Doctors and Nutritionists will tell you that a healthy diet plan is a balanced diet plan. A diet plan that helps you maintains a healthy weight or causes you to lose weight to achieve a healthy weight. There are several components to a healthy diet that include the correct proportions of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water. Protein is found in foods such as fish, meat, poultry, and dairy products, eggs and also beans. Fat is found in animal foods, dairy products, and nuts and also in oils. Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice, grains, beans and other legumes, and also in sweets. Vitamins in a healthy diet include vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K. Minerals needed to have a healthy diet include calcium, potassium, and iron.
Calories are a part of any diet. Calories are provided in the nutrients carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A calorie is a measurement of energy that is released as your body breaks down the food you consume. The more calories a food has the more energy it releases. When a diet contains more calories than a body needs, that body stores the excess calories as fat. Even when you eat a low-carb or low fat or fat-free diet, you still consume calories that your body will store as fat.
Proteins are nutrients that the body needs to build, maintain and repair body tissue such as your skin, the internal organs of the body, and the muscles of the body. Proteins are also a major player in keeping our immune system and hormones healthy. Proteins are made of amino acids (22 of which are essential for good health). Fourteen of these essential amino acids our bodies manufacture. Eight of the amino acids our bodies require can only be obtained from the foods that we eat. These eight essential amino acids that the body still needs are found in fish, meat, eggs, and cheese and a few other foods that come from animal sources. Whether you get these essential amino acids from animal sources or if you are a vegetarian and get them from other plant sources, you need to make sure that you body has them if you want to stay healthy.
The usual daily American diet contains almost double the protein requirements of a healthy body.
Fat is necessary to the healthy body. As a matter of fact, adults should get twenty to thirty-five percent of their calories from fat. However, excessive amounts of fats, especially trans fat and saturated fats and cholesterol can increase your risk for heart disease. And of course, if you eat too much fat, you will also increase your body weight.
It is also not healthy if ten percent or more of our daily fat comes from saturated fats such as those found in meats, dairy foods high in fat, butter or foods cooked with hydrogenated fats. It is not healthy to eat trans fat in any amount. Eating trans fats can lead to high blood cholesterol levels and heart disease.
You need carbohydrates in your diet for energy. Many foods are nutrient-rich such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Other foods contain carbohydrates such as candy, pastries, cookies and soft drinks and fruit drinks.
Vitamins are needed to help with various chemical reactions in your body. Thirteen vitamins are essential to the health of the body including water-soluble vitamins C and all the B vitamins, and fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. The body stores the fat-soluble vitamins easily, so you do not need large amounts of these vitamins. Too much of these fat-soluble vitamins can actually be toxic to the body and cause health problems. We must consume water-soluble vitamins each day because the body cannot store them for long.
Minerals are not made in the body, so we must eat them. Minerals are vital to the proper functioning of the body. Minerals such as calcium, potassium and iron and trace amounts of zinc, selenium and copper are only needed in small amounts to maintain proper health.
The healthy body needs water because it is essential for the survival of the body. It keeps the body hydrated. Water makes up fifty-five to sixty-five percent of your body weight, but the body cannot store water, so water must be consumed daily.
