Can Healthy Foods Harm You If You Eat Them Too Much?
We all know that eating too many unhealthy foods can cause several harmful side effects. For example, if you eat nothing but fried and processed foods for an extended period, you’re likely to develop health problems such as weight gain and high cholesterol.
But did you know that eating healthy food in excess can also cause serious repercussions? It’s true! If you gorge on fruits or vegetables, excluding other food groups will eventually cause intestinal irritation and bloating. Even those without existing digestive issues may notice gas, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea as potential side effects from overeating.
Main Side Effects of Overeating Fruits and Vegetables
It’s important to note that fruits and vegetables in moderation are lovely for your body. But if you’re someone who eats them constantly, you may experience side effects from the healthy food group in high quantities. As a result, it’s best to focus on eating a balanced diet instead!
- Too much of a good thing: If you eat vegetables and fruits frequently, your body may build up a ” tolerance ” for these foods. Your digestive system will eventually start to reject fresh produce as they become less digestible over time. Ultimately, this leads to bloating, stomach problems, or other signs of illness. Eating too many fruits and vegetables is generally not suitable for anyone.
- Laxative effect: If you’re someone who likes to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, it may be hard for you to ” go ” after getting so much fiber. This is especially true if you’re not drinking enough water throughout the day. There’s certainly nothing fun about not being able to poop! The result is constipation and possible stomach cramping.
- Too much fiber: Some people get a bit too excited about eating fruit or drinking juice. They don’t realize that there is a limit to how much fiber most of us can tolerate at once! And if you are someone who has irritable bowel syndrome, or similar gastrointestinal disorders, it’s essential to be careful with all that fiber.
- Too much produce: Some people turn to a more healthy diet to lose weight. They don’t realize that overeating tomatoes, cucumber, or pepper will cause the opposite result. Many fruits and vegetables are very high in water content and not very filling. Sports drinks such as Gatorade, for example, contain roughly 90% of water and only 10% actual nutrients. In other words, you’re technically eating a lot of nothing!
- Another downside to eating too many fruits and vegetables is that they often contain high calories and not enough protein or fat to balance them out. For example, certain vegetables, such as spinach, have very little protein. This means that your body can’t burn off all of the excess water from these foods. One way to combat this is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of protein and fat.
- Too many fruits and vegetables: This is one of the most apparent side effects when you’re eating too many fruits and vegetables! If you don’t get enough other nutrients from a balanced diet, you may find yourself getting pretty sick. Numerous studies have found that children who get more than 70% of their calories from fruits and vegetables are more likely to develop vitamin deficiencies later in life.
- It’s important to note that these are all general side effects of overeating fruits and vegetables. They’re not necessarily bad for everyone. If you’re eating many of these foods, it’s likely related to your existing health problems or the food itself. For example, people with gastroparesis may struggle with getting an adequate amount of fiber. If that’s the case, you may need to take steps to avoid getting sick from the high levels of productivity in your diet.
- Too much of anything: Side effects from eating fruits and vegetables aren’t unique to this type of food. People who overeat meat have been known to have diarrhea. If you don’t get enough protein or iron, you may also find yourself losing weight due to a lack of nutrients. So as a general rule, it’s best not to overdo it with anyone food group!
- Instead of eating too many fruits and vegetables, consider following a balanced diet instead. If you’re saving your meal for the back end of the day and not taking it in early enough, you may find yourself getting too little protein or fat. If so, you’ll be more susceptible to side effects from fruits and vegetables later in the day.
- If you burn a lot of calories eating fruits and vegetables, your body will also require an improved caloric intake. You’ll need to be careful with how much food and drink you consume throughout the day if you eat lots of tomatoes or cucumbers! Specific foods are just one concern to have when trying to lose weight.
How Much to Eat of Each Food Group
For the best results when you eat fruits and vegetables, it’s generally recommended that you aim for 20% of your daily caloric intake. But this is a general media recommendation, not a law. It’s totally up to you! So if there are other lifestyle factors that influence your diet and juice consumption, this might not be a good target at all. For example, if you don’t like vegetables or don’t drink enough water throughout the day, this may be wrong for you to follow.
Once you have figured out your recommended daily caloric intake, it may also be helpful to calculate your total daily caloric intake with the food groups as percentages of what’s already been calculated. This will help you visualize a more accurate way of eating that’s based on balanced meal planning.
Food delivery services deliver fruits, vegetables, and juices throughout the day. Home Chef is the option trusted by many people who want to eat healthily and lose weight.
The process is pretty simple. Home Chef delivers healthy ingredients right to your door. You receive a menu each week and can choose how many meals you want to cook and which recipes you want to try. All of the prep work is done for you, and there’s no cooking or cleaning required!
Conclusion
Eating healthy isn’t always easy. There’s a lot of conflicting information about what is and isn’t healthy for you. And unless you are willing to invest time and energy into investigating the food industry for yourself, it can be challenging to know exactly what to eat at any given moment.
About the Author
Twigs cafe staff is comprised of editors, writers, food & drink experts, nutritionists, and researchers to create informative and helpful content for health-conscious people.
