5 Benefits of a Healthy Eating Diet

If you’re considering switching from a not-so-healthy diet to a healthy eating diet, here’s a bit of good news: the benefits can be nothing short of life-changing.

That’s because eating healthy is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health and well-being.

However, there are many opinions about what a healthy diet really is. One thing all healthcare professionals can agree on though is this: the closer to nature your food is, the better. Choose whole, natural foods over processed, packaged foods whenever possible.

And when you do, you’ll experience benefits like these:

1. Live a Longer Life

Eating healthy foods makes it less likely you’ll develop heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer. The result? You’re more likely to live longer—a lot longer, in fact.

A British study of over 20,000 people found that people who don’t smoke, drink alcohol in moderation, exercise, and eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day live on average an additional 14 years compared with people who adopt none of these behaviors.

2. Lose Weight

A research study of over 120,000 healthy women and men spanning 20 years found that eating the following foods resulted in the most sustained weight loss:

Vegetables
Whole grains
Fruits
Nuts, and
Yogurt

According to the National Weight Control Registry, a database of over 10,000 people who have lost weight and kept it off, 98 percent of people who are successful at weight loss adopt a healthy eating diet.

3. Feel Better

Eating well is a proven way to feel better too. A 2013 study found that eating healthy and exercising can help ease symptoms of depression. And eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (nuts, olive oil, salmon) helps protect your body against spikes in stress hormones.

Remember, you are what you eat. Put highly processed junk food in your body and your body won’t function as well. But load up on healthy, wholesome foods and you’ll look better and feel better.

4. Think Better

Eating healthy foods can help increase blood flow to your brain. This can protect your brain cells and help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association recommends plenty of fruits and vegetables, including:

Leafy greens like kale and spinach
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
Beets
Peppers
Onions
Prunes
Raisins
Berries
Oranges
Red grapes
Cherries
Cold water fish like salmon, mackerel, and halibut
Nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans

5. Learn More

Perhaps one of the most underlooked benefits of eating healthier is the massive amount you learn about your body and where your food comes from. Eating is something we tend to do mindlessly, which means we don’t really pay attention to what we’re putting in our bodies. But if you really think about it, eating is one of the most important decisions you make every single day.

Learning as much as you can when it comes to food and nutrition makes you a smarter, savvier, and healthier citizen of the world.

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