Healthy eating means eating nutritious and nutritious foods in moderation, in all major food groups.
People often think of "diet" as a form of weight loss, but diet is simply a matter of the type and amount of food a person eats.
A healthy diet should include a balance of several food groups, as no one group can supply all the body's needs for good health.
Making healthy food choices reduces a person's risk of many chronic conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
There is a lot of information available, so designing a healthy, healthy diet can feel frustrating. That said, a few simple changes can make a healthier diet and reduce the risk of many medical problems.
What is a healthy diet?
Healthy eating usually includes a moderate amount of food in each major group.
Having a nutritious diet means eating foods from all food groups in the right quantities. These food groups are:
whole grains
fruits
vegetables
protein
milk
fat
The following sections discuss healthy decisions from these food groups.
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Whole grains are products made from whole grains, which include germ and bran. In contrast, refined grains contain only a fraction of the grain.
Whole grain foods have excellent health benefits. A meta-analysis from 2016 looked at 45 different studies, concluding that a high intake of whole grains helps protect against many health conditions, with benefits including the following:
low risk of heart disease
low risk of heart disease
low risk of cancer
reduce the death of all causes
Whole grains are high in fiber and are good sources of B vitamins and mineral trace elements, including iron, zinc, and magnesium. The grains lose their healthy properties when they go through the purification process.
Examples of whole grains are:
whole bread
whole wheat pasta
whole grains, such as oatmeal
wheat
To ensure that whole grains are whole, look for the word “whole” or “whole grains” as the original ingredient listed by the manufacturer under the details of a healthy diet.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables is the best way to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
The AHA recommends filling half a plate with fruit or vegetables at each meal, creating 4.5 cups of each item per day. This quantity can include new, frozen and canned varieties.
For health benefits, people can check product labels and avoid canned, frozen, or dried products with high sugar or added sugar.
Juices labeled “100%” are part of this diet, but eating whole fruits or vegetables is better, as it will provide more fiber.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can be helpful in weight management programs. The CDC also links this type of diet to low risk for many conditions, including:
Heart disease
stroke
diabetes
high blood pressure
other cancers
All fruits and vegetables have health benefits, and health care professionals recommend that people eat a variety of foods. Learn about high quality healthy fruits and vegetables here.
Protein
Protein is an important macronutrient needed by those cells in the body. It helps build and repair cells and tissues in the body, including the skin, hair, muscles and bones. Proteins are also important in inhibiting blood flow, immune system responses, hormones, and enzymes.
Many protein-rich foods also have high levels of minerals, including iron, magnesium and zinc.
Protein from both animal and plant foods. Animal sources include meat, fish and eggs. Beans, nuts, and soy are protein options for those who follow vegan or vegetarian diets.
A general guideline from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that people get 50 g (g) of protein per day from a diet of 2,000 calories. A healthy diet should include a list of protein foods.
Learn more about high protein diets and plant-based protein sources.
Milk/Dairy
Dairy products can be excellent sources of calcium. Calcium-rich foods promote healthy bones and teeth.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the dairy diet consists of:
liquid milk products
dairy foods that retain calcium content, such as yoghurt and cheese
calcium-fortified soymilk, or soy drink
Calcium-based dairy foods, such as cream, cream cheese and butter, are not part of this diet.
The USDA suggests that people may need 2-3 cups of dairy products a day.
There is a debate about whether milk is good or bad for you.
Choose low-fat or low-fat dairy products, such as milk and yoghurt, for your heart health. However, using milk is not necessary for good health, as long as people get essential nutrients, such as calcium, from nondairy sources. Other forms of milk can be part of a healthy diet.
Fat
Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Fats are essential for the functioning of the nervous system, energy, the absorption of certain vitamins, and for the skin, hair and joint health.
Fat is found in animal and plant foods. There are several types of fats, and some are healthier than others:
Monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated healthy fats can increase heart health. Good sources include avocados, fish, nuts, seeds and olives.
Satisfied fats and oils used can increase total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol. LDL can increase the risk of heart disease. Satisfied fats usually come from animal products, including cream, fatty meats, and fried foods.
The FDA recommends that people get 78 g of fat per day from a diet of 2,000 calories. People should aim to get less than 10% of their daily calories from saturated fat.
Learn about healthy high fat diets.
Tips
Along with choosing healthy foods for each food group, the following tips will help a person follow a healthy diet.
Tip 1: Manage component size
People of all ages, genders, and occupations need different amounts of food, but most people take more energy than they actually use. Studies suggest that the size of the part is important, and that larger parts are needed to gain weight.
The AHA explains that part is what a person chooses to eat, while the supply is that the number of food producers is on the food facts label.
Examples of the provision of one slice of bread and one row of watermelon. AHS reports that the size of the sections in restaurants has increased significantly over the years.
Paying attention to what is provided, how many calories are available, and how much food a person can make can make the difference between obesity and maintaining a healthy weight.
Tip 2: Eat fresh and avoid processing
According to a 2018 study, ultra-food diets can make up 60% of the calories people eat in the U.S.
New foods are more likely to be “nutritious,” while processed foods are often “richer” from extra fat and sugar. Processed foods contain not only additional ingredients, including dyes and preservatives, but self-processing can destroy nutrients.
Whole foods, such as fresh fruit, are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Most processed foods contain a small amount of nutrients. Eating a large portion of processed foods can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Tip 3: Limit extra sugar
Adding sugar to food and beverages improves taste but adds a small amount of nutritious food. Many people in the U.S. consume too much added sugar, leading to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Conversely, naturally occurring sugars can have health benefits. These include fruit fructose and lactose from dairy products.
The AHA recommends that people not eat more than 25 g of extra sugar for women and 36 g for men. This amount does not include natural sugars, only added sugar.
Exchanging cakes and fruit cookies, and splitting or cutting sugar added to coffee and tea, can reduce your daily intake of sugar. Condiments, such as ketchup, can also add more calories than one sees.
Replacing sugary sodas with sparkling water and drinking alcohol in moderation can further reduce your calories. The CDC recommends reducing alcohol consumption in one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
Find sugar cutting tips here.
Tip 4: Replace animal fat with food
Animal product is usually high in fat and includes red meat, butter, cheese and cream. Satisfied fats are difficult for the body to break down, so dangerous cholesterol levels can rise, which increases the risk of heart disease.
The AHA recommends replacing high-fat diets with saturated fats with more healthy options to lower cholesterol and improve your body fat profile. Healthy, unsaturated fats are found in oily fish and nuts.
Reducing the amount of unhealthy fats in food:
choose lean meat, such as chicken
choose low-fat dairy products
cook meat and chicken without skin
Limit red meat consumption
strain or boil meat instead of frying
use vegetable oil instead of animal fats
replace other meat offerings with oily fish, nuts, beans, or legumes
Tip 5: Sodium down, potassium up
Sodium, found in salt, is directly linked to high blood pressure because it increases water retention. Potassium can counteract the harmful effects of salt, so eating less sodium and high potassium is a change that can increase heart health.
Bananas, tuna, and butternut squash are good sources of potassium. Too much potassium can lead to abnormal heart rhythms, however, so people can talk to their doctor or other health professionals before using the ingredients.
Reducing food consumption will reduce sodium intake, as manufacturers add salt during processing. Most of the sodium in the American diet comes from processed foods and snacks, small amounts from cooking or table salt.
To maintain flavor when cutting salt, try eating foods that contain herbs, such as basil, rosemary, garlic, oregano, paprika and cayenne, or low-salt condiments, such as yellow mustard. People can also buy low sodium charges.
Tip 6: Add calcium and vitamin D
Calcium is important in strengthening and maintaining bone formation. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.
While milk is a well-known source, there are many sources of plant-based sources of calcium.
Good sources of calcium without milk include:
beans
chia seeds
almonds
collard greens
broccoli
white beans
Dietary supplements do not provide enough vitamin D for the body. Sunlight is needed to help the body absorb vitamin D.
Exposing exposed skin to sunlight each day will help maintain levels of calcium, and vitamin D. Here are some tips for getting plenty of vitamin D.
Summary
A healthy diet includes a variety of nutritious foods from all major food groups, including fruits,vegetables, whole grains, protein sources, and healthy fats.
Finding the right balance of sodium and potassium will help take care of the heart, and reducing sodium-rich foods can reduce the risk of chronic health conditions.
For best results, people are better off following a healthy diet alongside an active lifestyle.