Concept Essay – Importance of Eating Healthy When thinking of the concept of “eating right” many people think it simply means consuming tasteless foods and useless fruits and vegetables. But eating healthy is much more than that. Eating healthy means more than consuming the recommended fruits and vegetables, but it also means having a balanced diet that is right for the body; for eating healthy is not one size fits all. By eating healthy, people are able to: supply their bodies with the nutrients needed to grow and develop; reduce their chances of developing chronic illnesses and diseases; and maintain a healthy weight. Eating healthy provides the human body the nutrients needed to grow and develop. According to Dr. David Tayloe of Parenting Magazine, eating healthy starts in the infancy stage of our lives and continue into adulthood. Dr, Tayloe (2011) outlines the most important nutrients babies need: iron, calcium (helps strengthen our bones), zinc (works to improve our immune system and optimize our cell growth and restoration), and vitamins A (helps our vision), B (enhances our immune and nervous systems, helps improve our skin and muscle tone, and regulates our metabolism), C (improves iron consumption and prevents body from bruising), D (helps with bone growth), E (facilitate cell growth and work to improve our nervous system) and K (helps our blood clot). The minerals and nutrients that are needed for our bodies are derived from many foods, such as breast milk, baby formula, vegetables, meats, whole grain, fish, eggs, fruits, whole milk, cheddar cheese and fortified cereal. Without the recommended servings of these nutrients, our bodies will not be able to grow and function properly.
Making important decisions during meal time is essential to our daily life functions. For example, having a breakfast that is low in fat but rich in healthy nutrients can help improve overall thinking, help us remember more things, stimulate our creative
References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). . U.S. Obesity Trends. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html Phillip, J. (2010) Top food additives you really need to avoid. Healthy Lifestyles. Retrieved from http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/top-food-additives-you-really-need002F President 's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. (2013). Eat healthy. Retrieved from http://www.fitness.gov/eat-healthy/why-is-it-important/ Tayloe, D, M.D. (2011). The 5 nutrients all babies need. Parenting. Retrieved from http://www.parenting.com/article/the-5-nutrients-all-babies-need#comments