A balanced diet is essential to your health. It keeps you energized and full all day. Discover how a healthy diet based on whole grains, vegetables and plant oils can help you achieve your health goals.
Food is essential for keeping your body strong, maintaining your daily routine, preventing lifestyle diseases, and building immunity against infectious diseases such as the common cold.
It doesn’t mean you should eat anything without restraint or that you should binge eat, especially foods that are high in sugar or salt. A balanced diet has the primary benefit of keeping you nourished, satisfied and fit. In this article, we have listed a few guidelines that will help you easily follow a balanced, healthy diet.
What does a balanced diet mean?
A balanced diet contains all the essential nutrients in the optimum amounts from a variety of foods, providing balanced nutrition for daily needs and maintaining a healthy organism.
Components of a balanced adult and child diet vary according to the following factors
- Individual needs (gender and lifestyle)
- Locally Available Food
- Cultural and dietary customs
Benefits of a healthy diet
Everyday routines should include a well-balanced meal. A balanced diet is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Here are some reasons why a balanced diet is important:
- Prevents nutritional deficiencies.
- Maintains a healthy weight in conjunction with physical activity.
- It boosts immunity and may help to prevent illnesses.
- Feel fuller for longer.
- Reduces sugar cravings
- Providing essential nutrients helps maintain mental well-being.
- It helps the body to grow and maintain.
- Help maintain healthy skin and hair.
- Early signs of ageing can be prevented.
- Sleeplessness is relieved, and the sleep cycle is regulated.
Guidelines for Healthy Eating:
Here are some basic guidelines to help you maintain a balanced, healthy diet :
- Small and frequent meals are recommended. Typically, there are three meals per day, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a snack in the morning and evening.
- Choose a wide variety of grains, pulses and fruits. The best diet is one that includes all of these foods.
- Include a variety of fruits in your diet.
- Limit or eliminate refined or processed products (white sugar, white bread, etc.). Wholegrains such as wholewheat (wholewheat), bajra (ragi), and jowar (etc.) are high-fibre foods.
- Use less high-fat products such as ghee and vanaspati.
- Limit salt consumption to less than 5g/day.
- To ensure good hydration, drink plenty of water.
- Include foods that are high in nutrients, such as nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds) in your daily diet.
- Always use the correct cooking method (e.g., steaming or boiling, sautéing) to avoid losing nutrients.
The four food groups that make up a balanced diet are:
Vegetables and fruit are the main sources of a healthy diet. Remember to choose a variety of colours and vegetables. Potatoes do not count as vegetables because they affect blood sugar levels.
Choose whole grains for 1/4 of your plate.
Whole grains, such as wheat, barley, and oats, and dishes made with them, such as whole grain pasta, have a softer effect on blood sugar levels and insulin than refined grains.
Protein power: 1/4 of your plate.
Fish, poultry, and beans are good sources of proteins that go well in salads and with vegetables. Avoid processed meats such as bacon and sausage, and limit your consumption of red meat.
Moderation is the key to healthy plant oils.
Avoid partially hydrogenated oil, which contains unhealthy trans fats. Instead, choose healthy vegetable oils such as olive, canola and other oils. Remember that “low-fat does not mean “healthy.”
A balanced diet is rich in vitamins and minerals. It is therefore very important that a balanced meal contains foods from all of the above food groups. The ICMR National Institute of Nutrition provides a ‘My Plate for the Day’ that is designed to demonstrate the nutritional value of the food groups mentioned above, arranged in an even way.
In a balanced diet, around 50%-60% of calories come from carbohydrates. These are mainly complex carbohydrates like whole grains and millet. The remaining 20%-30% comes from fats such as vegetable oils, ghee, etc. About 10-15% of the calories in a balanced diet plate come from protein (legumes, dairy products and milk), while about 50-60% comes from carbohydrates. Fruits, green leafy veggies, and other vegetables should fill half of your plate. Cereals and millets should be the next portion, followed by pulses, milk or curd and then cereals.
Conclusion
Whatever type of diet you choose, a balanced one should contain foods from each of the four food groups and all of the nutrients required to lead a happy, healthy life. Eating healthy, balanced foods is the best way to reach your goal, whether you want to lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight. Consult a registered dietitian for a balanced meal plan that is tailored to your needs, especially if there are any dietary restrictions or you have a medical condition. For the diet to be effective, you should also keep your stress levels low and stay active.
