Are You Eating Disease?

Nutrition and disease for the most part rely on each other. Well what if I told you that some of the foods you eat are linked to the majority of diseases we see every day? As we all know everyone can get diseases for a number of reasons, however the main contributor of many chronic diseases is our nutrition.There are many chronic diseases that are linked to improper nutrition. Some of these diseases are cancer, hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity, and stroke.

Obesity is caused by the over consumption of foods that are usually high in trans and saturated fats and sugar. Obesity is linked to each of the chronic diseases I listed. What many people do not realize is that every time they consume bad foods it is like they are consuming part of a disease. This is why it is important to understand the link between nutrition and disease.

One other factor I would like to point out is malnutrition. Malnutrition is a serious condition you can develop if your body is lacking in the nutrition it needs. Being to under weight can cause a number of issues. Malnutrition can affect your skin, digestive tract, lymph tissues, and its overall response to invaders to fight them off. In addition malnutrition can lead to death due mainly to the bodies inability to fight off diseases.

 Not being aware of what is in the foods we eat and the lasting effects the foods we eat have on our overall health can be a critical error. As I discussed earlier we can develop a number of diseases and one I listed was cardiovascular disease.

Well did you know that, (Lin, Chang, Wang, & Ho, 2013, p.1), “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the worldwide?” Guess what causes cardiovascular disease? Well, cardiovascular disease is a general term for disease in the heart and blood vessels. Arteries can become blocked with plaque interrupting the blood flow through the heart eventually leading to a heart attack or stroke. According to the course text, (Sizer, & Whitney, 2013, p.429), “A diet high in saturated fat is a major contributor to the development of plaques and the progression of atherosclerosis.” People are just consuming too much sodium, trans and saturated fats, cholesterol, and calories.

So, when you pick up that greasy hamburger and french fries, imagine them turning into plaque and building a wall in your arteries, it might make you think twice about how nutrition effects your health.

Lin, Y., Chang, C., Wang, Y., & Ho, T. (2013). Acute and Prolonged Adverse Effects of Temperature on Mortality from Cardiovascular Diseases. Plos ONE, 8(12), 1-8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082678

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