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Abstract

We all know the importance of a healthy lifestyle and choosing a balanced diet, but
with so much information available it can be hard to sort fact from fiction.
Most people think they eat fairly well - surveys show 93 per cent of Australian
shoppers describe their overall diet as extremely or very healthy. But surprisingly,
only 15 per cent are very satisfied with their eating habits and 57 per cent plan to
watch what they eat more closely in the future1. Clearly, health is high on people's
agendas.
The 'secret' to maintaining good health is combining a healthy eating plan with
daily physical activity. While it may seem easy to follow the latest fad diet or trend
going around, many of these plans excessively restrict your intake of foods or
entire food groups which can lead to inadequacies in key nutrients. 'Diets' can also
be hard to stick to for longer than a few weeks, and many people simply revert
back to their old habits in the end. So here we get back to basics to help you put
together your own healthy lifestyle plan.

What is a Balanced Diet?


Eating a balanced diet means choosing a wide variety of foods and drinks from all
the food groups. It also means eating certain things in moderation, namely
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, salt and alcohol. The goal is to
take in nutrients you need for health at the recommended levels.

Where to Begin
Two examples of a balanced eating pattern are the USDA Food Guide at
MyPyramid.gov and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH Diet).
Both eating patterns emphasize fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as low
or no-fat dairy products, and lean animal proteins. Fish is recommended at least
two times per week, beans, nuts and seeds are encouraged, and unsaturated fats are
always the fats of choice - like olive oil.

What About Calories?


Your balanced diet must be planned at your own calorie level, and portion size is
key. You want to get the most nutrients for the calories by choosing food with a
high-nutrient density. Nutrient-dense foods provide substantial amounts of
vitamins and minerals and relatively few calories, such as fresh fruit and
vegetables, lean meat and fish, and whole grains and beans. Low-nutrient dense
foods have few vitamins but lots of calories, such as candy bars, soda, donuts and
onion rings.

Sample Meals
A high nutrient-dense lunch would look something like this:
2 slices whole wheat bread
Deli turkey
1 slice roasted red pepper
romaine lettuce
1 tsp mayonnaise
baby carrots
hummus
8 oz non-fat milk

A low nutrient-dense lunch would look something like this:


One ground beef hamburger patty
Two hamburger buns
Iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 slice American cheese
Order of French fries, fried in peanut oil
Large regular soda
Candy bar

Know Thyself
What really matters, though, is knowing yourself. You need to make responsible
eating choices within the context of your preferences and lifestyle. What are your
goals? Which food groups do you like to eat? Which food groups are missing? Do
you eat too much sugar, salt and fried food? Which foods are the contributors and
what foods can you eat instead? The locus of control rests within you to design the
best eating plan for you. Eating healthy takes planning and practice. Keep your
balance.

A Differing Opinion
Nutrition guidelines recommend eating a wide variety of foods. But, there's a
school of thought that eating variety of foods leads to overeating. There's "the
tendency to stay hungry longer and eat more food when flavors are diverse and
keep changing", according to Dr. David Katz, who maintains that we "fill up on
fewer calories when flavor variety is controlled". You've seen this principle in
action when you come home with a load of groceries. Don't you want to sample the
wide variety of tasty foods?

Balanced Diet
A balanced diet and physical exercise has a major role in achieving long healthy
life.
1. It helps in controlling body weight, heart rate and BP.
2. Increase in exercise capacity and muscle performance.

3. Improves blood sugar, lowers harmful cholesterol and triglycerides and


increases the beneficial HDL cholesterol.
4. Produces mental and physical relaxation.

Food Group

Main Nutrients

Cereals, grains and products (6-7 Energy, protein, invisible fat,Vitamin


servings per day), rice wheat flour, B, B2, folic acid, iron and fibre.
maize, rice flakes, puffed rice and
maida.
Pulses (one serving per day) legumes, Energy, protein, invisible fats,Vitamin
Bengal gram, black gram, green gram, B B2, folic acid, calcium, iron, fibre.
red gram, rajmah, soyabean.
Milk and meat products (2 servings per Protein, fat, Vitamin B2, calcium.
day), milk, skimmed milk and cheese.
Meat and chicken - liver, fish, eggs, Protein, fat and Vitamin B2.
meat (one serving per day).
Fruits apples, guava, tomato ripe, Fibre, Vitamin C, carotenoids.
papaya, orange, sweet lime, water

melon.
Vegetables (green leafy). Amarnath, Invisible fat carotenoids, Vitamin B2,
spinach, coriander leaves, mustard folic acid, iron and calcium fibre.
leaves.
Other vegetables: carrot, brinjal, lady Carotenoids, folic acid, calcium fibre.
finger, capsicum, beans, onion,
cauliflower.
Fat and sugar: Fat - 3(tsp/day) butter, Energy, fats and essential fatty acids.
ghee, hydrogenated oils, cooking oils
like ground nut, mustard and coconut
oil.
Sugar (2 tablespoon/day) sugar and Energy.
jaggery.

Some Greek Philosopher said "Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can
heal the patient with food." Scientifically, food is divided into five major groups,
each group provide some but not all the nutrients we need. Each food group is as
important as another, no one can replace other. For good health, we need them all.
Here we discuss about the groups of food that make up a good diet. We also
discuss here that how much we need to eat from each group, which food we should
eat more or less.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Vegetables
Fruit
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, Nuts, Oilseeds, and Sweets
Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta

Vegetables
Vegetables in daily meals are very important. They are naturally low in fat and also
provide fiber. Vegetables help to keep balance between the fluids of the body.
They provide vitamins A and C, and minerals, such as iron and magnesium and
folate. Vegetables also provide carbohydrates for the energy our body needs. A
small quantity of meat, eggs, milk or cheese mixed up with variety and
combinations of vegetables provide the full range of amino acids, proteins,
carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals our body needs. For this we have no need to

turn our kitchen into a laboratory, a little creativity is enough.


3 to 5 servings of vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. Carrots are a
good source of vitamin A, and don't forget tasty tomatoes and cauliflower for
vitamin C. Be sure to include bunches of broccoli and spinach, too, because dark
green vegetables help keep you healthy.
If you're trying to lose weight or maintain your current weight while eating
vegetarian meals, aim to fill half your plate with one or two of the following lowcalorie vegetables: tomatoes, spinach, salad, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green
beans, asparagus or bell peppers.
Starchy vegetables should not be used to fill half the plate, since they have about
triple the calories of low-calorie vegetables. Starchy vegetables include green peas,
corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squashes.
A serving of vegetables includes:
1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables;
1/2 cup of other vegetables cooked or chopped raw;
3/4 cup of vegetable juice.

Fruit Group
Fruits are wonderful because they are low in fat and sodium and provide important
vitamins that keep you feeling fine and looking good. Fruit and fruit juices provide
important amounts of vitamins A and C and potassium. 2 to 4 daily servings of

fruit play a big role in a good diet. Fruits also give you carbohydrates, the body's
favorite kind of fuel. And above all fruit is full of fiber. Fruits are protective and
regulatory in nature.
A serving of fruit includes:
one medium apple or banana or orange.
1/2 cup chopped, cooked or canned raw fruit
3/4 cup of fruit juice.
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group
Milk products provide protein, vitamins, and minerals. Eating and drinking milk,
yogurt, and cheese is the best way to get your daily calcium. And you'll have the
power of protein to help you grow and build your body when you pick foods from
this group. 2 to 3 servings of this group is enough for your body. 2 servings are
enough for most people and 3 for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding,
teenagers and young adults to age 24. The most critical time to fill your bones with
calcium is in your teen-age years. If you don't provide your body with sufficient
calcium in your teens, your bones will be less dense throughout your life. This
food group helps in body building and gives energy to your body. cow's milk,
buffalo milk, goat's milk, butter, ghee, paneer, cheese, kheer, payasam, rabdi,
basundi and similar foods comes in this group.
A

serving

of

milk

includes:

1 cup (236 milliliters) of milk or yogurt


1
ounce
(28
grams)
of
cheese
1 1/2 cups of ice cream or ice milk.
Meat,

Poultry,

Fish,

Dry

Beans,

Eggs,

and

Nuts

Group

Meat, poultry, and fish supply protein, B vitamins, iron, and zinc. The other foods
in this group - dry beans, eggs, and nuts - are similar to meats in providing protein
and most vitamins and minerals. Mutton, chicken, eggs and all edible birds, fish,
crab, lobsters and shrimp are examples of Meat, Poultry and Seafood; they are
major source of protein and also provide significant amount of fat. Groundnut,
cashew nut, walnut, pistachio and badam examples of Nuts and Oilseeds are major

source of fats and also provide protein. 2 to 3 servings from this group is sufficient
for your body. This food group helps in body building and energy storing.

Healthy Weight

A healthy weight for you is a weight where you are healthy, not experiencing any
health problems related to weight, and able to participate in everyday activities.
Weight tables are of limited usefulness because individuals vary greatly. But if you
feel you must consult a weight table then following table based on BMI (Body

Mass Index) is probably the best one to use. It is considered suitable for both men
and women, and that persons below or above these weights may be at health risk.
Height without shoes
5'0"
5'1"
5'2"
5'3"
5'4"
5'5"
5'6"
5'7"
5'8"
5'9"
5'10"
5'11"
6'

Weight (in pounds) without clothes


100-139
105-149
110-149
110-154
115-164
120-164
125-174
125-174
130-184
135-189
140-194
140-199
145-205

Fortunately, one can eat smart with little sacrifice to old habits and good taste.
Preparing dishes yourself allows you considerable control over what goes into your
system.

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