It’s common to hear the term ‘balanced diet’ mentioned when it comes to healthy eating. Most people understand it is essential to have a balanced diet to have a properly functioning body. It can often be misunderstood what is involved in this, however.
A balanced diet consists of various nutrients and minerals that the body requires to function properly. No one food will have everything necessary for this. This is why a balanced diet consists of a number of different foods.
Water
Water is a daily requirement for our bodies. Keeping hydrated is necessary to have both optimal physical and mental performance. Failure to drink enough water over a long period of time can have a number of negative impacts on our bodies. They include fatigue, illness, and low blood pressure. The recommended intake of water for females is roughly 2.5 liters per day. While for men, it is a liter more.
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Calories
For anyone watching what they eat, calorie counting is a common action. Calories are an indication of the amount of energy that is stored in food. The human body requires calories in the body to do even simple day-to-day tasks. These include walking, talking, and breathing. The average calorie intake for a person is 2,000 calories. However, this is depending on a number of different aspects. Based on your gender, activity rate, and age you may require more or fewer calories on a day-to-day basis.
It’s worth noting that you can’t just get your calories from any food to have a healthy diet. Many foods will have what are called “empty calories”. These are foods that have high calories but little to no nutritional value. The likes of fast food, sugary drinks, and cakes are all examples of empty calorie food.
Vitamins and Minerals
The place where you’re going to get much of your vitamins is the garden. Your fruit and vegetables are the best way to ingest appropriate amounts of necessary vitamins and minerals.
Fruits are high in vitamins as well as natural sugars. This helps boost the body’s immune system as well as provide your body with great antioxidants.
Vegetables are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. To get the best variety of necessary vitamins and minerals, you should try to eat different colors of vegetables.
Protein
Eating high protein foods are essential to having a balanced diet. They help induce fat loss, build muscle, and recover from exercise. Foods that contain a lot of protein are usually the likes of your red meats, fish, poultry, beans, and nuts.
Fats
Fats are essential for the body’s performance. However, taking in too much fat in your diet can lead to gaining weight. You should also avoid foods with high saturated fats, as these will increase your cholesterol. Foods that have healthy fats are vegetable oils and fish oils.
