by EAT A healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and it can help you feel your best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
A balanced diet meets all of a person’s nutritional needs. It includes foods from five groups including vegetables, protein, and whole grains that can help manage weight and reduce the risk of disease.
According to Patricia Hudson Buck, a fitness coach, there are four pillars to total fitness. Experts, she said, widely consider exercise, good nutrition, rest and sleep essential to healthy living. While these ‘four pillars’ of good health help keep your body running, they also do wonders for your emotional well-being.
A balanced diet, she said, should meet all of a person’s nutritional needs. “Humans need a certain amount of calories and nutrients to stay healthy. A balanced diet provides all the nutrients a person needs, without exceeding the recommended daily calorie intake,” said Buck.
By eating a balanced diet, she said people can get the nutrients and calories they need and avoid eating junk food, or food with no nutritional value.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends following a food pyramid. However, as nutritional science has changed, they now recommend eating foods from all five groups and building a balanced plate.
According to USDA recommendations, half of a person’s plate should consist of fruits and vegetables. The other half should be made up of grains and protein. They recommend having a low-fat dairy food or another source of nutrients found in dairy with every meal.
“A healthy balanced diet includes foods from these five groups – vegetables, fruit, grains, protein and dairy. There are five subgroups in the vegetable group – red or orange leafy green vegetables, starchy vegetables, and beans and peas (legumes). To get enough nutrients and to keep dietary boredom at bay, people should choose a variety of vegetables,” said Buck.
Cooking vegetables
People may enjoy vegetables raw or cooked. However, it is important to remember that cooking vegetables will remove some of their nutritional value. Also, some methods, such as deep frying, can add unhealthy fats to a dish.
A balanced diet also includes plenty of fruit. Instead of getting fruit from juice, nutrition experts recommend eating whole fruit. “Juice has fewer nutrients. Also, the manufacturing process often adds empty calories due to added sugar. People should choose fresh or frozen fruit, or canned fruit in water instead of syrup,” Buck said.
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals and fiber, and should make up a little more than a third of the food you eat each day. It is recommended that you eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day. There is evidence that people who eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
There are two subgroups of grains – whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains include all three parts of the grain, which are bran, germ, and endosperm. The body breaks down whole grains slowly, so they have less impact on a person’s blood sugar.
In addition, whole grains tend to contain more fiber and protein than refined grains.
Refined grains are processed and do not contain the three original components. Refined grains tend to have less protein and fiber, and can cause blood sugar spikes.
“At least half of the grains a person eats daily should be whole grains. Healthy whole grains include quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley, buckwheat,” said Buck.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans state that everyone should include nutrient-dense protein as part of their regular diet. The guidelines suggest that this protein should make up a quarter of a person’s plate.
Nutritious protein options include beef and pork, chicken and turkey, fish, beans, peas and legumes.
Fortified dairy and soya products are an important source of calcium. The USDA recommends eating low-fat versions whenever possible. Low-fat dairy and soy products include ricotta or cottage cheese, low-fat milk, yogurt, and soy milk. People who are lactose intolerant can choose low-lactose or lactose-free products, or opt for soy-based sources of calcium and other nutrients.
Having a balanced diet means eating foods from all five food groups. Nutritional guidelines change over time, as scientists discover new information about nutrition. Current recommendations suggest that a person’s plate should consist mainly of vegetables and fruit, some lean protein, some dairy and soluble fibre.
keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com
