Is there a connection between nutrition and disease?

I am finishing up my Introduction to Nutrition class at Ashford University, and I can honestly say that the biggest thing that I have learned is how much our nutritional habits affect our health. Our diet choices can affect oth our present and future health, and personally, that is extremely eye-opening to me. Before I started this class, I had always believed that if exercised and did not smoke then I could eat whatever I wanted. Now that I am completing this, I can see that everything I previously believed is simply not true.

As I have just stated, our nutritional habits affect our health. Did you know that four of the top ten leading causes of death are nutrition realated? Heart disease, certain types of cancers, strokes, and diabetes mellitus are all causes of death that could potentially be prevented or the risk lowered by following healthy nutritional habits. To me, that is very sad. How many people died prematurely that could have prevented their demise? For example. Diets high in saturated or trans fats and low in fruits and vegetables can cause certain types of cancers, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, arteriosclerotic vascular disease, obesity, and stroke (Sizer and Whitney, 2013).

Other issues, such as malnutrition, are atributed to our diet as well. Those who tend to suffer from malnutrion are those with a lack of appetite, illness, an eating disorder or hope for weight loss, the very young, the elderly, those hospitalized, and the poor. Malnutrition is also extremely harmful in the fact that it and disease can and will worsen each other as well as impair the immune system. It just goes to show how important our dietary habits really are (Sizer and Whitney, 2013).

 

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Reference:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning