A healthy or balanced diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health.
A balanced diet supplies the essential nutrients our body needs to work effectively. A healthy diet provides the body with fluids, macronutrients such as proteins, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. Food or diet is in fact, a basic necessity of life – which helps us stay healthy and be active.
A well-balanced diet includes basic 5 food groups –
Without this balanced nutrition, our body is more prone to diseases, infections, fatigue, and low performance.
Children who do not get enough healthy foods may face growth and developmental problems, poor academic performance and frequent infections. They can also develop unhealthy eating habits that may persist into adulthood.
Unhealthy food habits like starving, overeating and eating more junk food, not drinking enough water and drinking sugary and carbonated drinks regularly, irregular food timings and late dinners increase the risks of developing various health problems like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and obesity etc.
Hence eating anything in excess or in less quantity is not a good practice. We need to take the right amount of calories based on our height and weight.
Here are a few steps which can be followed to maintain an ideal body weight –
First step: Drink plenty of water.
Second step: Replace unhealthy foods with healthier ones, like sprouts, beans etc.
Third step: Avoid sugary & carbonated beverages.
Fourth step: Eat when you are physically hungry and stop when you feel full.
Fifth step: Exercise – Lack of exercises has a higher risk of obesity and various diseases that make up the metabolic syndrome such as Type 2 Diabetes and high Blood Pressure.
Hence the need to maintain a balanced diet to stay healthy and physically active.