Balanced Diet to Stay Healthy

Staying healthy is on every body’s major concern because as they say ‘Health is wealth’. There is so much to staying healthy. Food is only one among them- like healthy environment, regular exercise, stress management, sanitation and mental attitude etc.

Why Balanced Diet?

There is the famous saying ‘you are what you eat’. Hence it is important of what you choose to eat and what not to eat and also in what quantities. Here comes the concept of a balanced diet to stay healthy – which means what to eat and how much to eat. Our body is a highly complex machinery that requires a complex mixture of fuel to run & stay in order – which we call food or diet. Besides right amount of oxygen through fresh air and clean water, our body also needs a variety of food components which fall in the following broad categories:

• Carbohydrates- to meet calorific needs of the body for doing any work/movement.
• Fiber- for proper functioning & health of body’s digestive tract.
• Protein- to build & maintain body muscles and a variety of tissues.
• Minerals & salts – for maintaining the body’s electrolytic balance.
• Vitamins- development & functioning of our nervous system.

The proportion in which these basic constituents are needed also varies from person to person depending upon age, body structure, lifestyle, daily routine, climate, body’s genetic set-up etc. For example, people engaged in a profession which involves more of physical activity like spots-persons, menial workers, loaders, diggers  etc; consume much more calories and hence require higher quantity of carbohydrates in their daily intake of food as compared to those engaged intellectual activities like office workers , executives, academicians who generally  lead a sedentary life style. Excess or deficiency of any of these constituents in our daily diet will lead to disturbance of the delicate balance of the body, which if persists can result into serious diseases. For example excess of salt (sodium chloride) in the system can lead to hypertension generally known as ‘high blood pressure’; excess of sugar level in the blood can cause serious disease called ‘diabetes’ while an abnormally low blood-sugar level can lead to ‘hyperglycemia’, which can make you unconscious and in severe cases can prove even fatal.

What is a Balanced Diet?

A balanced diet means a regimen of various food articles, which we must adhere to meet our bodily requirements. As explained above our bodily requirements differ from person to person depending upon a number of parameters. One man’s balanced diet may not be suitable for the other person. That is why it is necessary that we take the help of a trained and qualified person called ‘Dietician’ who after going through our set of relevant parameters will arrive at the daily intake of various components required by our body to function properly & stay healthy – our balanced diet. Once the required intake is decided the mix of various food items depending upon your food preferences( tastes & allergies), eating habits (likes & dislikes) and beliefs (vegetarian or non-vegetarian)  etc. The dietician then prepares a chart of various sources with choices /alternatives as well as their desirable range of quantities to meet your body’s daily need these  basics components. The sources will comprise of a variety of food items-cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk & milk-products, meat-products in consultation with you. This then will be your balanced diet to stay healthy. As a rule, any healthy diet will generally cut out excess of fat (oils),sugar ,salt and spicy & fried items, overcooked & processed food-items and will include plenty of fresh fruits/juices, salads, green vegetables (both cooked & uncooked). People at advanced age / senior citizens are also generally required to supplement their food intake through daily intake of calcium tablets and multi-vitamin capsules / tablets as part of their balanced diet to keep fit.