Health

Living healthier: What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet along with exercise is the key to a healthier lifestyle. Here you can find out which foods are exceptionally healthy and how meals should be composed so that they are considered balanced.

Why do people need to be reminded of a balanced diet? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “people are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars, and salt/sodium. Many people are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, and other fibers such as whole grains.”

balanced-diet

A balanced diet stands for health, fitness, and performance. But what does a balanced diet mean? Various recommendations are hidden behind this abstract term. She has summarized how a balanced diet works in ten simple rules and is feasible for everyone. We have outlined the essential points.

​The focus of the topic of balanced nutrition is that we should eat as varied as possible and not limit ourselves to individual food groups. This is the only way to absorb enough different vitamins, minerals, and secondary plant substances. They ensure that our body receives everything it needs to function healthily, so the immune system can work perfectly so that we are optimally protected against diseases such as colds. In addition, there are essential fatty acids, high-quality proteins, and, of course, dietary fibers that ensure a healthy intestinal flora.

Balanced diet means varied

Tomatoes and apples every day – that’s pretty boring in the long run – and a one-sided diet is ultimately unhealthy. This will make it easy for you to eat and drink wholesome foods. Plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruit, cereals, and potatoes provide many Nutrients, fiber, and phytochemicals and at the same time few calories.”

If you buy seasonal vegetables and fruit and try new foods from time to time, you will be provided with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals and can therefore eat as diverse as possible.

Five portions of fruit & vegetables

Vegetables and fruits are the perfect foods. They are full of vitamins and minerals and are low in calories. Another plus: there are a lot of secondary plant substances in vegetables and fruit. They reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other diseases. Three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit are recommended daily – preferably as varied as possible. By the way, a glass of juice or a smoothie also counts as one serving. Otherwise, we should get into eating vegetables or fruit with every meal.

Grain products and potatoes are also part of a balanced diet

In times of low carbs, potatoes, oatmeal, and rice have a hard time as classic suppliers of carbohydrates. However, they are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, especially in the whole grain version, and essential for digestion and health. A balanced diet also includes foods that contain carbohydrates and are labeled as “evil” – preferably in the whole grain variety and in moderate amounts, of course.

Milk and milkproducts

Milk, yogurt, cheese: These foods are rich in calcium and should not be missing from a balanced diet. Ideally, milk and dairy products should appear on the menu every day, whether as yogurt, cream cheese, or low-fat quark. You can save a few calories with reduced-fat variants and don’t take in too many animal fats, which is positive for your cholesterol level. Incidentally, plant drinks as an alternative to milk are also enriched with calcium.

Meat, Fish & Eggs

Meat and fish are important sources of protein. Still, they are often criticized – not only from the perspective of vegetarians – animal products are sometimes high in cholesterol. They contain saturated fatty acids, which among other things, increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. But sources of protein such as meat and eggs also contain essential minerals, and fish, in particular, provides long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA).

The DGE recommends that adults with low energy consumption eat a total of 300 g per week and that adults with high-calorie consumption should eat up to 600 g of meat and sausages. Fish should be on the table twice a week. Low-fat meat, especially white meat, is particularly recommended.

Eggs should only end up on the plate now and then. For a long time, eggs were demonized because the yolk is high in fat and cholesterol. But according to the DGE, the current study situation does not provide any precise results for a connection between the number of eggs eaten and the risk of various diseases. Therefore, while no maximum amount can be given for the consumption of eggs, on a primarily plant-based diet as recommended, eggs should not be eaten uninhibitedly. If you consciously add eggs to your diet from time to time, you won’t do anything wrong.

A balanced diet along with exercise is the key to a healthier lifestyle. Here you can find out which foods are exceptionally healthy and how meals should be composed so that they are considered balanced.

Why do people need to be reminded of a balanced diet? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “people are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars, and salt/sodium. Many people are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, and other fibers such as whole grains.”

A balanced diet stands for health, fitness, and performance. But what does a balanced diet mean? Various recommendations are hidden behind this abstract term. She has summarized how a balanced diet works in ten simple rules and is feasible for everyone. We have outlined the essential points.

​The focus of the topic of balanced nutrition is that we should eat as varied as possible and not limit ourselves to individual food groups. This is the only way to absorb enough different vitamins, minerals, and secondary plant substances. They ensure that our body receives everything it needs to function healthily, so the immune system can work perfectly so that we are optimally protected against diseases such as colds. In addition, there are essential fatty acids, high-quality proteins, and, of course, dietary fibers that ensure a healthy intestinal flora.

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