Dec

Eating Healthy

What is Nutrition

Nutrition means nourishing the body with food so that the nutrients help various body processes to promote growth and rejuvenation. The primary nutrients in food are protein, fats and carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Healthy food contains vital nutrients that affects metabolic rate, promotes growth, development and body functions. Unhealthy food habits lead to diseases and poor health in the later years.

How to eat healthy

Healthy eating means to understand how to “eat smart”. Eating smartly involves knowing what to eat, how to eat and how much to eat. Concentrate on choosing the right foods to get good nutrition as well as to enjoy what you eat. Your food intake is the basis of a balanced diet that meets one’s nutritional and health needs. The key to good nutrition is balance, variety and moderation. Moderation means eating neither too much nor too little of any food or nutrient. Too much food can result in excess weight and even too much of certain nutrients, while eating too little can lead to numerous nutrient deficiencies and low body mass.

Benefits of a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet can:

Increase your energy levels

Improve the way the body functions

Strengthen your immune system

Help combat stress and weight problems

Greatly reduce risk of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, adult onset diabetes, some cancers, osteoporosis (thinning of the bones)

Help in early recovery when used in the treatment of a health condition. e.g. Most fruits and vegetables contain anti-oxidants which are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, and the fibre in some grains such as oats and fruit and vegetables can help to reduce cholesterol levels.

What is a Balanced Diet

A Balanced Diet is one which provides all the nutrients in the required amount, supports normal growth, development and also contributes to good health and good quality of life

What does RDA mean

RDA or Recommended Daily Allowances are levels of intake of essential nutrients, which are on the basis of scientific knowledge and are adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of all healthy persons.

To get an RDA balanced diet and to stay healthy, your body needs the right balance of nutrients.
Food is made up of nutrients which are as follows :-
1) Carbohydrates,
2) Fats,
3) Proteins, which are the three main components of nutrition.
4) Vitamins
5) Minerals and
6) Water, the most forgotten nutrient.
Humans need a wide range of nutrients to perform various functions in the body and to lead a healthy life.

Five Food Groups

Choose foods from the five main food groups to derive the nutrition our body needs. The food groups are:

Grains, Bread, Cereal Group

Fruits & Vegetables group

Dairy Products (Milk and cheese group)

Meat and Beans Group (Dry beans, peas, meats, poultry , fish and eggs group)

Oils, Fats and Sugar group (in limited amounts)

A healthy balanced diet comprises of foods from these five food groups. It is important to eat a variety of foods within a food group and among the different food groups. This gives a variety of food choices and enables your body to receive a variety of nutrients. The serving size requirement would vary based on various factors like height, weight, age, body frame, gender, activity level and so on.

In conclusion, it is clear that medicines with synthetic chemicals curb the symptoms of a disease rather than deal with the main cause of the disease. Wrong eating habits accumulate toxins in the body. A wholesome balanced diet with healthy food choices and regular exercise go a long way in restoring good health and promoting a disease free life.

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