A Healthy Diet: What Does A Healthy Diet Consist Of?

Eat healthy to stay healthy

Healthy weight loss is every person’s dream who suffers from obesity or abnormally high weight. However, the best thing you can do to keep yourself healthy is to eat a healthy diet, all the time, and not just when you want to lose weight.

Healthy diet is not about counting calories, measuring portions or cutting carbohydrates and fats. A healthy diet is all about what you eat rather than how much you eat. In other words, your health depends on the food choices you make in both the short and long term.

Let’s briefly review what a healthy diet consists of:

Basic elements of a healthy diet

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates, being an essential source of energy, are essential for a healthy diet. They only become high in fat and calories when eaten in large portion sizes or when covered with high-fat pings like butter, sour cream, or mayonnaise. All you have to do is keep your calorie intake in check and eat carbohydrates in moderate quantities. Remember, all carbohydrates are not equal e.g. sugar and white flour are very high in carbohydrates. Therefore, choose foods like beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Proteins: Getting enough protein is essential to eating a healthy diet. Protein serves as the building blocks of muscles, skin, blood, immune system, some hormones, enzymes, vitamins, and blood-clotting factors. Protein comes from two sources i.e. animal protein and plant protein. As for animal protein, choose fish, skinless chicken and turkey, egg whites (yolks contain cholesterol), lean cuts of meat, and low fat milk products such as skimmed milk and low fat cheese. Similarly, plant protein is abundant in legumes such as kidney, Lima, garbanzo, pinto beans, lentils, soybeans, and black-eyed peas. Try to vary your protein intake, based on what you enjoy eating, bake instead of frying.

Fruits & vegetables: The latest research has proved that fruits and vegetables are critical to promoting good health. In fact, fruits and vegetables should be the foundation of a healthy diet. According to the Harvard School of Public Health's Healthy Eating Pyramid, most of your diet should consist of fruits, vegetables, whole grains; healthy fats/oils; nuts, seeds, beans, fish, poultry, eggs and 1-2 servings of dairy. Red meat, butter, refined grains, potatoes, sugary drinks, sweets and salt should be used sparingly.

Dairy products: Dairy products are a necessary part of a balanced diet and should never be excluded completely, even if you are on a weight loss food plan. However, you should choose low-fat and non-fat types of dairy products e.g. non fat dry milk, non fat yogurt, skimmed milk, low fat cottage cheese, margarine etc.

Fiber: Studies show that people who have included fiber into their daily diets have had better weight loss results than those who have dieted without including fiber. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of dietary fiber. Include fruits like apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes and pineapple in your diet. Have a salad of green leafy vegetables for lunch. Add in other vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and mushrooms as they all contain a significant amount of fiber.

How many servings?
The U.S. government recommends eating five to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Ideally, a serving should fit within the palm of your hand. Examples include a medium-sized piece of fruit, a cup of raw salad greens, or a half-cup of cooked vegetables. Go for a mix of colors, such as blueberries, tomatoes, spinach, and onions.

Most people need to double the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat every day. You need to eat 5 to 9 a day for better health. Another great tip is to spread 3 large daily meals out into five or six to keep your metabolism up and running and burning calories and fat all day.

Effects of drinking water on healthy diet
According to a recent scientific study, people who drink the most water have been found to:
• Consume nearly 200 fewer daily calories
• Consume more fruits and vegetables
• Be less likely to drink soft drinks or fruit drinks
• Be more likely to consume low- or medium-fat dairy products

Therefore, anyone not consuming water or eating a healthy diet should be encouraged to do so to curb calorie intake.

Conclusion
A healthy diet is about more than just a healthy weight loss. The body requires nutrients to help it function properly. So before beginning any diet, make sure it will provide adequate nutrition and coincide with your body's current needs and demands.

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