Caring for health and well-being is not only a temporary trend, but also a lifestyle that we are happy to follow. More and more people are looking for ways to strengthen their body and provide the necessary nutrients needed for its proper functioning. What should a balanced diet look like and what meals should it consist of? We suggest what eating habits are worth introducing into your daily life and how to compose varied, healthy and wholesome meals!
What is a balanced diet?
A healthy lifestyle requires making small changes to improve our fitness and well-being. A balanced diet has nothing to do with restrictive eating methods aimed at losing weight in a short time. This type of menu can lead to deficiencies and the yo-yo effect, which is why “miracle” diets should have been forgotten a long time ago. The basis of a balanced diet is the selection of products that will provide the body with the necessary nutrients – including vitamins and minerals.
To make it easier to plan your diet, it is worth basing your menu on the assumptions of the Nutrition Pyramid. It is nothing more than a recommended way of eating presenting which products should be the basis of our daily menu and which should be eaten occasionally. The recommendations were illustrated with the help of a graphic presenting a pyramid, on which beneficial products for the body were laid out in the right proportions. Products at the base should be eaten more often and in larger quantities, the higher the consumption, the less frequent the consumption should be. How to compose a balanced diet? First of all, you should stick to the recommendations for the supply of appropriate nutrients in your daily menu.
10 rules of a balanced diet – what should you remember?
A balanced diet should be tailored individually to the needs of the body. For this purpose, it is worth calculating your caloric needs, which depend on many factors: goals to achieve, health condition, lifestyle, physical activity or physiological state.
A wholesome diet should contain the right amount of nutrients that will supplement the individual needs of the body. A balanced diet is one that provides (at the right level) proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but also vitamins and mineral salts. For this purpose, it is good for it to be diversified, thus providing ingredients from different groups of food products. With a monotonous diet, there may be a risk of deficiencies of certain ingredients.
Another rule is the right number of meals eaten at the right times of the day, individually tailored to the lifestyle. It is beneficial to eat 4-5 meals a day, with a break every 3-4 hours. It is also worth remembering that the last meal should not be eaten just before bedtime, but preferably with a break of about 2-4 hours before going to bed, but also that it should not be difficult to digest, which can interfere with rest and regeneration processes. After a fatty, nightly meal, we may feel heavy and sleepy in the morning. It is also best to avoid overeating, as it adversely affects our well-being and the functioning of the digestive tract in the long run. You can read more about this in the article: Does regular nutrition matter?
Hydration is an important part of a balanced diet. If you don’t hydrate properly, you may feel more tired, headache and concentration problems may also appear. It is worth knowing that we can confuse the feeling of hunger and thirst. You can feel hungry, while you just have to drink a glass of water and feel good.
It is important to remember about the appropriate content of dietary fiber in the menu. It is an important component of the diet that has a positive effect on the functioning of the intestines, but is also a prebiotic – it affects the development of beneficial intestinal bacterial flora. As we know, the gut microbiota also affects our health, well-being and protects us from pathogens. When consuming fiber, you need to remember about proper hydration.
A balanced diet should be in line with the food pyramid. The basis of nutrition is then vegetables and fruits, with the former predominating in the proportion of 3/4. Then there are: cereal products, preferably whole grains, dairy products, meat and fats, preferably with a predominance of vegetable fats.
Limiting sweets, fast food, confectionery made from white refined flour and fried meals. These products are rich in trans fats and white sugar, which should be limited to ensure a properly balanced diet. These meals do not provide too many nutrients, they are only very caloric, which in the long run can increase the supply of calories compared to your daily needs.
Limiting salt in the diet, which, in excess, can affect, among other things, hypertension. It is worth replacing it with fresh, aromatic herbs.
A balanced diet should also include omega 3 acids, for this purpose it is best to eat fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel or if you do not eat fish, think about supplementing them. They have an anti-inflammatory effect and are essential for the proper functioning of the body.
The last important issue of a properly balanced diet is the supply of vitamin D3. Due to the fact that we are not able to provide it from food at an appropriate level, it is worth supplementing it, especially in autumn and winter, always with meals containing fats, unless the preparation itself already contains them. The dose depends on many factors (m.in. health, body weight, lifestyle, test results).
How to compose a balanced diet? First of all, it is worth remembering about the right proportions of nutrients in the menu. This way of eating also involves getting rid of empty calories from the daily menu. Taking into account the adequate supply of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals is the most important principle of a balanced diet.
One thing is for sure, incorporating the above-mentioned 10 principles of a balanced diet is a way to improve your overall health and well-being. A healthy mind in a healthy body, so it is worth approaching the topic comprehensively and implementing the principles step by step.