what's the point of eating healthier?
 

for the average person, not over-weight, not really active. typical person.

The point is having the "I eat healthy" tag ...

Saves on pricey Cancer drugs :2 cents:

Eating healthy affects everything from sense of well being to how long you will live for. Being with your close family or loved ones for as long as possible, I think that's reason enough!

Feeling better for me.

If I eat too much garbage like breads, dairy, sugar, etc, I feel really bad. It makes me have problems focusing, My insides get all screwed up, and I don't sleep good.

When I keep my sugar intake low, and eat healthy, balanced meals, and drink lot's of water, I feel amazing. I am sharp. I am very productive, and I have a positive outlook on life.

When I cheat and eat some bad food, I feel like crap, have no motivation, am depressed, and not very productive. I also do not process information well, and I communicate in a less than satisfactory manner.

So, I try to keep it very healthy most times. Couple cheat meals per month though.

Gotta have a balance.

garbage in
garbage out

food for thought. :winkwink:
from my understanding, eating healthy MAY help decrease chances of cancer.

Have you come across research that proves this? I'd be open to reading it.

I suspect you are more active than typical?

Also, in my experience getting portions (total caloric intake) under control helped more with what you mention. Is your daily cal intake proper? I bet it is.

Few months ago, I started hitting the gym and now going 4 times a week. I substitute meals with wellness shakes and I cut down on the drinking. I eat a salad almost every day and well I feel a shit load better. I got tired of my brother bragging. At 50 he has a six pack.

Just got back from the gym, 20 min on the bike, 20 on the trreadmill, then 20 on the weights

It's the Cancer Industry who use the word MAY, they love it when you eat junk and get sick :2 cents:

So you can leave behind a beautiful corpse. :)

I'd be interested in reading a peer-reviewed study that proves eating healthy removes any chance of getting cancer.

There's still a chance, but eating healthy reduces to likelihood :2 cents:

just dont eat stupid everyday. just like drinking :2 cents: you cant drink a pint every day :2 cents: moderation is the key

We've always enjoyed everything, good & bad foods, drink, drugs, sex & rock & roll. Later in life everything takes a toll, so best to walk & breath our fresh air occasionally & not drive everywhere, work out occasionally, swim & exercise. & of course, eat healthy, in moderation :thumbsup

I dont have anything peer reviewed just speaking from personal experience. I can feel a difference if I go off my diet I feel very sluggish and not like myself. Eat McDonalds for a week and eat healthy for a week. You will FEEL the difference in energy levels...I believe the documentary Supersize Me goes over this in depth as well.

I very much want to believe this, but I'm needing some proofs.


thread point.

I'll go one further too, eating stupid simply means overeating.

don't overeat and you can eat pretty much any food daily, enjoy a beer or so. a scotch.


this is for the average mostly sedentary 9-5 person.

You get to pay you mortgage before you die.

For real, I eat healty because I like to live and I like to live my life well.. so, teeth dropping because of scurvy decreases that "well".

Where are you on the active scale?

michael phelps eats 10,000 calories a day, he has to eat processed foods, fatty foods, sugary foods just to get that amount of cals down the hatch.

nah you dont eat doughnuts daily and expect to be healthy

I go to the gym about 3-4 times a week. I'll have my cheat days and I will feel sluggish or will not have the same energy level as I had before. This could be due to the large amount of cals taken in at once as I usually eat about 4-600 calories per meal several times a day. On my cheat days that all goes out the window :1orglaugh

Because FUCK diabetes.

I'd bet you can eat A doughnut daily and expect to not be unhealthy because of it.

Sleep better, digest better, poop better, FEEL better.

Pays off as you age.

I hardly eat red meat anymore, try not to eat fatty foods and typically just enjoy raw veggies with my chicken or whatever.

Now if I can just get the wife to stop buying chips and bars every night maybe id lose this extra padding I put on over the summer

nope its eating too much of it. put oil in water :2 cents: look at it :2 cents:

You're referring to Metabolic Syndrome right? You've got to be quite unhealthy overall to get type 2 diabetes, most of which is due to over eating. obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol out of whack.

VERY hard to do that if you stick to eating the right amount of daily cals/portions with moderation of the less nutritional ones.

Ok, looking at a typical dunkin doughnut, I see no problem with having a doughnut.

http://www.dunkindonuts.com/dunkindo...R=Glazed+Donut

7 days a week 365 days a year MAY be out of whack, but I bet 1 doughnut 3-4 days a week for the average adult won't cause an issue.

re: the diabetes risk.

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Metabolic syndrome and prediabetes appear to be the same disorder, just diagnosed by a different set of biomarkers.

The exact mechanisms of the complex pathways of metabolic syndrome are under investigation. The pathophysiology is very complex and has been only partially elucidated. Most patients are older, obese, sedentary, and have a degree of insulin resistance. Stress can also be a contributing factor. The most important factors are genetics, aging, diet (particularly sugar-sweetened beverage consumption), sedentary behavior or low physical activity, disrupted chronobiology/sleep, mood disorders/psychotropic medication use, and excessive alcohol use. There is debate regarding whether obesity or insulin resistance is the cause of the metabolic syndrome or if they are consequences of a more far-reaching metabolic derangement.
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I can see how sugary drinks can be an issue. I'd have to agree that those are not OK on a daily basis in any amount.

good point!

Well based on what we are going thru in my family right this very minute, what you put in your mouth can literally determine if you live or die - I have been a Diabetic most of my life, finally diagnosed in 2007 - and if I don't watch every single thing that goes into my mouth, at best, I could lose a limb, eyesight or something like that.

My daughter who is 16 and should be having fun and doing fun things with her life - she is having to go thru so many tests for the entire past month and we still have absolutely no idea what is wrong, but seems like every other thing she puts in her mouth causes her physical pain - so we don't know WHAT it is, but know it has something to do with her eating - so we are having to watch every single bite of food that goes into her body.

I don't mean to come off harsh, but my family seems haunted by food and anything that goes with it - even some healthy things are messing with either her, or me or both - so it's been pretty scary at best..

I am not about to say I don't like or eat some things that aren't SO healthy,because I do and I am not a preachy health food freak - but food has EVERYTHING to do with your health and you should really pay attention before it's too late like we almost have! ;)

Of course you can - but eat 12 donuts a day and see how you feel... lol

I am finding ore and more it's about portion control - A donut may be ok, but 12 will not be - A coke may be ok - but a case will not be. :thumbsup

I know exactly what you mean. I try to eat alot of salad, and lots of veggies with every dinner, fruit with or for breakfast. If I do all this and drink lots of water and get some excretes in my day, I "feel" great: Wide awake, alert, energetic, happier, etc.

I love a good Filet Mignon and wine and of course, beer, bread, sugar, etc, but feel really bad after eating too much of it, or at the wrong time of day. For example, a great steak and glass of wine is perfect for a Friday or Saturday night when I just want to go home and crash afterwards, and a delicious cheeseburger is great too. But if I have a burger and a coke for lunch, the rest of my day is ruined. I feel fat, lazy, unmotivated, you name it. Fried food + Sugar + Salt just wipes me out.

I think I've found a decent balance. I try to eat healthy-ish, and walk, bike or run a few days a week. I'll never be in tip-top perfect shape but thats ok for me - I don't want to give up sweets or delicious fatty meals altogether - I just go easy on them now.

Cheers!

Eating healthy has made it possible for me to not worry about the consequences of my diet . . . plus I can eat a banana split at midnight now if I want knowing that whatever weight it does add will be gone in 24 hours.

I still eat the Take Charge recipe every morning. Almost 4 years now. Thank you for that.

I'm astonished that you've had undiagnosed diabetes for so long and do not have any of the complications that come from long term untreated diabetes.

I've had type 1 diabetes for 35 years. I've been treating mine with insulin, diet, exercise/activity and most importantly- stress management.

the big BIG difference for me was stress management and portion control.

Without seeing your entire calorie intake, I'd say you eat common sensibly rather than healthily. It sounds like it anyway, take charge in the mornings and an occasional banana split. Do you watch portions?

you're welcome too ! hah! :thumbsup

i do it in hopes that i won't have a heart attack in my 50s like my dad did.

check this out- stress and mismatched calorie intake to activity level create the environment for metabolic syndrome, leading to type 2 diabetes!

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It is generally accepted that the current food environment contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome: our diet is mismatched with our biochemistry.[20] Weight gain is associated with metabolic syndrome. Rather than total adiposity, the core clinical component of the syndrome is visceral and/or ectopic fat (i.e., fat in organs not designed for fat storage) whereas the principal metabolic abnormality is insulin resistance. The continuous provision of energy via dietary carbohydrate, lipid, and protein fuels, unmatched by physical activity/energy demand, arguably creates a backlog of the products of mitochondrial oxidation, a process associated with progressive mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance.

Recent research indicates prolonged chronic stress can contribute to metabolic syndrome by disrupting the hormonal balance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis).[21] A dysfunctional HPA-axis causes high cortisol levels to circulate, which results in raising glucose and insulin levels, which in turn cause insulin-mediated effects on adipose tissue, ultimately promoting visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension, with direct effects on the bone, causing "low turnover" osteoporosis.[22] HPA-axis dysfunction may explain the reported risk indication of abdominal obesity to cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes and stroke.[23] Psychosocial stress is also linked to heart disease.

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just a choice like anything else. for most people they will just do what they want, think they don't have to worry about it and then something horrible will happen eventually and then they will, usually, turn things around. Some don't and live long lives anyway, others change everything and drop all the same.

All it really does is help your chances of not only living longer but being healthy longer. It's not just an energy thing or psychological thing it can be the difference between you needing two new hips by the time you are in your 50's or possibly never walking again in your 40's because you let your weight go too far.

Either way changing your eating habits is not simple for most people. Eating junk food can be addictive as any drug out there and definitely more socially acceptable.

You guys are being trolled. You have to be a retard not to understand what is the point of eating healthier is or live under a rock.

I've seen a lot of people around me age badly and painfully because of their dietary choices. A family member is 73 and needs a new knee, but he can't do the operation until he loses weight first. He won't lose weight because he has bad sleep apnea (thus it is impossible for him to lose weight while sleep deprived) and won't use the machine and says "you have to die anyway." Parents of my friends who love to come out drinking with "the kids" now have chronic pain, digestive disorders, and stress from the constant worry about their health. They're only in their 50s.

Nah man, it's not worth it. Broccoli and lean meats aren't that bad. There's tons of variety available in "real foods" that aren't adulterated and packaged by scientists for the grocery shelves.

I completely agree. I'm thinking the conventional wisdom is off though. Because what you describe are the consequences of obesity (and stress, etc). would you agree? Eating healthy doesn't curb obesity, portion management does. And what cures unhealthy living is stress management. One of the best things for stress management is activity.

I think when people change their dietary habits and eat consistently healthy and reap any rewards from that change, those rewards are primarily due to the fact that this sort of change also has portion control as a component. It's the key to curbing obesity and increased activity is the key to curbing stressful/unhealthy lives.

So for me, my answer to the OP question is the point of eating healthier would be to support a more active lifestyle. If you are not active, don't sweat it.