Balanced Diet: Diet and your Health

Definition | Importance | Components | Food List | Balanced Diet Chart | Wrapping Up

A Balanced Diet is a key factor to live a healthy life. So, do you know what is a balanced diet? How much of which foods should you eat? What is the importance of Balanced diet? How to maintain a balanced diet?

If your answer is no, then I must say you should read this guide to get your all possible queries regarding Balanced Diet.

Let’s start with the meaning of a balanced diet.

What is a Balanced Diet?

A balanced diet, a diet that contains the proper proportions of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamin, and water necessary to maintain good health.

A balanced diet is one that gives your body the nutrients it needs to function accurately. To get the proper nutrition from your diet, you must consume the majority of your daily calories in below-listed food:  

• • Fresh Fruits

• • Fresh vegetables

• • Whole Grains

• • Legumes

• • Nuts
  • Lean Proteins

You must include all the listed food in your diet.

“A variety of foods, basing meals on starchy foods and eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.”

Importance of Balanced Diet

Each and every nutritionist says that having a balanced diet is much more important, and it has a lot of benefits. Hence, all the organs and tissues in our body need all the nutrients to work properly and effectively.

Now, Let’s discuss some reasons why a balanced diet is important:

• Diseases Prevention: If you are not taking a balanced diet then you are increasing the risk of getting diseases for yourself. A balanced diet is important for the prevention of many kinds of chronic health problems like Obesity, Heart diseases, Diabetes, and Cancer.
• Weight Control: The best dietician says that along with disease protection and keeping you in the good of your health, a balanced diet will also keep you fit and your weight in control. Eating a balanced diet consistently will ensure that your weight is in control.
• Everyday Health: The dietician says that taking a balanced diet will definitely keep you away from severe or long-term diseases. But, along with it, a balanced diet will also keep you away from colds, cough, dental problems, and other such health problems.

Suggested Read: Nutrition Tips For Healthy Living

Components of a Balanced Diet

A balanced diet has 5 major components are:

1. Carbohydrates

A wide source of energy, carbohydrates contains about 60% or 310 gm of a person’s diet. Maximum of your energy requirements are met from carbohydrates.  Prefer carefully from complex carbohydrate sources such as rice, pasta, whole grains-wheat, millets, brown rice etc.

2. Protein

Protein is needed to assist your body to repair cells. They basically help with the development of skin, muscles, and hair. We can get protein from plants sources or animal sources.

Approx 25% of daily calories should come from the protein found in pulses such as- moong dal, urad dhal, and rajma, and beans. Milk and dairy products such as -paneer, curd, are also a good source of protein. Non-vegetarians can prefer eggs, fish and lean meat.

3. Fats

Fats are supplied to our body by various foods like butter, egg, milk etc. and all cooking oils provide us fats. It contributes to approx 15% of daily calories needs and it is also a major energy source.

4. Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin and minerals support metabolism. Our body requires a large number of minerals, but the more important once are calcium, iron, sodium, Iodine, and potassium.

Fruits and vegetables are the major sources of vitamins and minerals.

5. Water

We all know life without water is unimaginable. A main nutritional component that helps regulate body temperature, lubricate your joints and protects your organs, and tissues. You should drink at least 7-8 glasses of water each day.

So, these are the 5 major components. You must include it in your diet.

Balanced Diet Food List

The following foods are an essential part of a balanced diet.

1. Vegetables

As we know eating vegetables provides us with many health benefits. People who eat more vegetables are the most healthy person and keep away from diseases. Vegetables give nutrients essential for the health and maintenance of your body.

1. 1. Try to add multi-colored vegetables in your food because they are enriched with minerals and nutrients.
   2. Always add dark green leafy vegetables to your meal like broccoli, spinach, beans, lettuce, spinach etc.
   3. Vegetables are good sources of various nutrients, such as potassium, dietary fiber, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
   4. Vitamin A-rich vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash will help to keep your skin and eyes healthy and protect against diseases.

2. Fruits

Fruits are known as a bunch of vitamins and minerals. Eating fruits is very important for healthy living.

1. 1. Healthy fruits that you can be added in your daily meal are apples, banana, mango, grapefruit, orange, strawberry, guava, watermelon, muskmelon, papaya etc.
   2. It contains at least 90 to 95 % water which is also an essential nutrient.
   3. Fruits are always very necessary in the growth and development of human life. They are usually sweet to taste, low in calories, fat, sodium, and cholesterol. They include many vitamins and nutrients that would decrease the chance of various health-related problems.

3. Grains and Cereals

Cereals and grains are very important in our meal. Grains and cereals are good sources of fiber, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

1. 1. Always add some oats, rice, corn, barley, and wheat in your daily meal because they are the source of good energy.
   2. They help to maintain your sugar level and reduce the risk of cancer.
   3. Grains will boost up your immune system and reduced the heart diseases.

4. Lean meat, eggs, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts, and seeds

This group of food is rich in protein and it is also a good source of nutrients like iron, zinc, iodine, vitamins.

1. 1. This food group is also helpful to reduce weight.
   2. This is also a good source of iron and it is helpful for athletes.
   3. Poultry will help to boost your immune system.

5. Milk, cheese, yogurt or alternatives

We all know that milk and dairy products are healthy foods and considered nutrient-rich due to they serve as good sources of vitamin D and calcium as well as protein and some other essential nutrients.

1. 1. It helps to keep our bones strong.
   2. It is also helpful for controlling blood pressure.
   3. Dairy products contribute to muscle growth.

Balanced Diet Chart

1. Serves For Children and Adolescents Daily

Children and adolescents	Grains and cereal	Vegetables and Legumes	Fruit	milk, cheese, yogurt or alternatives	Lean meat, eggs, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts, and seeds
Children 2-3 years	4	2 ½	1	1 ½	1
Children 4-8 years	4	4 ½	1 ½	2 for boys 1.5 for girls	1 ½
Children 9-11 years	5 for boys 4 for girls	5	2	2 ½ for boys 3 for girls	2 ½
Adolescents 12-13 years	5.5 for boys 5 for girls	5 ½  for boys 5 for girls	2	3 ½	2 ½
Adolescents 14-18 years	7 for boys 7 for girls	5 ½  for boys 5 for girls	2	3 ½	2 ½

2. Servers For Women Daily

Women	Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles	Vegetables, legumes	Fruit	Milk, yoghurt, cheese	Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
Women 19-50 years	6	5	2	2 ½	2 ½
Women 51-70 years	4	5	2	4	2
Pregnant	8 ½	5	2	2 ½	3 ½
Breastfeeding	9	7 ½	2	2 ½	2 ½
70+ years	3	5	2	4	2

3. Servers For Men Daily

Men	Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles	Vegetables and Legumes	Fruit	Milk, yoghurt, cheese	Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
19-50 years	6	6	2	2 ½	3
51-70 years	6	5 ½	2	2 ½	2 ½
70+ years	4 ½	5	2	3 ½	2 ½

Note: All the Diet chart is according to Australian dietary guidelines.

Wrapping Up

So, this is all about a balanced diet. This article will surely help you to gather any information related to a balanced diet.

Hence, pay attention to your diet and try to avoid your bad eating habits because it can increase the risk factor of having diseases.

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