This is How Lucky You Are to Be Able to Choose a Healthy Diet

Many of us know we should choose a healthy diet but don’t realize how spoiled we really are to be able to do so. We turn up our noses at foods we don’t like or that we simply don’t feel like at a certain time. There isn’t anything wrong with doing this except that it has led us to start making bad food choices when we’re actually lucky to be able to make good ones if we want to.

Being Thankful to be Able to Choose a Healthy Diet

Gratitude and being thankful is the theme of the season right now. As such, it’s a good idea to take a moment to think about how lucky we are to choose the foods we want to eat. In fact, we can choose a healthy diet if we want to. Not everyone has that opportunity.

For many of us, the option to choose a healthy diet has always been there. As a result, we don’t realize how privileged we truly are. The majority of people around the world don’t have that choice. They eat what they can, and all too often it’s either too little, or it contains enough to stave off hunger but not enough to meet nutritional requirements.

Not Enough Fruits and Vegetables in the World

Many of us here in the United States are used to an abundance of fruits and vegetables. In fact, we don’t hesitate to throw it out if it’s anything less than perfect. That said, a recent study has suggested that the world doesn’t produce enough fruits and vegetables for everyone to be able to choose a healthy diet.

The research was published in the PLOS One journal. It was conducted by a research team from the University of Guelph. The study looked into worldwide agricultural production, following the trends through the year 2050. They then compared that forecast with the amount of food nutritionists recommend that we eat.

Unfortunately, they found that if things continue in the same way they currently are, the world simply will not provide enough fruits and vegetables for the proper nutrition of everyone. Not everyone can choose a healthy diet, even if they want to. Global agriculture is facing an increasing crisis as populations rise but while food does not keep up.

Imbalanced Food Production

According to the head author, Professor Fraser, the potential to grow the necessary fruits and vegetables is there. However, we are currently using the resources for the overproduction of grains, sugars and fats, leaving too few resources for fruits and vegetables to meet the world’s nutritional needs.