Disease Prevention Through Diet & Nutrition

一个健康y diet can prevent diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, obesity, osteoporosis, and certain cancers.

Here are three reasons why following a healthydietis important:

1. to maintain health by preventing loss of muscle strength, bone mass, and vitamin deficiency states;
2. to prevent diseases such asheart attacks,strokes,obesity,osteoporosis, and certaincancers; and
3. to help control and/or treat chronic diseases and conditions such ashigh blood pressure,diabetes mellitus,sleep apnea, andceliac disease.

• The body requires carbohydrates,fats, proteins,vitamins, andmineralsto maintain healthy organs, bones, muscles, and nerves, and to produce hormones and chemicals that are necessary for the proper function of organs.
• Vitamins和矿物质是th的天然物质at are essential for the growth and function of the body. Vitamins and minerals are both necessary (in small amounts) for normal chemical reactions (metabolism) in the body.

Obesity andheart attacksare major public-health problems in the United States and other countries. Therefore, most dietary recommendations are aimed at preventing these two diseases.

Obesity comes over time by eating more calories than the bodyburns. Obesity, in turn, can contribute to the development of many diseases such asheart disease,diabetes,sleep apnea,liver disease,arthritis,high blood pressure,gout,gallstones, and certain cancers.

• Tolose weightor maintain a healthy weight, it helps to eat more low-energy-dense foods.
• Low-energy-dense foods (such as vegetables and fruits) contain few calories per unit volume of food so that one can eat a large volume of it (for example, lettuce) without taking in many calories.
• One should also eat less of the high-energy-dense foods such as fats, egg yolks, fried foods, sweets, and high-fat salad dressings.
• Foods with a high energy density also often havehigh cholesteroland saturated fat content.
• One should also eat less of those foods that provide calories but little other nutrients, such asalcoholand many packaged snack foods.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published in 2020 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), contains guidelines for healthy diets based upon a review of scientific studies for infants to adults.

这些指导方针建议健康的dietshould be met with nutrient-dense foods andbeveragesoffering vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting components with no or little added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.

一个健康y diet should include:

• Vegetables (a variety of types and colors)—dark green; red and orange; beans, peas, and lentils; starchy; and other vegetables
• Fruits,whole fruits especially
• Grains—make sureat least half of these are whole grain
• Dairy—these foods anddrinkscan include fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese, and/or lactose-free versions and fortifiedsoybeverages and yogurt as alternatives
• Proteins,including lean meats, poultry, and eggs; seafood; beans, peas, and lentils; and nuts, seeds, and soy products
• Oils,including vegetable oils and oils present in foods (seafood and nuts)

TheMyPlate appcan help you maintain a healthy weight by tracking your daily progress on healthy diet goals, like eating a protein-rich snack, enjoying fresh fruit with lunch, or adding a dark green vegetable to your dinner. It also shares tips and ideas on how you can incorporate healthy foods into your diet.

Vitamins and mineralsupplementsare important both in preventing deficiency states as well as in preventing diseases. Most diseases resulting from vitamin deficiencies such asscurvy(vitamin Cdeficiency), nightblindness(vitamin Adeficiency), and beriberi (thiaminedeficiency)occur mainly in developing countries and are almost nonexistent in the United States.

But certain special populations in the United States can develop vitamin or mineral deficiencies, and thus requiredietary supplements. For example,

• severely malnourished people with unhealthy alcohol use can develop nerve damage from thiamine deficiency;
• individuals lacking sun exposure can develop bone disease fromvitamin D deficiency;
• pernicious anemiais a condition associated with nerve damage, which can result from vitamin B12 deficiency; and
• people withceliac spruecan also develop vitamin deficiencies, as well asiron deficiency.

For these special populations, vitaminsupplementsare important to prevent these deficiencies.

• Vitamin supplements are used to prevent deficiencies and also to prevent diseases.
• Certain vitamin supplements (such asfolic acid, vitamin B6, and B12) have been used to lower blood levels ofhomocysteine,which may help preventheartattacks.
• Folic acid fortification in cereals and vitamin supplements has been found to decrease the risk of birth defects in the developing fetus inpregnantwomen.

低单糖的饮食是很重要的controlling blood glucose levels in people withdiabetesmellitus. When the condition cannot be adequately controlled by diet alone, medications (sometimes includinginsulin) are required.

• TheDASH dietis recommended to lower官网地址bwin. If dietary measures alone are not sufficient, medications are frequently prescribed by doctors (sometimes in combination) to lower blood pressure.
• Agluten-free dietis the primary treatment forceliac disease(celiac sprue). Since people with celiac sprue may have difficulty absorbing nutrients and vitamins, some people with this condition may also need calcium, iron, and vitamin supplements.
• Therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC)are important treatments for high blood levels ofcholesterol, especially the "bad" ( LDL) cholesterol. When TLC are not sufficient, then medications are usually indicated to lower bloodlipidlevels.