Since you were a child, you were told that what you eat was the most important way to maintain your health and your energy. But as you grew older, and perhaps less stringent about your eating habits when away from your parents, you realised that while you knew that eating well was a better choice, the decisions you were making at each meal weren’t affecting your health as much as you were led to believe. So, do your eating habits really matter? Or was that simply something your parents told you in order to promote your initial growing phase?

The Fuel You Choose

The human body is a fantastic machine, one that runs on the basic fuel of ATP – adenosine triphosphate. This is derived from sugar in a complicated process which happens at all times of the say. When your body receives the proper fuel from your diet, your body makes enough ATP and your body can continue to run as expected. When you do not eat the proper foods, you might notice dips in your energy levels, but you will not see your body completely fall apart. Unlike your car, when you don’t give your body the right fuel, you will still continue to breathe and to function.


But what does this mean? Obviously, fuelling your body properly makes sense. When you give your body the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, you will give your body the proper nutrition to continue the cycle of ATP production. But does this mean you need to eat healthy all the time?

Not as Bad As…

Whether you are aware of it or not, there is generally a system of excuses built into your thinking process around food. For example, smoking is a dangerous practice and everyone knows this. If you have made the choice to quit smoking, you have made a healthy choice. However, though this might be a step in a healthy direction, it does not mean you can falter in other areas. Many people will think, well, I could be doing other harmful things, so eating poorly isn’t as big of a deal. And while this is true to a certain degree, this sort of thinking can lead to health issues. What generally happens is that there is always something that is ‘worse’ than eating badly and thus you can begin to setup a lifestyle that is less than supportive to your body’s needs.

Slipping Up

From time to time, we will slip and we will eat things which are less than healthy for us. No matter how diligent we might be with our diet plans, sometimes parties require that we choose foods that are less than healthy. Of course, ideally, these situations will be rare and they will only be bumps on the road rather than obstacles to health.

The trouble begins when we see slip ups as excuses to continue to eat poorly. Some of us can fall into the trap that since we ate poorly once that we should continue to eat poorly because we’ve already made a mistake. But this creates a cycle of negative eating patterns which then become habits, which then become health problems.

Investing in Your Future

Eating well is not just another habit to pick up, but rather an investment in your health’s future. With each meal you eat, you are adding to the health of your body. Each calorie that comes from whole foods and from balanced meal planning will allow your body to produce the fuel you need without wasting energy breaking down ingredients that only serve to harm your body.

While it’s true that you will make mistakes now and again, recognising that each meal is an opportunity to add to your health is a great way to get started on a healthy lifestyle.

Does It Matter?

So, in answer to the question to whether healthy eating matters, yes, it does matter. Each time you fuel your body with something your body doesn’t need, you are causing your body to use up energy that could have been saved. Each time you introduce foods and ingredients that are not supporting the production of ATP, you are causing your body to divert its resources to breaking down this food – as opposed to using these resources for health maintenance and for body damage repairs.

Perfection is not the goal when eating well, but recognising that each meal matters should become something to which you strive.