IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCED DIET IN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet gives your body the nutrients it needs to function correctly. To get the nutrition you need, most of your daily calories should come from:

• fresh fruits

• fresh vegetables

• whole grains

• legumes

• nuts

• lean proteins

In simple words, it’s a diet that offers the nutrients to help your body function properly. The importance of diet lies in the intake of the right amount of calories. Your body gets the right nutrition when you consume a wide variety of food rich in calories such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and proteins

Why a balanced diet is important

Eating a healthy diet is all about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential parts of a person’s overall health and well-being.

A balanced diet supplies the nutrients your body needs to work effectively. Without balanced nutrition, your body is more prone to disease, infection, fatigue, and low performance.

There’s no questioning the importance of healthy food in your life. Unless you maintain a proper diet for a healthy body, you may be prone to diseases, infection, or even exhaustion. The importance of nutritious food for children especially needs to be highlighted since otherwise they may end up being prone to several growth and developmental problems.

Children who don’t get enough healthy foods may face growth and developmental problems, poor academic performance, and frequent infections.

They can also develop unhealthy eating habits that may persist into adulthood.

Without exercise, they’ll also have a higher risk of obesity and various diseases that make up metabolic syndrome, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Being physically active manages many health problems and improves mental health by reducing stress, depression, and pain. Regular exercise helps to prevent metabolic syndrome, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, and anxiety.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States are directly linked to diet.

These are:

• Heart disease

• Cancer

• Stroke

• Type 2 diabetes

What to eat for a balanced diet

A healthy, balanced diet will usually include the following nutrients:

• vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants

• carbohydrates, including starches and fiber

• protein

• healthy fats

A balanced diet will include a variety of foods from the following groups:

• fruits

• vegetables

• grains

• dairy

• protein foods

Examples of protein foods include meat, eggs, fish, beans, nuts, and legumes.

Get your Meal Plan here

People who follow a vegan diet will focus entirely on plant-based foods. They won’t eat meat, fish, or dairy, but their diet will include other items that provide similar nutrients.

Tofu and beans, for example, are plant-based sources of protein. Some people are intolerant of dairy but can still build a balanced diet by choosing a variety of nutrient-rich replacements.

Foods to avoid

Foods to avoid or limit on a healthy diet include:

• highly processed foods

• refined grains

• added sugar and salt

• red and processed meat

• alcohol

• trans fats

What’s healthy for one person may not be suitable for another.

Putting it all together

A healthy diet will combine all the nutrients and foods groups mentioned above, but you need to balance them, too.

A handy way to remember how much of each food group to eat is the plate method. The USDA’s initiative recommends:

• filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables

• filling just over one quarter with grains

• filling just under one quarter with protein foods

• adding dairy on the side (or a nondairy replacement)

But individual needs will vary, so

Find out the most suitable Meal Plan here