For example, vegetables are generally healthier than meat because they contain more nutrients, less fats e.t.c. Why do certain food categories have properties that make them healthier than others?
In: Biology
Nutrition is a balancing act. You need sufficient calories to live and grow. You need protein for certain raw materials, fiber to regulate digestion, and various vitamins and minerals in small amounts. You also need enough so that you don’t feel hungry. But you don’t want too many calories either, and almost everything has some calories. Some other substances, particularly sodium, are also bad to consume in significant excess.
Unhealthy foods are ones that don’t help you maintain this balance. They may be extremely high in calories relative to their other nutritional value, making it more difficult to acquire the rest without consuming more calories than needed.
Say you need 2,000 calories a day. You have two foods, a snack with 500 calories and 10% of your nutrients for the day, and a veggie with 250 calories and 20% of your nutrients. If you eat more than two snacks, you can no longer meet your nutrient needs without consuming significant excess calories. Over a lifetime, this causes problems.
Now when you try to figure out the exact nutrients you need, and in what amounts…that gets complicated and there’s a lot we don’t know.
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