Effects of crappy nutrition?

[Xren]

What are the effects of a diet with absolutely no vegetables or seafood, and very minimal fruit or enriched foods?  Is going several years without such foods supposed to be fatal or near-fatal?

[LivingInGrey]

Watch Supersize me.

http://www.hulu.com/super-size-me

[Shang]

It can have some adverse affects, though I recently got my bloodwork done and everything was fine and all my vitamins were in normal range along with my sugar levels.  I've had minimal vegetables (see:  I only ate them when I visited my parents for two weeks in May) and I won't touch seafood and I've had little fruit (mostly a few grapes here and there) and I don't eat enriched foods.  I survive mostly off of breads, but I'll eat anything my body tells me it needs--if I crave fruits, I'll eat fruits.  If I crave veggies, I'll eat a veggie (though reluctantly).  And so forth.  I haven't gained weight on this diet, and I'm not saying it's healthy, but so far my body has been fine (minus a few things that happened before this diet) and I've been on this diet over a year now. 

[Muffin]

A lot of nutrients can be stored in the body and some can last for up to five years, there are a few that can't be stored and they include vit C and a few of the vit Bs.
Everyones different, for example some people are more prone to colds and flus when they lack vit C and others seem to be fine. Most nutrients require other nutrients to be absorbed so if you lack any particular one it can effect another that you actually are having.
If you feel run down, lacking energy, vitality and have poor concentration then it could be a sign your body needs more.
I've seen people live on >-bleeped-< food or a diet that is the same thing (meat and bread) everyday and they are fine. But then others that try the same diet can have negative effects from it ....it's a risk thus is life?!
Eating good food especially alkaline rich foods will just make you feel better....totally recommended if you are going through changes in your life!

[Magnus]

Yes, it very likely will play a hand in your premature death.

I ate pretty badly as a kid (I didn't know any better, and my mom didn't either being a kid herself at 19 when she had me) and by the time I was 12 (when rapid onset obesity occurred) without even knowing it, a chain-reaction was being built up and when I was 17... all hell broke loose. I now have a chronic condition called "Metabolic Syndrome X". It basically means that if I didn't make some serious alterations in my eating habits and lifestyle that I WOULD have been signing my own death warrant and possibly as early as 30 years old based how quickly it progressed between "Z", "Y", and then "X" (which are the symbols of symptom constellations which make up this disease). The next stop would have been Diabetes Mellitus Type II and then Heart, Kidney and/or Liver Disease and the last stop... death.

If I hadn't made the changes that I have in the last nearly four years now, changing my diet to a completely healthy regime of fish, rice, oatmeal, vegetables and fruits every single day I would have already been diabetic and on my way towards the grave.

One of the reasons I've been able to stave off diabetes this long is because I stumbled across a clinical trial stating Chromium Picolinate as a co-benefactor to proper insulin function (and which is primarily found in raw tomatoes, garlic and broccoli) – it's true, my symptoms have improved dramatically and my cholesterol has lowered down to normal, in addition to not suffering "responsive hypoglycemia" from ultrahigh insulin levels in my blood. That, along with proper diet and exercise has literally saved my life!

So, just keep that in mind. You don't want to do this to yourself. It is absolute hell to live with because some of the damage incurred is permanent. I will always have this condition, the only thing now is that it won't be making me feel absolutely sick all of the time or kill me while I'm still young as long as I keep fighting it every step of the way.

Absolute bottom line here: Good tasting food but with horrible nutrition is not worth your life!

[Alexmakenoise]

It's not going to kill you right away, but it'll probably make you age faster.

At least that's what I've noticed in people who live entirely on the meat / dairy / bread diet.  Nothing sudden or dramatic happens, but they tend to look old and feel old much younger than people who are generally healthier.  Tooth decay seems especially common.  Basically, as long as you have some variety in your diet and are not starving, you're not going to die of malnutrition.  Our bodies are really good at making do with whatever's in our diet.  From a short-term perspective, that is.  The effects of diet are more obvious from a long-term perspective.  Fortunately, a lot of the damage done by a poor diet can be reversible.  If you start eating in a more healthy way, you can avoid a lot of the problems associated with poor nutrition.

[rite_of_inversion]

You really should eat better.  You might get into smoothie-making as a way of sneaking veggies into your diet.  They taste rather like ice cream or milkshakes if you blend it right.

But if you really can't bring yourself to eat good stuff, please at least take a good, broad-spectrum one-a-day vitamin-one with all the b-vitamins, Vitamin C, folic acid, etc.

And drink a lot of water.

[kyril]

What are the effects of a diet with absolutely no vegetables or seafood, and very minimal fruit or enriched foods?  Is going several years without such foods supposed to be fatal or near-fatal?

Definitely not fatal or near-fatal, or I'd have been dead a very very long time ago.

Mainly, if you eat a diet that consists mostly of animal products and refined starches, it's going to be a very calorie-dense, low-fiber and nutrient-sparse diet, and it will probably be fairly high-sodium. Such a diet is highly conducive to weight gain and can aggravate any natural tendencies you may have to diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart problems; it also may not provide adequate amounts of a number of micronutrients that support things like skin, eye, and immune health.

You'll probably get sick a lot, feel tired, and not look terribly good. But it's hard to kill yourself with it in the short term unless you work really hard to avoid the fortified flour and other ingredients that have been added to most cheap foods in Western countries to prevent deaths from malnutrition.

[niamh]

What are the effects of a diet with absolutely no vegetables or seafood, and very minimal fruit or enriched foods?  Is going several years without such foods supposed to be fatal or near-fatal?

But why? Why eat badly when you have the choice to eat healthy. I've found that a helathy diet doesn't cost more than an unhealthy diet (in cases it can cost less!) and as for your health, well you'll be healthier in the future which will be a great thing as regards health insurance and costs. So, if you look at it all round, it pays to eat healthy.

[This is coming from someone who ate badly for years but has learned the error of her ways.]

[kyril]

But why? Why eat badly when you have the choice to eat healthy. I've found that a helathy diet doesn't cost more than an unhealthy diet (in cases it can cost less!) and as for your health, well you'll be healthier in the future which will be a great thing as regards health insurance and costs. So, if you look at it all round, it pays to eat healthy.

[This is coming from someone who ate badly for years but has learned the error of her ways.]

Well, in my case because when I'm depressed I'm far more likely to go hungry than to cook anything. Or eat anything that requires effort/attention/dishes/silverware.

[lilacwoman]

I have seen reports of people who claim to eat nothing but baked beans for years.
I read of a Russian woman who was trapped by Germans in a caviar warehouse in WW2 and ate nothing but that for 18 months.
Some desert arabs eat nothing but figs and rough grains.
Some Irish ate nothing but potatoes.
There must be/have been lots of poor people in ghettoes who ate nothing but basic bread.
And so on.

As our bodies in theory need a wide variety of nutrients every day its logical to assume that living on basic diets would be unhealthy but lots of people survive for years - maybe our bodies recycle everything and only needs basic energy foods?

If you're happy with your weight and shape stamina and the condition of your skin, hair and nails then you know you are OK and can carry on with your diet.

[Aidan_]

Your body is a car. The food is petrol (gas) and the fluids under the hood are the vitamins/minerals.

If you put nothing but gas in the car, the car will run. It could be a long time, in fact, before you run into any problems. Some cars last for 15,000 miles with no problems on pure gas, some do not make it past 5,000. If you don't take it into the shop for inspections (going to the doctor for physicals), and you never change or top off any fluids under the hood (eat properly), you will first start noticing small problems such as annoying noises, performance loss, and delayed ignition. Gradually, the brakes begin to wear out, your engine is tearing itself apart, and your radiator cannot keep up it's functions. After long enough, something major will give out and you'll be stuck with a dead car.

Also, if you DO put all those fluids in, get it taken care of, and properly upkeep it....that doesn't mean it won't have problems. If you let it sit in the garage for weeks on end and never run it, the fluids goo up and the gas turns to turpentine.

Even then, small things can happen to the best managed cars. It's all about risk management and preventive maintenance.

[Sadie]

Watch Food Matters.

[VeryGnawty]

Watch Supersize me.

Isn't that the documentary by Morgan Spurlock (sp?)

That is scary.

[Devin87]

What are the effects of a diet with absolutely no vegetables or seafood, and very minimal fruit or enriched foods?  Is going several years without such foods supposed to be fatal or near-fatal?

Take a multi-vitamin.  You'll be fine.  I don't understand the modern insistence that we'll die without eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day.  Where do you think my neolithic Irish ancestors got fresh fruits and vegetables in the winter?  We as a species wouldn't have survived if our bodies weren't designed to be able to go without those things for at least the length of a long winter.

[Felix]

Take a multi-vitamin.  You'll be fine.  I don't understand the modern insistence that we'll die without eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day.  Where do you think my neolithic Irish ancestors got fresh fruits and vegetables in the winter?  We as a species wouldn't have survived if our bodies weren't designed to be able to go without those things for at least the length of a long winter.

Lol but Devin your ancestors didn't live very long or very well. Irish suffering is legendary.

I tend to eat healthy, but I concur that when you're depressed, eating at all is sometimes the best you can hope for.

[Apples Mk.II]

Your body is a car. The food is petrol (gas) and the fluids under the hood are the vitamins/minerals.

In fact, it is the only car you will have in your life. Better to take good care of it.


I started by removing the junk food, reducing the amount of meat and increasing the amount of fruits and veggies. Preciously I would only order the tasty food (pasta, pasta everywhere), and gradually switched to "what the body needs" and trying to eat a bit of everything during the week and nor repeat foods.


Still, not a lot with seafood. Minimum amounts of fish once a week, but nothing else.

[dumb bunny]

My grandmother told me about 30 years ago that my diet(similar to what you are talking about) was gonna cause me problems, it hasn't yet. I still have a great immunity and am more active than many people my age and I don't think I look almost 50. I think my smoking affects how old I look more than anything though.

But everyone's body is different, what works for one may well not work for another.

[aibeecee]

What are the effects of a diet with absolutely no vegetables or seafood, and very minimal fruit or enriched foods?  Is going several years without such foods supposed to be fatal or near-fatal?

You will probably age faster.

Many of my old friends are my age but compared to me, they look their age. I'm 34 years old but almost everybody estimates me somewhere around 25.
I eat healthy foods, no fast food, no sweets. I don't smoke and don't drink alcohol. I've been doing sports all my life and maintain a healthy weight.

Just my personal experience.

[Cyndigurl45]

Poor nutrition is unhealthy and is growing in the US, enriched this or that or processed foods are unhealthy,  having said that an unhealthy life style can lead to yes death. I prefer to live so I choose to eat healthy lowering my chances of a premature death. Personally I follow a Mediterranean lifestyle, my BP is now under control and my cholesterol is very low. ......