Diet and Health – You are What you Eat

Why Are Diet And Health Connected?

When you are thinking about diet and health, it’s quite simple really, you are what you eat! What you put in your body is what your body uses for energy and growth. Eat well and your body will work well. But what happens if you do what you can but things still go wrong? You might have your five a day, include protein, dairy, oil and starch and drink plenty of fluids, but your body may still not be as healthy as you wish.

This is when people start considering other types of problems with diet and how they are affecting their health.

Diet and Health Issues

So what sort of health issues can your diet cause, or improve? Weight is obviously one. People are all for not shaming people for being overweight and I’m one that believes that some people are genuinely meant to be a bigger size than others and if that doesn’t cause them any health problems then that’s fine. But if being overweight does cause problems then maybe it’s time to think about your diet and start making improvements.

Other issues can be caused by changing your diet without first checking that it would be better for you. A lot of people decide to cut out dairy or meat but fail to replace the nutrients they supply. Sometimes simple nutritional tests can be the way to find out whether a vegan diet would be best for you.

Trying Different Diets

It’s always best to consult your doctor before making drastic changes to your diet. But, there are ways you can make improvements and see if they work.

A few years ago I tried a Paleo diet. I kept it up for about a month but I found it hard as it was quite strict. I did find that certain things made me feel worse though, like sugar and starchy food. Unlike many I have low blood pressure which means I can take a little extra salt in my diet. The problem is I don’t really like salt or salty tasting things.

I’ve also tried replacing food with protein shakes but although they were filling, I did miss actually eating food.

I’ve tried a vegetarian diet, which mostly worked as I’m not a great meat eater, but I do like to eat fish, and I find fish gives me a lot of the nutrients that I lack. So, I ended up being more a Pescatarian, where I ate fish but not meat. Something you may not think about is the amount of mercury in fish and what to do about it. Eventually, a little meat started creeping back in though. I have a large family and it gets difficult cooking different types of meals for everyone. We have to strike a balance somewhere.

Finding the Right Balance

It can be easy if you are living alone, but when you have a whole family to think of you need to be able to find the right balance of food that fits in with everyone. That doesn’t mean that everyone will like the same foods, I have two children that love peas and three that hate them for instance, but you can make things work. We can all have a paella, but I can dish some up before adding the pre cooked peas.

My husband and I get heartburn but we have worked out which food cause the biggest problems and eliminate them, or eat them less frequently. I have family members with digestive issues, so I can make sure they get the food which helps them most, if I can’t give them what they need in food then drinks always helps. I’ve found in the past that even just a change in breakfast cereal can make a difference.

We don’t always eat healthily and we do sometimes turn to junk or comfort food. But I try to make sure we eat enough to give us the right nutrients along with the diet that causes us the less stress to our bodies.

Occasionally, I do stop and think about how lucky we are to have such a wide range of food available to us and that we are able to afford it. When times get hard financially we can choose to cut out the treats and still be able to afford healthy food. It’s so easy to choose ready made meals and meals from jars, but when you make your own food you know exactly what you are putting into it. We always say we make our food with love and whether it’s Spaghetti bolognese, a sandwich or a chocolate cake, we know all the ingredients and what affect the food will have on us.

Most weeks I try to write up my weekly meal plan on my other blog At Home a Lot. Planning meals can help a lot with deciding what you want to eat each day and working out what you need to buy each week.