Consumption of food is very much important for obtaining a good health status because food helps to provide proper nourishment to the body, which ultimately helps to improve the health

Every food is composed of basic six constituents, which include carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, mineral and water among which carbohydrate, protein and fat help to provide energy to the body whereas protein is also utilized by the body for various anabolic purposes. On the other hand vitamins and minerals help to protect the body from becoming ill thus it is better to consume all food constituents in desired amount to obtain a disease free health

Basically diet refers to the total amount of foods and drinks, which are regularly consumed by an individual and a balanced diet is defined as a diet which contain all the constituents of food at proper proportion. Consumption of balanced diet is extremely effective for fulfilling the body’s need adequately as it provides all nutrients as per body’s requirement

How balanced diet is prepared?

Preparation of balanced diet is not so tough task and before understanding the ways of preparing balance diet we have to understand food pyramid

Food pyramid is an educational tool, which shows proper dietary guidelines in easily understandable graphical format. It is composed of basic five food groups such as –

• The first group at the bottom of the pyramid is known as cereals and millets and these group contains all the foods which belong to this category like rice, wheat, barley, maize, oat, sorghum etc

• Second group is known as pulses and legumes that contains peas, beans, lentils etc
• Third group is known as the group of fruits and vegetables, which contains green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, roots and tubers and all kind of fruits
• Fourth group is known as the group of milk and dairy products, eggs, fish and meat. Basically it contains all animal proteins
• The last and the fifth group is composed of fats, oils, sugar and jiggery

One should select foods from each food group of the food pyramid for preparing a balanced diet

Benefits of consuming balance diet

• Consumption of balanced diet along with physical exercising significantly improves one’s life span
• It is also associated with maintaining a healthy body weight. Balanced diet helps to provide proper amount of carbohydrates especially complex carbohydrates, dietary fibres, proteins, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals to the body, which ultimately helps in maintaining normal energy balance thus consumption of balanced diet decreases the risk of becoming over weight or underweight
• It helps to provide the immune system a boost thus decreases the susceptibility of becoming ill. Individual who consume balanced diet obtain desired amount of proteins, vitamins and minerals that help to improve the activity of immune cells, body’s resistance power and WBC production, which make the body able to fight against infectious diseases

• Balanced diet provides all essential nutrients, which are required for healthy metabolism thus its consumption is thought to be extremely helpful for enhancing productivity
• It helps to maintain proper water and electrolytes balance of the body hence protects the body from the detrimental effects of dehydration

• Micronutrient deficiencies can lead to severe health issues like eye disorders, bone disorders, anemia, dermal disorders, metabolic disorders, cellular malfunctioning etc, which subsequently increase the risk of morbidity as well as mortality. Consumption of balanced diet is considered as one of the most effective therapeutic remedies for preventing micronutrient deficiency disorders as it is associated with providing all vitamins and minerals in desired amount
• Consumption of balanced diet is also very effective for improving skeletal health. Balanced diet contains significant amount of plant proteins like pulses, legumes, animal proteins like dairy products, egg, fish, meat, green leafy vegetables, other vegetables and fruits, all of which are accountable for providing adequate amount of proteins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin K and magnesium that are essentially required by the body for healthy bone formation. It is also associated with promoting bone mineralization thus improves bone mass and density, which lessen the risk of bone related disorders. It also helps in promoting dental health
• Consumption of balance diet is also very helpful for decreasing the prevalence of cancers because balanced diet provides abundant antioxidant to the body. Antioxidant helps to protect every cell from free radical induced oxidative damages thus promotes their functionality as a result decreases oxidative stress hence reduces the susceptibility of cancers as oxidative stress is considered as one of the leading causes of cancer

• It is very much useful for promoting cardiac health as well. It has seen that consumption of balanced diet significantly decreases the prevalence of heart attack, coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, angina and myocardial infarction. Balanced diet is related with proving desired amount of calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, fibre and antioxidants, all of which are considered as cardio friendly nutrients thus its consumption is believed to be very effective for promoting cardiac health and functionality. It also helps to improve the activity of cardiac muscle and plays significant role in maintaining normal heart beat

• It is also associated with decreasing the prevalence of hyperlipidemia as it serves adequate micronutrient, antioxidant and fibre to the body thus helps in maintaining normal lipid profile
• Consumption of balance diet helps to decrease the risk of developing hyperglycemia as well
• It is also very effective for improving overall digestive health as it contributes various imperative nutrients, which are required for improving the health of colon, bowel, gut and stomach
• Consumption of balanced diet is also associated with maintaining normal cognition, memory and brain health as it helps to provide desirable amount of proteins, B vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids to the body, which are required for maintaining a healthy nervous system

General dietary guidelines for healthy eating

• It is better to focus on eating healthy foods rather than calories
• The most imperative rule of healthy eating is considered as not to skip any meal. It is better to take three major meals and two small meals or snacks (between meals) daily and never skip breakfast as it is the vital meal of the day
• It is better to prepare foods in simple ways and consumption of food prepared in home is relatively healthier than consuming outside cooked food. It is better to explore new healthy ways of cooking for improving palatability of dishes
• It is better to fulfill half of the plate with fruits and vegetables and remaining quarters should be filled up with whole grains and proteins
• Five portions of fruits and vegetables should be consumed per day
• Variety of foods should be used for preparing meal as single food does not provide all nutrients and variety also prevents boredom
• It is better to take away all the visible fats from food before cooking like trimming off the white fat of any meat. Consumption of foods, which contain healthy fat like PUFA and MUFA are extremely useful for obtaining a good health status
• It is better to restrict the consumption of stimulants like alcohol, spices, refined sugars and caffeine

So, it is always wise to consume a balanced diet with healthy eating practices for promoting wellbeing and for managing a wide range of health complications, which ultimately help to decrease medical expenditures in many folds.

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