By MAKENNA MCCORVEY
Staff Writer
Since the beginning of time, people have hunted and gathered their food. Finding food was the center of life, because food is the center of life. Without food you can’t survive. Food gives us energy and fuels everything we do. Modern day technology has allowed us to do more than scavenge for food. The world’s population has sky-rocketed because it can. We have the resources and technology to feed the world. But in this process we have lost sight of what eating really is. We fill our bodies unknowing of what is even in our food. The food labels are full of lists of long words that you can’t even pronounce. And meanwhile, the people of our world are sick! According to Healthline.com 28.2 million adults in the US alone were diagnosed with heart disease in 2016. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide! And 70 million adults in the U.S. are obese. Obesity is known to spiral into a plethora of different health problems, and can lead to premature death. But, on the other side of the spectrum there are people re-rooting themselves in good food. They are realizing that eating a healthy diet can prevent illness , cure disease, and heal people with different mental health illnesses. Not only can food cure diseases but the wrong food can also cause disease. Western diets often contain processed ,high carb, and high protein meals. WIthout a balanced diet we are creating deficiencies , according to PubMed Central, “insufficient intakes of vitamin C, vitamin D, and folate may harm your heart, cause immune dysfunction, and increase your risk of certain cancers, respectively”. By simply adding more whole food , such as whole grains, nuts, fruits, greens, beans, and meat (moderately) you can prevent having chronic illnesses and live a longer life. These foods also contain antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that remove potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism. Antioxidants protect cells from damage and disease. Foods high in this include, Strawberries, blueberries, beans, raisins, Kale, spinach, and even dark chocolate ! So, how does food affect mental illness? High amounts of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol is known to be a cause of anxiety, which just goes to show that what we eat really matters for our wellbeing.There is also a group of European doctors who are researching foods effect on mental health at Food Mood, (linked) https://moodfood-vu.eu/moodfood-findings/ I encourage researching what’s in the food you’re eating , let’s do ourselves a favor and get back to good food.