We all know that “health is the root of all happiness”.To enjoy this happiness, we need to maintain good health. Basically food is the main need of our body. As a result it helps us stay healthy and active. Accordingly all foods are not good for our bodies. Some foods are harmful to our body such as junk food. However, the balance diet also sometimes harms us as long as it is taken in the right amount. Hence we have to control ourselves with a balanced diet. Let’s know what is a balanced diet and what are the importance and benefits of a balanced diet.
First we know what a unhealthy diet is? Unhealthy diet is starving yourself, and not knowing what you eat. Overeating, eating more junk food, not drinking enough water, drinking sugary and carbonated drinks regularly, irregular food timing and late-night dinner as a result increasing the risk of developing various health problems for example diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity etc.
All things considered we can understand how much a healthy diet is necessary for us. Now let’s know what is it and How can we advantage from it?
Meaning of a balanced diet:
A balanced diet helps us ensure that we have all the necessary nutrients in each meal. From this food list, we can understand how much food we should eat at each meal. According to this diet, we should eat vegetables and fruits for about half of our total meals. Oily and fatty foods should be eaten in small amounts. Along with this, a sufficient amount of safe water should be drunk.
In one word, it can be said that eating an adequate amount of nutritious food at the right time is called a balanced diet.
Is a balanced diet benefits for us?
Now many of us think that balanced food is necessary in our lives? The only answer for them is that it’s not only important but also essential. Indeed a balanced diet provides many benefits to our body.Like-
🔺It keeps our body and mind strong, fresh
🔺protects us from many complex diseases.
🔺 It also helps in weight control
🔺Gives us a good sleep
🔺take care of brain function and increase brain power
🔺reduces the effects of ageing
🔺Keeps the mind fresh and cheerful
🔺Reduces medical expenses.
Through these we get balanced diet benefits.
A healthy diet is very important for our body. Lack of vitamins can lead to various diseases, such as ringworm, oral ulcers, rickets, beriberi, etc. If there is a lack of meat, growth is disrupted and muscles are weakened. Lack of nutrients such as iodine can lead to goitre. In order to get a sufficient amount of nutrients, a balanced diet should be taken by combining different foods.
Methods of measuring nutrition
Nutritionists have presented the nutritional intake in the form of a pyramid to understand the nutritional needs of the body.
Through this pyramid, we can easily understand which foods will kept in our daily diet. With this list, we can create a healthy diet plan according to our body’s needs.
Besides, we can transform our food plate into a balanced diet plate by creating a daily nutrient requirement chart.we can see an ideal balanced diet examples like How much grains, vegetables, fruits, and meat we eat every day.
When we prioritise the advantage of this diet for ourselves, we will understand the changes in our body’s functions. We will also understand how a healthy diet gains weight from an unhealthy body. How obese body fat loss helps him attain ideal weight.
Balanced diet foods:
So far we have known what balanced foods are and what are the benefits of eating them. Now we will know which category of the pyramid diagram of the balanced diet includes which foods.
We will identify foods very easily through a chart:
| Grains | Rice, wheat, corn made from rice, bread, noodles, muri, pita, biscuits, pasta, bread etc. are included in the cereal foods which occupy most of the space of a balanced diet. There are also refined grains such as refined grains. For example, quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley and buckwheat. |
| Vegetables | Vegetables like leafy greens (spinach, lettuce, collard greens, jute greens), starchy vegetables, and legumes (beans, beans, peas), red, orange and green vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, capsicum, broccoli) are the second line of balanced diet food. |
| Fruits | The Fruit section includes all types of raw ripe fruits. All fruits are rich in vitamins which meet the essential needs of our bodies and fight various diseases. However, the fruits are whole fruits, fresh or frozen fruits and not canned ones dipped in syrup. |
| Protein foods | There are two sections in this category. One is fish, meat, pulses, and eggs, which contain complete meat. However, the amount of meat intake should be determined according to the structure and performance of the body. The other branch includes dairy foods such as curd,cheese. |
| Fats | This category includes all kinds of high-fat foods like chocolate, soft drinks, junk food, etc. It is advisable to consume such foods in very small amounts. They are distributed in that way in the list of healthy food. |
Guidelines for Balanced Diet
🔹The most important rule of healthy eating is not to skip any food.Because skipping meals reduces our metabolic capacity.
🔹Our normal eating schedule consists of 3 main meals and 2 snacks. Accordingly, breakfast which we can never avoid.Because we have to start the day with full energy and we get it through breakfast.
🔹Don’t know the easy way to make food. Eating healthy does not mean eating in a complicated or difficult way. Keep meal preparation simple, eat more raw foods such as salads, fruits and fruit juices, and focus on the joy of eating healthy foods rather than calories.It is also a healthy diet for weight loss .
🔹It is important to stop eating when we feel full. This will help us maintain our weight to an extent. We will be careful about this and it will help us feel better.
🔹Drink a lot of water, we will keep a bottle of water nearby while working, watching TV or gossiping.
🔹 We will put different types of food in the food menu. No single food contains all nutrients.
🔹In terms of grain it will be eight parts of grain and one part of pulse.
🔹Eat five portions of fruits and vegetables every day.
🔹Keep a supply of healthy foods on hand. This will prevent you from eating unhealthy foods when you are hungry.
🔹Remove all visible fat from food before you cook it – skin the chicken and trim any white fat from the meat.It is also a healthy diet for weight gain plan.
🔹Limit stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and refined sugar.
🔹Limit the number of times you eat once a week. Take your own packed lunch to work.
🔹Eat only things you like – find what works for you and don’t force yourself to eat things that are good for us.
Finally
We can say that there is no alternative to a healthy diet and at the same time, it is desirable to consume balanced foods in moderate amounts at the right time, otherwise it is difficult to get benefits from it.
A properly balanced meal pattern is the complete combination of food ingredients, food items and amounts required for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner for each specific age group. Healthy food is essential to keep our body and mind healthy and vibrant.
