Contents
What should boys and girls eat?
What is a balanced diet?
A balanced diet is one in which all the foods that compose it are compensated according to dietary and nutritional needs, as in a balance.
A balanced diet consists of making balanced dietary choices based on the different factors that can affect the diet.
How to eat a balanced diet?
Eating a balanced diet consists of applying the information we have about healthy eating in our day-to-day dietary choices.
It does not mean giving up the food that we like the most, but to enjoy the food and, at the same time, to choose the healthier, because we know it is an investment in the future, which will make us healthier when we are older. For example, eating more fruits and vegetables will protect us against many diseases.
If we eat too much of a single food group, the balance is unbalanced. A varied diet contains all food groups and different foods within the same group.
- If ,in addition to being varied, it is also balanced, it will provide the necessary amounts to have energy, grow properly and protect us from diseases.
Examples of eating a balanced diet
The act of feeding depends on many factors, such as the climate, the culture, the environment and the individual circumstances of each person.
Eating is a pleasure and it is necessary for health. One of the bases is to eat in a pleasant environment.
It is natural that from time to time we want to eat a sweet or some fried food, and this consumption fits into a balanced diet.
It is also normal that vegetables are not so appetizing as the previous options. All this can be solved with a more appetizing recipe or with a homemade sauce.
Other people are accustomed to eating a lot of meat because they do not know alternatives to meat to improve their diet.
- With a little effort, we can learn to eat healthier and more compensated, always enjoying the food.
Problem of obesogenic environment and dietary choices
A good nutritional education will help us to avoid the harmful food that exists in the obesogenic environment.
Many times you eat poorly due to poor planning, lack of information, or simply not thinking about other options. For example, getting ahead and carrying a fruit in the backpack will prevent the junk food of the vending machine from being consumed.
If we are thirsty, ask for water instead of a soft drink, which we will reserve only for sporadic occasions. Many people drink soda without knowing that they are a major player in the childhood obesity epidemic!
In celebrations and social gatherings, we should look for healthier snacks such as the Spanish omelette, seasoned olives, good quality bread, guacamole or a hummus to share with friends, instead of always resorting to industrial food (and the waste of plastics that entails).
Diet is dynamic: it changes according to the state of mind, the environment and nutritional education. Eating well is making balanced dietary choices.
Regarding physical activity, we must start by increasing the daily movement. You have to get used to always climbing the stairs: in the end we will do it without thinking and without effort. The elevator is only for those who can not climb stairs … Can you think of other ways to compensate your food?
What should a balanced diet have?
A balanced diet is mainly composed of nutritious foods that provide us with those principles that the body needs to function and grow. These foods will be consumed in the appropriate rations.
In parallel, the diet must be consistent with the physical activity and the needs of the individual. You must exercise every day and satisfy individual desires. It is very useful to pay attention to instinct and distinguish hunger from cravings.
In smaller quantity, the diet can include a series of edible products that, although they are not the best option, their sporadic consumption is not very harmful either. Sporadic consumption should be exactly that: sporadic.
Why do not many people follow a balanced diet?
Currently, most people consume daily ultra-processed products that are very appetizing but unhealthy, which should be reserved for specific occasions (1 or 2 times a month, for example), such as soft drinks, cookies, chips, snacks, breakfast cereals, juices, yogurts sugary, etc.
Many people consume food for occasional consumption on a daily basis, which has become a worrying public health problem.
This is because the industrial food is very economical, appetizing and profitable. Only a good nutritional education is able to give the necessary criteria to people to stop consuming these products daily.
Characteristics of nutrients
Child feeding course index
More information on nutrition.
