Effects of Unhealthy Eating Habits

Food in all its forms, be it sugary topped cupcakes, chocolate fondant covered cakes, or a sizzling hunk of steak with a side of cheesy fries - our senses are vulnerable, and our stomachs scream out in anticipation. So where do we draw the line between what's healthy, more than enough, or terribly wrong to overindulge ourselves in? Our minds work on one principle - when food looks good (automatically inviting), ours minds program those perceptions to understand that what we see, will most definitely taste heavenly.

An instant turnoff for people is when one mentions the words 'vegetable' or surprisingly, 'fruit, or even 'nuts', as a healthy snack option. Why have we tuned our minds to take in what is pleasing to the senses, without giving healthy options a try?

Kids especially, are brought up eating the unhealthiest of foods. Parents don't really put much thought into what they place into their kids' mouths, because it seems easier than having to cook up a wholesome meal.

The effects of unhealthy eating habits will catch up with us soon enough, where it won't be very amusing when you go through the repercussions. Parents, young adults and the elderly need to understand that their bodies are fragile, and can at any given moment, succumb to the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.

Risks of Unhealthy Eating Habits

Decreased Metabolism

Your metabolic rate is what allows you to burn food, where the higher it is, the faster it is likely to empty out your stomach. That way when you keep your metabolic rate running with 6 mini sized meals (healthy mind you), you allow it to stay up and pulsing within a span of two hours from the last meal to the next. Combine that with exercise, and you have a strong metabolic rate that allows you to burn fat and stay in shape without adding on any unwanted calories. When you eat the wrong foods, your metabolic rate is interrupted by the inflow of toxins and chemicals that packaged foods contain. The liver, in an attempt to filter these out, slows down its functioning and lets fat accumulate in the body over time.

Obesity Issues

The world's number one problem and much battled against issue, is obesity. Kids, young adults, and the aged, all suffer from this, where some try to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, while the rest throw caution to the wind and continue onward. So what exactly is obesity? It is when one overeats to a point where their stomach becomes quite accommodating to the food load, as a thick fat layer forms on the outside the stomach lining. Encasing your stomach is a fatty deposit that builds over time, thickening and spreading to other parts of the body. One then has cells coated with fat, along with a set of clogged arteries that make it hard for blood and oxygen to freely pass. Problems you will face; delayed menstruation (women), breathing problems, heart diseases, diabetes, weakened bones, loss of muscle, and so on.

Immunity Takes a Toll

As the bad eating habits escalate, one's immunity takes a backseat, and the system is an open ground for infection and other disease-causing agents. The body loses its ability to ward off these oncoming presences, making one fall ill often, where it takes a lot of time for the body to heal and get over a sickness. Eating the wrong foods can force the system to degenerate slowly, since when the body is young, the body can handle the burden. It is important to eat right, and to go on a scheduled diet to get one's health back in line before it's too late.

Problems with Conceiving (for women)

A woman when overweight cannot conceive a child because of the enlarged abdomen's pressure atop the uterus. She is then prone to experience miscarriages, or will not be able to witness a positive pregnancy test. Hormones in the body aren't balanced out, and this can have an effect on a woman's ability to bear a child. Obese women are told by doctors that they need to lose weight, in order to be able to have children.

Developing Eating Disorders

The problem with not eating right is when one convinces him/herself that they need to desperately lose weight, thus resorting to unhealthy methods to achieve this. Anorexia and bulimia are two dangerous eating disorders that hamper one's health, and can ultimately lead to death. Women will experience a change in their menstrual cycles, will not have a healthy set of eggs for fertilisation, and will often suffer from miscarriages, as a result of unacceptable eating habits.

The effects of unhealthy eating habits can easily be avoided if one were to eat wisely, live a life of being active, and get involved in living it to the healthiest. There are so many ways on how you can switch to healthy eating. You could start by signing up for a yoga class, taking your problems up with a dietitian / doctor, and taking a hard look at your life on areas that need improving. Not only will you look great, but you'll feel great too.