Email a Friend
Print Article
Healthy Eating - Why Is Healthy Eating Important?
Healthy eating is important for many reasons.
A. Healthy foods supply nutrients.
Healthy, balanced eating habits provide nutrients to your body. Nutrients give you energy and keep your heart beating, your brain active, and your muscles working. Nutrients help build and strengthen bones, muscles, and tendons and also regulate body processes, such as blood pressure.
As you plan healthy meals, keep these three points in mind:
-
Balance: A balanced
diet helps ensure that you get all the nutrients you need. Use the
USDA MyPyramid
to learn how. - Variety: Eat a wide variety of foods. No one food provides all the nutrients you need. Choose a wide variety among and within the food groups.
- Moderation: Use moderation as your guide for everything, including the calories you eat each day, your exercise and other activities, your desserts and sweets, and even your restrictions. Moderation lets you eat all foods.
Three essential nutrients (macronutrients) are protein, carbohydrate, and fat. They provide energy (as measured in calories) to the body.
| Nutrient | Function | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Protein |
Provides energy; builds and repairs body cells; is part of various enzymes, hormones, antibodies |
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes (such as lentils), milk and milk products, vegetables, grains |
| Carbohydrate |
Provides energy needed by the brain, nervous system, red blood cells, and other cells |
Breads, cereal grains, pasta, rice, fruit, vegetables, milk, sugar |
| Fat |
Provides energy and essential fatty acids; carries other fat-soluble nutrients (vitamins); is part of cell membranes, membranes around nerves, hormones, bile (for fat digestion) |
Meat, poultry, fish, milk and milk products, nuts and seeds, oils, butter, margarine, salad dressing |
Vitamins and minerals are known as micronutrients. They play many important roles in the structure and function of your body, such as making new cells and promoting wound healing. See a table of vitamins and their functions and sources. See a table of minerals and their functions and sources.
In addition to the essential nutrients, foods also contain nonnutrients that can affect your body. These include fiber and phytochemicals (found in plants), many of which are protective against disease. Some of these compounds act as antioxidants, which protect the body's cells from damage. For example, lycopene is an antioxidant that is found in tomatoes and tomato products.
B. Healthy eating can lower your risk for disease.
Healthy foods can help you prevent and treat disease. Eating more fruits and vegetables as part of a heart-healthy diet can help lower blood pressure. Eating more fruits and vegetables may also lower your risk of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach, and colon cancer. And eating less saturated fat may also lower your risk for cancer and heart disease.4 For more information, see:
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Healthy Eating Topics
Get tips on how to prepare and enjoy your traditional turkey safely.
