Surprising Facts About Balanced Diet and Health
Having a balanced diet requires you to become educated about what a healthy eating plan is. A balanced diet is all about eating a wide variety of foods in moderation. Sounds very simple but, with the food industry trying to hoodwink you every step of the way, it’s not that easy unless you take the time to educate yourself.
With much of our food being highly processed and filled with additives, it’s difficult to know what to eat to stay healthy. But through this site you’ll have all the information you need to make healthy choices.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Having a balanced diet means eating many different types of foods, and not limiting yourself to one specific food group or cutting any food groups out.
A balanced diet is one that gives your body the nutrients it needs to function correctly, so it’s worth spending the time to find out more information. Remember that a healthy diet isn’t about restrictions and is not complicated.
To get the proper nutrition from your diet, you should consume the majority of your daily calories in:
- Fresh fruits
- Fresh vegetables
- Whole grains
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Lean proteins.
Get the Balance Right
Getting the balance right is important as you may eat too much of a particular food or not enough. You may consume foods that have little nutrition, or consume too much or too little in general.
Again this is down to education as portion control is an aspect that needs to be carefully considered.
When to eat is another factor as the debate rages on about whether you should eat breakfast or not. The main thing is to fuel your body and brain regularly with enough healthy food to keep both your mind and your body strong and alert. Mindful eating will help you to be aware of what you eat, and the effect that it will have on your body.
If you’re not able to take control of your eating habits, you may find that other areas of your life are out of control. It’s not unusual for comfort eating or binge eating to take hold if you’re troubled by other areas of your life. Remember that a balanced diet will improve your mood and many other areas of your life, so it’s really worth the effort.
About Calories and a Balanced Diet
The number of calories in a food denotes the amount of energy stored in that food. Your body uses calories from the food you eat for walking, thinking, breathing, and many other important functions.
You need to eat around 2,000 calories every day to maintain your weight, but that figure varies depending on your age, gender, and physical activity levels. For instance, men generally need more calories than women, and people who exercise need more calories than people who are sedentary.
The source of your calories is as important as the number you consume. Empty calories are those that come from:
- Sugar
- Cakes
- Biscuits
- Sweets
- Soft drinks
- Fruit-flavoured sweet beverages and other foods containing mostly added sugars (including high-fructose corn syrup)
- Fats such as margarine, shortening and other fats and oils.
Diet and Health Tips
To help you I’ve put together these diet tips to improve your lifestyle and help you feel on top of the world. If you like to have your information short and to the point, you can read the tips on this page. But if you like to have in-depth information you can follow the links through to the relevant pages.
A Diet that is Additive Free is the Key to Staying Healthy
Research has linked nutrition to many chronic health problems, therefore a balanced diet that is additive free is the key to staying healthy.
You cannot look or feel good if you are diseased and your body is aching, so changing the food that you eat is the first thing on the menu:
- Additives in food are bad for you but this is quite contoversial
- Antioxidants protect your vital organs
- Balance your hormones
- Boost your immune system
- Crash dieting is not good for you
- Eat 80% alkaline-forming and 20% acid-forming foods
- Eat a multicoloured variety of foods
- Eat in a relaxed atmosphere
- Eat only when hungry
- Free radicals age you so make sure you eat plenty of antioxidant foods
- Fried food (especially deep fried) can harm you
- Grow your own vegetables and sprouts
- Ice cream and very cold drinks are not good for your digestion
- Boost your immune system
- Improve your digestion
- Keep fast foods to a minimum
- Keep free radicals in check
- Leave an hour between waking up and eating breakfast
- Leftovers are bad for you
- Locally grown produce in season is best
- Lower your homocysteine levels
- Make your own bread
- Only eat honey that has not been heated
- Organically grown is best, so try for at least 50% organically grown
- Out with the junk food
- Probiotics are good for your digestion
- Red meat is best consumed prudently
- Restrict calorie intake
- Seeds and nuts are good for you
- Stay away from genetically engineered foods
- Stay slim
- Store nuts and seeds in the freezer
- Supplement with vitamins and minerals only where really necessary
- Choose the right cooking methods
- Use ghee in your cooking
- Use honey as a cure
- Store foods correctly.
Taking the above ideas into account, together with a balanced diet, will set you on the road to good health. Having wellbeing coaching or doing one of my courses will definitely help you lose weight and improve your health.