To survive, an organism has to have food to eat. This food provides energy, enabling the organism to carry out all its activities. There are several food types available on the earth. Some of them are plant based, animal based, and fungi based food. Fungi can also be considered as a type of food because of their nutritional value, but this topic will be explored in another article.
Plants can be classified into several groups depending on their types of food. Herbaceous plants have stems that are short and leafy; these are generally eaten as green food, such as spinach, kale, chard, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, etc. Animals, insects, birds, and fish feed on plants. The nutritional value of each group of food varies because not all foods contain all the same nutrients. So, before buying food, check out first the nutritional content.
Vegetables and fruits used locally are the first choice for most people; if you like vegetables more than fruits, then you can try to include a few vegetables in your meals. Fruits provide a lot of energy to the body, thus making us feel energetic. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals that are good for health.
If you plan to buy food from a local store, check out the labels carefully so that you can identify what is in the food. Some food items are added with preservatives to make the food last longer. The preservatives can be harmful to health. You need to avoid eating those food items which you can’t pronounce or identify. It is also important to be careful about how the food is stored because some bacteria grow under damp conditions.
Processed food is also full of food additives to enhance their taste and texture. A lot of preservatives are used by the processing industry such as sodium benzoate, benzene, benzoic acid etc. Some additives are used because they add color, flavor or nutritive value to the food. Unhealthy food additives are bad for health and can shorten our lives.
If you want to have a healthy life, you need to pay attention to nutrition. Nutrition is important because it can prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. In the modern food system food additives are used to prolong the shelf life of the food. This means that the nutrients are lost along with the bad taste and texture.