ChengYu
Grammar/Writing 625
Nov.19, 2010
Consequences of Eating an Unbalanced Diet
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that foods contain varied colors and flavors, which may benefit different organs of our body. For example, red color and bitter flavor are good for our hearts; green color and sour flavor are good for our livers; yellow color and sweet flavor are good for our stomachs; black color and salty flavor are good for our kidneys; and white color and spicy flavor are good for our lungs correspondingly. These are the wisdoms from ancient Chinese interpretation of Mother Nature.
Our human body is pretty much like a huge sophisticated machine composing different body organs as its parts. Each part of our body needs special energy and nutrition and special care to work properly as a whole, just like what TCM told us. A balanced diet is necessary for growth, energy, health, and disease prevention. Eating an unbalanced diet means that you will be lacking certain minerals, vitamins and nutrients that are essential to your body organs. The consequences of eating unbalanced diet can be severe. Following an unbalanced meal plan makes you exposed to the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and even death.
The first and most direct effect of eating unbalanced diet is malnutrition. Recent research reveals a diet that does not contain sufficient nutrients can lead to malnutrition. Malnutrition can lead to nutrient deficiency. Nutrient deficiencies occur when the body organs are not getting the nutrients they need to maintain healthy function. An unbalanced diet low in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and water may lead to deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Nutrient Deficiencies can lead to very important health problems. Some conditions that are caused by nutrient deficiencies are: edema (protein deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency), scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) and iron deficiency anemia. Compared with traditional Chinese diet, the typical American diet relying heavily on processed foods, refined starches, fried foods, red meat and sugar, is considered an unbalanced diet from a certain perspective.
Moreover, eating unbalanced diet can cause depression and lack of energy. While eating a healthy, varied diet has the ability to increase daily energy levels and maintain them to keep our body organs working properly. Eating an unbalanced diet can have the opposite effect. Researchers have identified that people who do not get sufficient supplies of vitamins, minerals and nutrients or eat a diet rich in high-fat and high-sugar foods may experience lethargy, fatigue, restlessness or sleeplessness. Such effects may result in demanding more foods that are high in sugar, caffeine or simple carbohydrates, which offer few nutritional benefits and can worsen negative symptoms. Eating an unbalanced diet has the potential to lead to depression or worsen existing symptoms of depression. The New York Times Health Guide notes that poor nutrition negatively affects brain and nervous system functions. Depression can be devastating to all areas of our everyday life. It isn’t just a personal pain; it affects every segment of society and our economy if it is not recognized and treated.
In addition, when a person intakes too many calories, he may become overweight or obese. This means that he has too much fat in proportion to his weight. Eating an unbalanced diet can lead to overconsumption of calories. As a result, obesity can cause major health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The most fatal consequences of eating unbalanced diet could be increased risk of heart disease. Research has indicated that unhealthy diets that contain large amounts of sugar, salt, refined flours, processed foods and high-fat proteins often tend to have high levels of sodium, cholesterol, saturated fat and trans-fat. These can cause a rise in cholesterol and blood pressure, increasing the likelihood of heart disease. If the diet is also lacking in the appropriate amount of fiber and other important nutrients, the risk for heart disease can be increased dramatically. Heart disease can lead to death of an individual.
To sum up, just as what TCM told us, each part of our body needs special energy and nutrition and special care to work properly together. Balancing your diet can be much easier than you think. You can easily find green, red, black, yellow and white colored food in any supermarkets. According to medical research, a balanced diet should have 10 to 35 percent protein, 45 to 65 percent carbohydrates, and 20 to 35 percent fats, including fat from meat, poultry and eggs. Just follow the nutrition range and be a little bit careful about color combination when you are cooking; these amounts of nutrients are enough for the majority of people to keep healthy. Let’s avoid eating unbalanced diet from now on.
