By Good nutrition and a healthy diet is the secret to good physical and mental health. Taking a well-balanced diet can protect you from many severe noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and even cancer. It also affects the way you feel and how your body functions. But before moving further let’s understand what comprises a healthy diet and what are nutrients.
What Are Nutrients?
Nutrients are the ingredients present in food that help the body in various ways. Nutrients help us:
- Grow
- Function properly
- Repair body tissues
- Build new tissues
There is no one food that can provide for all nutrients in the right amount. However, combining various different types of foods in the right amount in your diet can help you meet your body’s daily requirements for nutrients. Making nutrient-rich foods a part of your diet can have long-term benefits for your body.
What Does A Healthy Diet Comprise?
A healthy diet consists of a combination of foods that are nutrient-rich and are a good source of nutrition. This includes:
- Cereals like barley, maize, millets, whole grains, oatmeal, rice, and more.
- Root vegetables or starchy tubers such as cocoyams, potato, yam and cassava.
- Legumes like pulses, lentils and beans.
- Fruits and vegetables
- Dairy products and poultry like milk, curd and cheese, and meat, eggs and fish respectively.
How Can I Eat A Healthy Diet?
The easiest way to eat a healthy diet is by remembering the importance of good nutrition for our body at all times and indulging accordingly. Here are a few tips that might help.
- Choose a healthful or customized diet plan that can help you maintain your weight and get closer to your fitness goals.
- Always include five food groups with different kinds of foods that promote good health in your diet.
- Consider the serving size of each food group and the recommended number of servings as per what you are trying to achieve.
- Always choose foods that are low in fat, sugar and salt content.
- Choose low-fat or fat-free milk. This will help you fulfill your recommended daily allowance for calcium and vitamin D while keeping you away from unnecessary fats.
- Always choose lean meat and poultry that have fewer calories and fat content but make for a good source of protein.
How To Make Healthy Choices While Shopping for Food?
Make it a point to always read the nutrition facts on food labels on any product that you would potentially be buying. These labels can be found on all sorts of canned, frozen and packaged foods. Look for:
- The list of items that are used in the preparation of the food
- The serving size of food and how many calories fat content, carbs, added sugars, et cetera it contains in a serving
- The vitamin and mineral content in the foods
The Importance of Good Nutrition for Our Body
If you are wondering why nutrition is necessary for the human body then we have a few points that would make for a good answer.
- Well most people might know that good nutrition and physical activity can help in maintaining a healthy weight but the benefits of taking a well-balanced diet and good nutrition go way beyond that such as it reduces the risk of some potential diseases like diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke and a lot more.
- Taking a well-balanced diet improves our body’s ability to fight off illnesses and recover from injuries.
- Good nutrition also boosts our immunity in the long run and aids overall well-being.
- Good nutrition and a well-balanced diet also keep you at bay from lifestyle disorders such as PCOS, hypertension, cholesterol issues and more.
We think by now you would have understood the importance of good nutrition for your body and how it impacts you. It’s always a good choice to have a well-balanced diet and even better to take a customized diet plan that can help you eat as per your body’s requirements. You can easily do it with FITFEAST by FITPASS, wherein a personal nutritionist will be assigned to you who will understand your fitness goals and requirements and assign you a diet accordingly. You can also get in touch with them to clear your food-related queries.
Also Read: How To Prepare The Best Lesson Plans For Kids
