A balanced and nutritious diet is very important in a healthy lifestyle. A good diet provides all the essential nutrients your body needs to function at optimal levels. In addition, a balanced diet can strengthen immunity, support healthy development, help maintain a healthy weight, and help prevent chronic diseases such as obesity or diabetes. A balanced diet is easy to follow with a little planning and preparation, and will provide the basis for a healthy and happy life.
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Part 1 of 2: Understanding a Balanced Diet
Step 1. Eat foods from all five food groups
One of the most important components of a balanced diet is eating foods from all five food groups nearly every day. Each food group offers a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are important for health.
- Make sure you include foods from the protein group, dairy products, cereals, fruits, and vegetables.
- In addition, include sources of healthy fats in a day. Although fat is not considered a food group, studies show that eating healthy fats in moderation (such as omega 3 fats) can support cardiac health.
- Avoiding one or more of these food groups puts you at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Not all nutrients are available in every food group, so it's important that you eat foods from all five food groups every day.
Step 2. Eat a variety of foods from each group
In addition to eating foods from the five food groups, you should also eat a variety of foods in each group.
- Each food provides different vitamins, minerals and nutrients for the body. If you don't make variations, your nutritional intake will be limited.
- This is especially true for fruits and vegetables. Vegetables and fruits are full of vitamins and minerals, and contain a variety of health-supporting antioxidants. Each colorful fruit and vegetable contains a different type of antioxidant that helps support health in various ways.
- Try to eat local fruits and vegetables as they are fresh and thus offer greater vitamin and mineral benefits.
Step 3. Eat the right amount of calories
In addition to eating a variety of foods and making sure you're eating all of the recommended nutrients, you'll also need to balance how many calories you eat each day.
- Eating the correct number of calories for your age, activity level, and gender will help support a healthy weight. If you eat too many or too few calories, the risk is unwanted weight gain or loss.
- In general, most women need about 1,500 calories daily and men need about 2,000 calories daily. This number varies by age, gender, activity level, and overall health.
- If you want to gain or lose weight, you still need to eat the right amount of calories. Very high or very low calorie levels can also cause health problems.
Step 4. Avoid strict diets
Don't follow a diet program that requires you to avoid certain foods or to overeat other foods. This type of diet can make you eat too much of one nutrient and not enough of another, resulting in an unbalanced diet.
- Low-carb diets emphasize avoiding or limiting intake of carbohydrate-based foods, such as fruit, starchy vegetables, legumes, cereals, and dairy products. Restricting so many food groups puts you at risk for nutritional deficiencies.
- A low-fat diet advises avoiding high-fat foods such as high-fat meats, eggs, fatty fish, full-fat dairy products, and butter or oil. While limiting fat intake may prove beneficial, dietary fat has an important role in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A or D).
- A high-protein diet emphasizes the consumption of protein-based foods such as poultry, eggs, pork, beef, seafood, or legumes. Moderate protein intake is fine, but very high protein levels can cause kidney damage over time.
Step 5. Treat yourself to a moderate amount of food
A balanced diet also includes a few high-calorie or delicious cakes. Although they should not be consumed regularly, they are still accepted as part of a healthy and balanced diet.
- Include special foods or drinks in your diet every now and then. For example, dessert cake or a glass of wine.
- Be careful not to exceed the limit or choose these foods for everyday. This will further unbalance the diet and may lead to weight gain or contribute to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
- This also includes alcoholic beverages. When self-indulgent like this, women should not drink more than one drink per day and men should not consume more than two drinks of alcohol per day.
Step 6. Make a meal plan
To help you plan a balanced diet, it may be a good idea to develop a meal plan for yourself. This way, you'll see if you're meeting basic nutritional diets, such as eating one serving from each food group and varying your choices throughout the week.
- When planning your meal, make sure you include foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition, also include snacks that you plan to eat.
- After you've worked out your meal plan for a few days or weeks, review it again to make sure you've included a variety of foods from each group. If you notice that there is less variety in your diet on certain days, correct it as necessary.
- You can also download a food log app on your phone to make it even easier to plan meals.
Part 2 of 2: Maintaining a Balanced Diet
Step 1. Eat lean protein
Protein is an essential nutrient that you need in relatively large amounts. Incorporating one source of protein at each meal and in a snack can help you meet your daily goal.
- Protein is found in many types of foods such as poultry, beef, pork, legumes, eggs, dairy products, and tofu or soy products.
- One serving of protein is about 85–110 grams. This is roughly the size of a deck of cards or a checkbook. Most women need about 46 grams daily and men about 56 grams of protein daily.
- If you are maintaining a healthy weight, choose lean or low-fat protein sources. This type of protein is lower in calories and can aid weight loss. Lean proteins include boneless, skinless chicken breasts, turkey cutlets, ground beef that is 90% lean or higher, or beans without salt.
Step 2. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables contain many types of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are also a source of health-promoting antioxidants and cannot be obtained from other foods.
- One serving of fruit is one small piece or cup of chopped fruit. In general, try to eat 2-3 servings of fruit every day.
- One serving of vegetables is 1 cup or 2 cups of green leafy vegetables. Try to eat 4-5 servings of vegetables every day.
- To get a variety of antioxidants, choose different colored fruits and vegetables each day. This will help add variety because different colored fruits contain different vitamins.
Step 3. Choose 100% whole grains
The cereal group consists of whole grains and processed cereals. If you can, make half or all cereal choices out of 100% whole grains.
- Whole grain foods are minimally processed and contain all parts of the cereal, namely the embryo, endosperm, and epidermis. Together, they provide fiber, protein, and other nutrients that are beneficial for health. Examples of whole grain foods are 100% whole wheat pasta, corn, quinoa, oats, brown rice, and 100% whole wheat bread.
- Processed cereals have been through multiple processes and contain no husks or cereal grains (thus reducing the amount of nutrients they contain). Examples of processed cereals are white bread, plain pasta, white rice, and other foods whose main ingredient is white flour.
- One serving of whole grains is 30 grams or cup. Aim to eat two to three servings of whole grains each day. Try to get half your cereal intake from 100% whole grains.
Step 4. Include healthy fat sources
Fat is not considered a food group, but is considered an essential nutrient for a balanced diet. However, you should be careful not to eat too much fat or too much of the wrong type of fat.
- Focus on eating heart-healthy fats like omega 3 fats and other monounsaturated fats. Studies show that this type of fat can help improve cardiac health. For example, olive or olive oil, fatty fish, avocado, nuts, or peanut oil.
- One serving of fat or oil is 1 tsp. Aim to eat one or two servings per day, but no more than two.
- Avoid or minimize unhealthy fats such as trans fats and saturated fats. This type of fat has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Unhealthy fats are found in foods such as fast food or fried foods, or high-fat animal protein.
Step 5. Take supplements
Sometimes you may not be able to eat all food groups or a large variety of foods. This may be due to a food allergy, food sensitivity, or chronic illness. In this case, you need to consume adequate amounts of essential nutrients through other sources such as vitamin and mineral supplements. Try to get as many nutrients from food as possible and only take supplements when necessary.
- Taking supplements can help you reach your daily nutritional goals. You may want to consider taking a multivitamin, calcium (especially if you are allergic to milk or lactose intolerant), fish oil (if you are allergic to seafood or don't eat fish), or vitamin D (which is hard to get from food but can be obtained from the sun).).
- Vegetarians and vegans may also need supplements with vitamin B12 or iron because their diets contain limited amounts of these nutrients.
- Always consult your doctor before taking any vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements. While generally harmless, some supplements may interact seriously with prescription drugs and chronic illnesses. Your doctor will be able to tell you which supplements are safe and appropriate for you.
- Again, don't just rely on supplements to provide your body with essential nutrients. Nutrition from food is always better.
Step 6. See a registered dietitian
Maintaining a balanced diet can be difficult or confusing at times. However, consulting a registered dietitian can provide you with more information, guidance, and support for dietary changes.
- A registered dietitian is a licensed professional nutritionist who is knowledgeable in nutrition, healthy eating, and weight loss.
- Find a dietitian in your area or contact your doctor to see if he or she works with a dietitian and can refer you.
Tips
- Eat small portions of mixed nuts of various types. But don't overdo it.
- Eat slowly to avoid overeating. Eating at a slow pace allows your mind to send signals to your body that you are full. If you eat too fast, your brain won't send this signal until you've eaten too much.
- A reduced-calorie meal plan that includes the right amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and fat will also help with weight loss. By following a balanced diet plan, you don't have to give up eating whole food groups that are nutritious and don't get the essential nutrients they contain. As a good start, choose a meal plan that includes a wide variety of foods.
