What is a balanced diet?
A balanced diet supplies the nutrients your body needs to work effectively.
As part of a balanced diet, we need carbs, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water.
How to identify food types
- Starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.
- Fruit and vegetables.
- Milk and dairy foods.
- Protein foods. These include meat, fish, eggs and other non-dairy sources of protein (including nuts, tofu, beans, pulses, etc).
- Sugary foods are the fifth food group that we eat but do also enjoy these without guilt.
Holistic approach to food and life
Vitamins and minerals in the food we eat are vital to boost immunity and a healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, in particular diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and skeletal conditions.
The food we eat has a tremendous impact on the energy we have throughout the day. Nutrient-dense foods and slow-release carbs will digest slowly and therefore be released into the system over a longer period of time. On the other hand, easily digestible food (sugary/simple carbohydrates) will digest quickly, causing the body to feel hungry quicker.
Eating well keeps our energy on a relatively level base from morning until night. Food that is also iron-rich, like dark leafy greens, can also help provide a boost in energy because iron helps deliver oxygen to working muscles and the brain, which is what they run on.
What are the benefit of a healthy eating
Taking care of what we eat daily has an affect on our holistic wellbeing. By eating a healthy well-balanced diet, we can benefit from
- Having more energy
- Building our immune systems
- Improved sleep
- More brain powers