What is a Diet Plan?

What Is A Healthy Diet?

While there’s no single definition of a healthy diet, it is essential to follow a good diet plan as it optimizes your overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrients and protects you against developing chronic non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

A healthy diet may contain fruits, vegetables, and whole grains along with little to no processed food or sweetened beverages. Some individuals may want a healthy diet for weight loss while some may follow it to reduce their sodium intake, avoid diabetes or to improve their heart health.

Importance of a Healthy Diet

A balanced diet is important for our body’s normal growth and development. Eating a healthy diet is all about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential parts of a person’s overall health and well-being. Including green vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, and dairy products are essential for a healthy diet. Following a healthy diet is important for your overall well-being.

1. Good Heart Health

Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits rich in dietary fibre can contribute to improved heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The American Heart Association (AHA) states that dietary fibre helps to improve blood cholesterol levels and lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke and obesity.

2. Reduced Cancer Risk

A diet that includes green leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds, provides the body with antioxidants that helps to reduce the risk of cancer by protecting cell damage.

3. Improved Gut Health

A diet comprising of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and yogurt provides a combination of prebiotics and probiotics which are important for improving and maintaining good gut health. A good gut health helps to smoothen the digestive tract and also increases metabolic rate of the body.

4. Strong Bones

A healthy diet comprising of low-fat dairy products, broccoli, nuts, and seeds rich in calcium and magnesium helps to maintain strong bones.

5. Weight Loss

Following a healthy diet helps in weight loss journey and reduces the risk of developing various diseases. A diet rich in fibre and proteins when paired with regular fitness regime can effectively help in weight loss.

Components of a Healthy Diet

A balanced diet mainly consists of six components.

1. Carbohydrates

This macronutrient provides 4 calories per gram and it is essential to maintain glycogen level in the body which is required to provide energy needed to perform different activities. However, when consumed in excess it gets converted to fat.

2. Proteins

Proteins are essential for growth and development of muscles which is important to regulate body's metabolic rate. Proteins also help in developing good hair and skin.

3. Fats

One gram of fat provides 9 calories. To stay healthy, it is best to eat unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats. Healthy fat present in olives, almonds and salmon can help improve heart health.

4. Vitamins

These micronutrients are complex organic substances found in our food that helps to develop immune system, nervous system and also improves brain functioning.

5. Minerals

Minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, to name a few, are responsible for contributing to different functions in the body like bone development, muscle contraction, managing blood pressure level, etc.

6. Fibres

This macronutrient is necessary for a strong heart, smooth digestion and maintenance of blood sugar levels in the body. They are found in abundance in fruits and vegetables.

Benefits of Healthy Eating for Adults

• May help you live longer
• Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
• Supports muscles
• Boosts immunity
• Strengthens bones
• Lowers risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers
• Supports healthy pregnancies and breastfeeding
• Helps the digestive system function
• Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight

Benefits of Healthy Eating for Children

• Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
• Supports muscles
• Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight
• Strengthens bones
• Supports brain development
• Supports healthy growth
• Boosts immunity
• Helps the digestive system function

Tips For Healthy Eating Habits

• Include dairy products in your daily diet for stronger bones. If you are lactose intolerant, then you can have non-dairy milk like soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk.
• Eat foods that are low in glycemic index (GI) value. Foods with GI value of more than 55 increases the blood sugar level faster.
• Avoid soft drinks, carbonated drinks as they are high in sugar. Instead, keep yourself hydrated with regular water.
• Choose whole grain foods instead of refined grains. Whole grain comprises fibre, proteins, and complex carbohydrates, which keeps you full for a longer time and avoids overeating.
• Incorporate green veggies in your daily diet for essential vitamins and minerals. Most importantly, ensure that you have an adequate amount of good quality proteins from eggs, lentils, cottage cheese, chicken, soybeans, tofu, and fish. A sedentary adult should consume 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Key Facts

• A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
• Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
• Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
• Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake. Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake, and intake of trans-fats less than 1% of total energy intake, with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats, and towards the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats.
• Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits.
• Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2 g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population.
• WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% by 2025; they have also agreed to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025.

Conclusion

A healthy diet typically includes nutrient-dense foods from all of the major food groups, including lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, and fruits and vegetables. Healthy eating habits also include limiting intake of foods that contain trans fats, added salt, and sugar and replacing them with more nutritious options. Following a healthy diet has many benefits, including building strong bones, protecting the heart, preventing disease, and boosting the mood. A doctor or dietitian can provide further tips for eating a more healthy diet.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is weight-loss only dependent on diet?

Weight-loss should be done in a systematic and healthy manner. Diet helps in losing weight but it isn’t the only factor. One needs to exercise as well for losing weight. Before starting any diet or fitness regime, please consult your doctor.

2. What comprises a balanced diet?

A balanced diet comprises foods from the following groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and protein.

3. How to choose a good diet plan?

The best way is to consult a doctor or nutritionist, who will be able to guide you properly.

Source: WHO.Int, Medical News Today, Health US News, CDC.Gov