Having a healthy diet is one of the most important things we can do to facilitate our overall health. Along with physical activity, diet is the key factor that affects our health. Unhealthy diet on the other hand increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, breathing problems and many more. Medical analysis has proved that five out of ten leading causes of death are our unhealthy eating patterns. Role of healthy diet therefore becomes all the more important in our daily life.

Food contains nutrients essential for normal metabolic functions. An imbalance in nutrient intake or the consumption of harmful substances is the underlying factor in many chronic diseases. To acquire these nutrients, we have to eat foods that contain these required nutrients.

But fast life has increased the craze of fast foods. These fast foods are nothing but EMPTY CALORIE FOODS. These include pizzas, burgers, bakery items, refined foods etc. These foods contain too little enzyme producing vitamins and mineral content, and huge amount of calories. The intake of ‘empty calorie foods’ requires the body to produce its own enzymes to be able to convert these ‘empty calorie foods’ into usable energy. This is also the reason why resort to overeating while eating such junk foods.

One more important associated aspect is our hunger for food. The mechanisms that turns off hunger is feeling of fullness. But, by the time we have filled up ourselves with these concentrated yet ‘empty calorie foods’, we have actually eaten more calories than we actually need and this very excess turns into fat.

Its only when we obtain adequate amounts of all essential nutrients, the biological hunger ceases to exist. But if our foods are nutrient deficient, we would continue to resort to overeat these foods till we get adequate amount of required nutrients. This shows us why nutrient enrichment is important for achieving a healthy weight.

To add more worry, these ‘empty calorie foods’ that lacks fiber and contain huge amount of calories also slows down intestinal activity. These foods take long time to pass through the intestinal tract.

Well, now if any of the above stated facts have hit our brains, the least we can now do is cut short on empty calorie foods from our diet and make our diet follow the following points:

1. Diet containing high fiber content.
2. Rich with all nutrients.
3. Water intake of around 2 liters a day.

Life is small and short. Every one wants to carry on. With the above stated facts, we can certainly stay young, smart, healthy and strong.

Dr. Manushi Sachdev