I am going to speak from experience and what the experts are telling us, I have experienced when you eat fatty foods or food with sugar you grave for more and never seem to be full this of course does not help the waste line or energy levels, feeling tired and in some ways you find doing certain mental activities to much, when I was in my teens my father was not doing well financially he was more interested in drinking we lived off deb potatoes which are potatoes flakes and dried peas and maybe a bit of meat, I found I could not concentrate and my grades where dropping considerably therefore you guested it, I dropped out of school, believing I was not that bright at all and did not take on many challenges because I felt my intelligence levels where low.
To avoid sickness and mental illness our body needs certain vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin and calcium to help with nail and bone health, magnesium is an essential nutrient which means that we must get it from food or supplements, Zinc, Iron, Folate and Vitamin B12, today because we do not go outside as much as we should and getting fresh air and sunlight, we miss Vitamin D.
Have ever heard someone telling you they are constantly tired and lethargic often enough they are not eating enough green vegetable lacking in iron and vitamin D which they say helps keep your immune system healthy fighting off diseases and colds.
So overall to stay healthy besides getting air in our lungs and exercising we need fats, sugar, salts, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, I remember my father telling me that if you do not eat enough salt you will get cramps.
All vitamins and minerals in small doses to work properly that means a good, varied diet with Fat, soluble, vitamins like A D E & K which are mainly found in animal fats, vegetable oils, dairy foods, liver, oily fish.
So, the body can get rid of extra water and work properly you need water soluble vitamins like C an B and folic acid these you find in Fruit and vegetables, grains milk and dairy foods.
Minerals which include calcium and iron amongst many others and are found in Meats, Cereals, Fish, Milk and Dairy Foods, Fruit and Vegetables and nuts three main reasons for minerals Building strong bones and teeth, controlling body fluids inside and outside cells, turning the food you eat into energy.
Therefore your body to work effectively, you need trace elements which are also essential nutrients small amount of vitamins and minerals they include iodine and fluorine which are found in variety of foods like meat, fish, cerals, milk and dairy foods, vegetables and nuts.
Of course the fresher the foods the more nutrients your body will gain so supporting local produce not only helps your community, you also keep healthier, a lot of foods can be made into soups and casserols frozen for later with a bit of planning and preparation you can eat healthy even on the run, to compliment good health the body needs rest to restore cells and assist with getting enough nutrutients to main organs like eyes, brain and essential organs, not eating properly or good quality food without preservatives can be some of the reasons children do not do well at school.
Our environment is very important to all living creatures and to how we survive in this tough environment.
SallyGilson 