Why Eating Better Can Affect Your Health Insurance Bottom Line
Eating healthy isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sweets and calorie-rich foods are hard to ignore, but doing so may help your physical, mental and financial health.
By eating healthy foods, you can decrease the likelihood of disease, hospital stays and procedures, which means spending less on health care.
What does eating healthy mean to you?
There are a lot of opinions about what it means to eat healthy. Some experts advise you to cut out sugar and processed foods, while others recommend focusing on lean protein, fresh vegetables and fruits, and whole-grain products. Some experts simply adhere to the old adage of everything in moderation.
Whatever strategy you choose, here are a few benefits of eating a diet with a higher nutrient value.
- You’ll get more stuff done. Yes, it’s true. By giving your body better fuel, it’ll run more efficiently. Think about what you can accomplish when you’re more productive at work or home. Many studies have shown a direct correlation to an unhealthy diet and lower productivity.
- You’ll spend less on life insurance. The cost you’ll pay to procure life insurance is also directly connected to your health. The worse off you are, the more you’ll pay. To purchase life insurance, you’ll need to pass a physical and hand over your health records, so put your best foot forward.
- You’ll feel better. Switching to healthier eating habits will affect your mood. You see, your diet impacts your brain’s function that regulates how you feel. Proper nutrition helps to stabilize blood sugar, and eating a diet high in nutrients will lower your chances of becoming depressed, too.
- You’ll weigh less. Controlling your weight is a contributor to your overall health. Overweight or obese people won’t live as long and experience more disease than people with healthier weight levels. In fact, you can improve your cholesterol, lower your risk of diabetes and cut blood pressure just by shedding five percent of your weight. Try to make simple swaps, like drinking more water and cutting out soda, or ordering salad instead of fries.
- You’ll improve your health. Even if you aren’t overweight, you can still be deemed unhealthy. Leave your junk food lifestyle behind and add nutrients to your plate. It will leave you feeling good and give you a brighter future.
- You’ll live longer. Researchers have found that people who ate well and exercised increased their life expectancy.
Start changing the way you eat, and you’ll start feeling better, become more productive, shed some weight, improve your health, live longer and lower health care costs.
For information about finding a health insurance policy that fits your needs and lifestyle, contact the UROne benefits team at 1-800-722-7331.
This post was originally published in December 2016; updated January 2024.