How Do Our Food Choices Affect Our Health?

Food plays a major role in our health, but understanding what is good or bad for us is not always straightforward. From ultra-processed snacks to red meat, the way we choose, prepare, and consume food can have a lasting impact on our bodies. Ultra-processed foods are often high in salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats, and eating too many of them can increase the risk of health problems. Red meat is another example of why balance matters. It provides valuable nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. But eating too much, particularly processed meat, has been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers. Moderation and choosing a variety of protein sources can help us maintain a balanced diet. Food safety is just as important as nutrition. Chicken can contain harmful bacteria that cause serious illness, which is why it must be cooked thoroughly. Finally, our relationship with food is influenced by more than hunger. Stress can affect hormones and reward pathways in the brain, making sugary and fatty foods especially tempting. Understanding why these cravings happen can help us develop healthier habits without blaming ourselves for every craving. Whenever we hear the term ultra-processed foods, we know it's in reference to bad foods. But what does it exactly mean? Ultra-processed foods contain one or more ingredients that you wouldn't find in the kitchen, such as food extracts, chemicals, and sweeteners. Sweetened drinks, chips, ice cream, sweets, and chocolate, as well as packaged meals, are examples of ultra processed foods. These foods are high in calories, saturated fat, salt, or sugar, and too many of them in your diet can lead to serious health issues. Diets consisting of high amounts of ultra-processed foods have been linked with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. There are some ultra-processed options, such as wholemeal sliced bread or baked beans, that can be part of a healthy diet. Dietitians note that it's important to check the calorie count as well as the sugar and salt content in each food item you're buying at the grocery store. Ever wondered why a stressful day can suddenly make a bag of chips seem impossible to resist? Short bursts of stress can actually reduce your appetite, but when stress sticks around, things change. Your body releases more cortisol, a hormone that can increase hunger and make high-sugar and high-fat foods more appealing. There is also a reward system at work. Stress can make your brain more sensitive to foods that trigger feelings of pleasure, partly through dopamine, a chemical involved in motivation and reward. Eating these foods may temporarily make you feel calmer, which can reinforce the habit. Other hormones, including ghrelin, leptin, and insulin, help control hunger and fullness, and prolonged stress can interfere with their normal signals. So those cravings are not simply about having weak willpower. Stress can genuinely change how your brain and body respond to food. Normally, when you order steak at a restaurant, the server will ask how you like it cooked, be it rare, medium, or well done. However, when you order chicken, that question never comes up. But why does poultry always have to be cooked all the way through? According to food safety experts, birds naturally harbor bacteria in their digestive tracts, like Campylobacter, Yersinia, and Salmonella, that are highly harmful to humans. On top of that, eating undercooked poultry increases the risk of ingesting superbugs, which can lead to antibiotic resistance. To stay safe, experts recommend being incredibly careful with the cold chain and cross-contamination, both of which can easily trigger the growth and accidental spread of these pathogens. That is why chicken needs to be cooked far more thoroughly than beef, even though no meat is entirely risk-free. While experts say red meat offers vital nutrients and should be part of our diets, they also advise to limit your consumption. Red meat, which comes from the muscles of mammals, includes beef, veal, pork, and lamb, all of which are staples of many people's diets. Red meat gives you around 30 grams of protein per 100 grams of meat while also offering all the essential amino acids. Additionally, it is rich in heme iron, which is five times more likely to be absorbed by your body than non-heme iron found in plants. Red meat is also rich in zinc, which helps process food and heal wounds, while also containing vitamin B12, which creates red blood cells and DNA. However, in 2015, The World Health Organization listed red meat as probably carcinogenic and linked it with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Health experts advise people to limit their intake to 70 grams of cooked red meat while avoiding processed red meats like bacon and salami.