A healthy lifestyle is attained by maintaining a balanced diet.  The balanced essential nutrients are food to keep the body fit to carry out regular healthy activities to WELLNESS.  A proper meal plan helps to attain ideal body weight and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular and other types of cancer.

What is a balanced diet? 

 Simply put, it’s a diet that offers the nutrients to help your body function properly.  A balanced diet lies in the intake variety of food rich in calories, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. 

Calories

Calories are an indicator of the energy content in the food. People may require about 2000 calories a day to maintain their body weight. Generally, a person’s calories may depend on gender, age, and physical activity. Men need more calories than women. People who are more into exercising require more calories in comparison to people who don’t.

Importance of a Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy diet is about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential to a person’s overall health and well-being.

Being physically active manages many health problems and improves mental health by reducing stress, depression, and pain. HEALTH AND WELLNESS ARE ACHIEVED.

Regular exercise helps to prevent metabolic syndrome, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, and anxiety.

What falls under a balanced diet? 

A balanced diet will include a variety of foods from the following groups:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Grains
• Dairy
• Protein foods – Meat, Eggs, Fish, Beans, Nuts, and Legumes

A balanced diet typically contains 50 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 12 to 20 percent protein, and 30 percent fat.

 All the organs and tissues need proper nutrition to work effectively by consuming the right amount of nutrients and calories to maintain an ideal weight.

 A person’s overall health and well-being depend on good nutrition, physical exercise, and healthy body weight. The body requires quality carbohydrates, lean protein, essential fats, and fluids accompanied by regular exercise to maintain physical health and well-being.

A healthier lifestyle is also associated with improved sleep and mood. Physical activity particularly improves brain-related function and outcomes.

Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of natural fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds your body needs to function properly. They’re also low in calories and fat. Unsaturated fats may help reduce inflammation and provide calories.

Putting it all together:

A healthy diet will combine all the nutrients and food groups mentioned above, but you must also balance them.

• The plate method is a handy way to remember how much of each food group to eat.
• Filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables
• Filling just over one-quarter with grains
• Filling just under one quarter with protein foods
• Adding dairy on the side (or a nondairy replacement)

But individual needs will vary, so the USDA also provides an interactive tool, “MyPlate Plan,” where you can enter your details to determine your personal needs.