Does what you eat influence your health?

Many nutrients in food promote health and protect your body from disease.

It’s important to eat whole, nutritious foods because their unique substances work synergistically to create an effect that can’t be replicated by taking a supplement.

Vitamins and minerals

Although your body only needs small amounts of vitamins and minerals, they are essential to your health.

However, Western diets – high in processed foods and low in whole foods like fresh produce – are generally deficient in vitamins and minerals. Such deficiencies can significantly increase your risk of disease (1).

For example, insufficient intakes of vitamin Cvitamin D and folate may respectively harm your heart, cause immune dysfunction, and increase your risk of certain cancers (2, 3, 4).

Beneficial plant compounds

Nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, beans and grains, contain many beneficial compounds, such as antioxidants.

Antioxidants protect cells from damage that could otherwise lead to disease (5).

In fact, studies show that people whose diets are rich in polyphenol antioxidants have lower rates of depression, diabetesdementia and heart disease (6, 7, 8, 9).

Fiber

Fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet. It not only promotes good digestion and elimination, but also nourishes the beneficial bacteria in your gut (ten).

So, fiber-rich foods like vegetables, beans, grains and fruits, help protect against disease, decrease inflammation and strengthen your immune system (11).

On the other hand, low-fiber diets are associated with an increased risk of diseases, including colon cancer and stroke (12, 13, 14, 15).

Protein and healthy fats

The proteins and fats found in whole, nutritious foods play a variety of essential roles in your body.

Amino acids – the building blocks of proteins – contribute to immune function, muscle synthesis, metabolism and growth, while fats provide fuel and help absorb nutrients (16, 17).

omega-3 fatty acidsfound in foods like oily fish, helps regulate inflammation and is associated with better heart and immune health (18).

Summary

Whole, nutritious foods contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, proteins and fats, all of which promote health and are essential for optimal body function.

Notably, nutritious foods can reduce your risk of disease, while the opposite is true for highly processed foods.

Unhealthy food choices may increase disease risk

An unhealthy diet, high in sugary drinks, fast food and refined grains, primarily contributes to diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

These processed foods harm gut bacteria and promote insulin resistance, chronic inflammationand overall disease risk (19).

A study of more than 100,000 people found that every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption led to a 12% increase in cancer risk (20).

Additionally, a study of the world mortality and disease showed that in 2017, 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were likely due to poor diet (21).

DALYs measure disease burden, a unit representing the loss of one year of full health (22).

A nutritious diet protects against disease

On the other hand, research indicates that a diet rich in plant foods and low in processed foods boosts health.

For example, the Mediterranean diet, rich in healthy fats, whole grains and vegetables, is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, certain cancers and obesity (23, 24, 25).

Other dietary habits shown to protect against disease include plant-based, whole-food, and paleo diets (26, 27).

In fact, some diets can reverse certain conditions.

For example, plant-based diets have been shown to reverse coronary heart disease, while a very low-carb lifestyle may help eliminate type 2 diabetes in some people (28, 29).

Additionally, nutritious eating habits like Mediterranean diet are linked to better self-reported quality of life and lower rates of depression than typical Western diets – and may even increase your longevity (30, 31, 32).

Such results prove that a robust diet does indeed work as preventative medicine.

Summary

Following a healthy diet can increase longevity, protect you from disease, and improve your overall quality of life.

Although certain food choices can prevent or increase the risk of disease, not all diseases can be prevented or treated through diet alone.

Many other factors affect your health and risk of disease

Disease risk is quite complex. Although poor diet can cause or contribute to disease, there are many other factors to consider.

Genetic, stresspollution, age, infections, occupational risks and lifestyle choices – such as lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption — also have an effect (33, 34, 35, 36).

Diet cannot compensate for poor lifestyle choices, genetic predisposition or other factors linked to the development of the disease.

Food should not replace medicine

Although adopting a healthier diet can indeed prevent disease, it is essential to understand that diet cannot and should not replace medication.

Medicine was developed to save lives and treat diseases. Although it can be overprescribed or used as an easy solution to diet and lifestyle issuesit’s often invaluable.

Because healing does not depend solely on diet or lifestyle, choosing to forgo potentially life-saving medical treatment to focus solely on diet can be dangerous or even deadly.

Beware of false advertising

While scientific evidence shows that diet can improve various health conditions, anecdotal claims that curing or treating illnesses through extreme dieting, supplementsor other methods are often wrong.

For example, diets advertised for cure cancer or other serious conditions are generally not supported by research and are often prohibitively expensive.

Avoiding conventional treatments like chemotherapy in favor of unproven alternative diets can worsen illnesses or lead to death (37, 38, 39).

Summary

Although many foods have powerful disease-fighting benefits, diet should not be considered a substitute for conventional medicine.

Transitioning to a whole-food diet can improve your health in many ways. Foods that provide particularly powerful benefits include:

• Berries. Many studies have shown that the nutrients and plant compounds in berries fight disease. In fact, diets rich in berries may protect against chronic diseases, including certain cancers (40).
• Cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale contain a wide range of antioxidants. High consumption of these vegetables may lower your risk of heart disease and promote longevity (41).
• Oily fish. Salmon, sardines and other fatty fish fight inflammation with their high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which also protect against heart disease (42).
• Mushrooms. Compounds found in mushrooms, including maitake and reishi, have been shown to strengthen your immune system, heart and brain (43).
• Spices. Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and other spices are full of beneficial plant compounds. For example, studies note that turmeric helps treat arthritis and metabolic syndrome (44, 45).
• Herbs. Herbs like parsley, oregano, rosemary, and sage not only add natural flavor to dishes, but also contain many health-promoting compounds (44).
• Green tea. Green tea has been extensively researched for its impressive benefits, which may include reduced inflammation and lower risk of disease (46).

Nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, honey, seaweed, and fermented foods are just a few of the many other foods studied for their medicinal properties (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52).

Simply transitioning to a diet rich in whole foods like fruits and vegetables is the easiest way to reap the medicinal benefits of food.

Summary

Berries, cruciferous vegetables, oily fish and mushrooms are just a few of the foods that offer powerful medicinal properties.

Food does more than just provide you with fuel. This can promote or worsen health, depending on what you eat.

A nutrient-rich diet whole foods It has been shown to prevent many chronic diseases and may help treat certain conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.

Although it is clear that following a nutritious diet is one of the most important factors for living a long and healthy life, keep in mind that you should not rely on food to replace conventional medicine.