The benefit of a healthy diet

Diet is an essential part of our lives. Like it or not, most adults stress the importance of a healthy diet because it directly affects you. Health Direct notes that some diet issues may cause short-term problems such as low energy levels, while other problems with diet can cause long-term diseases like type-2 diabetes and obesity.

Millions of scientific studies have been conducted to find how different foods affect our bodies. Over time, though, youths around the country trade their health for tasty but unhealthy food. In that pursuit, they ignore the long-term effects that come from making these mistakes. 

Another common issue is that students don’t make time to eat breakfast—a huge mistake. Failing to eat the recommended three meals daily can often lead to unhealthy eating habits such as constant snacking, which only adds more unhealthy food into an already lacking diet. All of these habits seem insignificant on their own, but it depends on what a student is eating as well as how much they are eating. 

Even if breakfast isn’t practical, eating balanced meals is key. Popeye the Sailor once said, “I’m strong to the finish ’cause I eats me spinach.” While light-hearted and comedic, I believe this is deeply true. Getting strong isn’t just from eating protein but also having a balanced diet. 

Harvard Medicine suggests that, for optimal health, over half of our plates should contain fruits and vegetables with only a fourth of a plate for protein. Popeye is right about his spinach. Usually, a main component kids are missing from their school lunch is vegetables. 

Think ahead into the future, and trust me, your body will thank you.

Sodexo is great about keeping the school lunches healthy. But even though there are plenty of healthy options to choose from, I rarely see students asking for the veggie of the day as part of their meal or picking up a fruit cup from the refrigerator. The human body needs a balanced variety of foods to survive, and as more and more kids abandon their daily fruits or vegetables in favor of pound cake or chips, they miss out on vital nutrients. 

Health-food writer Joyce Hendeley mentions in one of her articles that protein alone cannot build and support muscle mass without the aid of essential nutrients including iron; spinach happens to be one of the highest natural sources of these nutrients.

So the next time you stroll into the dining hall, ask yourself how important your diet is to you? Do you want to eat the pound cake for the short thrill, or do you want to have the vegetable medley that will give you long term health? Think ahead into the future, and trust me, your body will thank you.