.

Some people thrive on carbohydrate-rich foods, while others develop fatigue, or metabolic disturbances like Diabetes on such diets. Some do better with higher levels of proteins and fats, while others experience liver, kidney, and endocrine disorders. An inappropriate diet tends to burden or weaken the immune system, leading to frequent illness. The perfect diet allows you to fight off almost anything. This is why one size does not fit all, and you must experiment to find what is healthy for you.

So, eating healthy can seem to be quite complicated, but it is easier when you can identify a traditional diet that has been tested over generations, and shown to have a beneficial effect on the people who eat it. There is no "magic bullet." The things you eat, the way you eat or combine them, and the way your body reacts to them, all must work together. One thing is for sure: When you find a healthy diet that works, you will eventually have no doubt.

Answer 2

It depends on what foods you eat and it's contents.

Obviously, eating lots of sweet, fats and salt is not good for your body.

Eat fruits and vegetables! I cannot stress this enough!

Fruits and veggies are so important! Make sure you eat a variety of colors!

Also, another major thing to lose or maintain your weight is to....

EXCERSICE!

Answer 3

If you are eating well, you will be neither too fat nor too skinny. You will be consuming the right about of energy (calories) for your activity level.

If your percentage of body fat is too high, you are eating too much. If your percentage of body fat is too low, which is a much less common problem, you are eating too little. That is the big picture.

Answer 4

If you eat healthy you will have a healthy body weight!