It is no secret that it is incredibly important to eat well in order to ensure that your body gets the correct nutrition. This is why it is so crucial to make sure you are fuelling your body with only the best ingredients; with high quality ingredients you can make quick and satisfying recipes very easily.

But do you know the actual repercussions for mistreating your body and not eating a healthy, balanced diet? Poor nutrition can have an impact on not only your body, but also your emotional health. Oftentimes, it takes an understanding of the consequences of something to change our lifestyle or views. So, keep reading to find out the alarming effect poor nutrition can have on your body.

Obesity

The first, and probably the most obvious effect of poor nutrition is obesity. Eating badly for extended periods of time will eventually take a toll on your body, and the most noticeable change is in weight. Excess weight is a problem that many Australians deal with, and it is simply caused as a result of a lack of physical activity and poor eating habits.

The statistics are shocking, but the truth is, we need to look after our bodies by fuelling them with healthy, nutritious food. One of the main issues with being overweight is that it puts you at risk of getting other diseases. Unlike obesity, the diseases you can get through being overweight can stay with you for life; this means that even if you lose weight, you may still suffer the consequences of previous bad decisions.

Diabetes

There are several different types of diabetes, some of which can be directly linked to a poor diet. Certain variants of the disease are a result of consuming too much sugar and fat; essentially poor nutrition can give you diabetes. Although manageable with medication, the scary thing about the disease is that once you have it, you have it for life.

No amount of healthy eating can undo the damage. This is why you need to make sure that you are taking care of your body through your diet. It can be easy to take your health for granted, but sadly once it is gone, it can be a hard or even impossible thing to get back.

Heart Disease

Poor nutrition can also lead to high cholesterol, which is known for being one of the main contributors to heart disease. If you consume large amounts of foods with a high content of saturated fat, you are at risk of developing high cholesterol and heart disease.

However, many people are unaware of foods that contain large amounts of saturated fats, some of these foods include: ice cream, eggs, cheese, butter and beef. It is recommended that instead of eating these high fat foods, you choose fish, chicken and turkey.

Low Immune System

The immune system is incredibly important because it is what fights diseases and helps you to recover from any illness as quickly as possible. However, without the correct diet, your immune system may become weaker. This means that your body will struggle to fight off illness. The most important nutrient for a healthy immune system is zinc, alongside vitamins A, C and E.

Fatigue

A lesser-known impact of poor nutrition is tiredness. Oftentimes, exhaustion is brushed off as a by-product of being busy or overworked; but in reality, it can be because of a poor diet and bad nutrition. If you are constantly tired, your body may be telling you that you are lacking certain nutrients.

A lack of iron, for example, can result in anaemia, which is when there aren’t enough red blood cells to pump oxygen and nutrients around the body. Tiredness can also be an indicator that you have other health issues, such as a thyroid issue or heart disease. Essentially, fatigue is your body telling you that something is not quite right, and that could be down to poor nutrition.

Mental Health Issues

The physical impacts of a bad diet are quite obvious, but what many people forget about is the effect it can have on your emotional and mental health. Interestingly, poor nutrition can cause depression, alongside other mental health issues.

Essentially, a poor diet can cause you to lose interest in things you used to enjoy or make it harder to complete certain tasks. Therefore, it is just as important to eat well in order to care for your mental and emotional wellbeing as it is to care for your body.

This is a guest post written by Rebecca DiCioccio. Rebecca is a writer and an editor at Best in Australia who has written on a range of topics about food and health. She is enthusiastic and passionate with an interest in discovering new food recipes, entertainment and politics.