Why Good Eating Habits are Important

Good eating habits are the foundation for good overall health. Poor eating habits, or lacking a good diet, means that your body is not getting the amount of nutrients it needs keep you healthy, active, and disease free. Exercise is very important too, but good eating habits even make working out yield more noticeable results.

The best kind of eating habits you can develop are ones that allow you to enjoy what you eat (not a complete feel good diet however), but have a balanced and good diet that doesnt leave you getting too much of one thing and not enough of another. One nutrient that is commonly out of proportion is carbohydrates. Typically people in modernized western cultures have feel good diets that lead to a higher than necessary carb intake, which leads to those carbs being broken down and stored as fat. Carbs are essentially complex sugars, which are burned for energy, unless they are unneeded. Unfortunately most of the foods that taste the best are loaded with carbs. However, they are not altogether bad, but eating too many carbs can cause you to gain weight. Good eating habits and a good diet plan cause your carb intake to be balanced so that excess carbs are not being stored as fat and you actually feel good instead of having a completely carefree feel good diet.

Although too many carbs can be a problem, fat and cholesterol are two other nutrients that are often out of proportion. Like carbs, your body needs a certain amount of fat and cholesterol, but good eating habits will provide you with a normal quantity of fat and cholesterol as well. An excess of fat and cholesterol in your diet commonly leads to high blood pressure and can clog your arteries.

Although a good diet plan is going to be a little different for everyone, good eating habits should incorporate foods from all the food groups: grains, meats, dairy, and fruits/vegetables. The classic food pyramid says that you should get about six servings of grains, about three servings of fruit, three servings of vegetables, two servings of meat, and two servings from the dairy group. There is also a designated other group that consists of junk food and beverages, like soda, that have little positive nutritional value. The food pyramid indicates that foods from this other group should be used sparingly, and perhaps should not be part of your good diet plan. However, your intake of food from the other group will depend largely on your metabolism and your health goals.

Good eating habits can be difficult to develop, especially if you have been eating whatever you wanted for a long time or if you do not enjoy cooking at home since many meals at restaurants are not the most healthy or balanced. Good eating habits do not mean that you cant eat anything good, or that you cant ever eat anything that isnt technically good for you; it just means eating so that everything balances out in a healthy way.


Read more about good eating habits and exercise at http://www.goodeatingexercise.com