Tips For Balanced Diet
You must be aware of your body’s vitamin and mineral requirements as well as the nutritional values of the food choices you make prior to selecting a daily food menu. To ensure that you are following a balanced diet, make sure that:
- Your food choices originate from the five main food groups viz. fruits, vegetables, cereals and pulses, dairy, poultry, fish and meat products.
- Since our body requires over 40 nutrients including vitamins, minerals, water, protein, carbohydrates and fats; it is important that we eat a variety of foods especially within vegetables and across the food groups. For example while vegetables like capsicum provide us with Vitamin C, spinach is rich in iron; both foods from the same food group but catering to different nutritional needs.
- Your diet ensures that your Body Mass Index (BMI) is within the recommended range.
- You follow low fat recipes, eating foods that are low in saturated and trans fat.
- Sugar, oil and alcoholic beverage consumption is restricted.
- Your food has low sodium content
The means used to grow, store and prepare food also plays an important in enhancing or depleting the nutritional value of the food.
The human body requires various types of nutrients in order to keep the body healthy and fit. These nutrients should be taken appropriately in our diet. The diet that we follow should be balanced. Balanced diet is a diet, which provides all the nutrients needed by the body in correct proportions.
This means that it should contain all the types of nutrients in the required quantities. Each meal should contain sources of carbohydrates (such as cereals), proteins (such as pulses), fats (such as cooking oil), vitamins and minerals (such as variety of vegetables).
Some of the common foods and their composition are given below:
| Food | Carbohydrate | Fat | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread (Roti) | 52% | 3% | 9% |
| Rice (cooked) | 23% | 0.1% | 2.2% |
| Banana | 20% | 0.5% | 1,0% |
| Potato | 19% | 0.1% | 2% |
| Peas | 16.7% | 0.5% | 5.2% |
| Apples | 12.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Cabbage | 5.5% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| Spinach (Palak, Saag) | 3.2% | 0.3% | 1.6% |
| Eggs | 0.7% | 12% | 13% |
| Milk | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Butter | 0.4% | 81% | 0.6% |
| Cheese | 2% | 32% | 25% |
| Meat | 0 | 30% | 22% |
| Chicken | 0 | 11% | 20% |
| Fish | 0 | 0.4% | 17% |
Given below is the recommended daily allowances of energy, proteins and fats:
| Group | Body Wt in kg | Net Energy in k Cal | Protein in g | Fat in g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Man | 60 | 2875 | 60 | 20 |
| Woman | 50 | 2225 | 50 | 20 |
| 13-15 yrs Boy | 47-48 | 2450 | 70 | 22 |
| Girl | 46-47 | 2060 | 55 | 22 |
In addition, the body also needs fibrous content called the roughage (for digestion) and water. A diet that contains all the above is called a balanced diet.
Balanced diets of moderately active adult Indians
| Food | Recommended amounts (g per day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Man | Adult Woman | |
| Cereals (rice/wheat) | 520 | 440 |
| Pulses | 50 | 45 |
| Meat/Fish | 30 | 30 |
| Egg | 1 | 1 |
| Milk | 200 | 150 |
| Oil/fats | 45 | 25 |
| Sugar/molasses | 35 | 20 |
| Roots and tubers (potato, etc.) | 60 | 50 |
| Green leafy vegetables (spinach, etc.) | 40 | 100 |
| Other vegetables (cauliflower, etc.) | 70 | 40 |
Energy requirement
A balanced diet should not only take care of the different types of nutrients but also consider the energy requirements of the individual. This is because different people have different lifestyles and varied nature of work. A man with sedentary habits does not require as much energy as the man who is on his feet for most of the day. The energy requirement is measured in terms of calories. The calorie requirement depends on the age, sex, height, weight, occupation and state of health.
| Age | Energy required |
|---|---|
| 5 years | 6000 kJ per day |
| 11 years | 9000 kJ per day |
| 18 years | 11000 kJ per day |
| Adult (normal work) | 9600 kJ per day |
| Adult (heavy work) | 12000 kJ per day |
| Adult (very heavy work) | 16000 kJ per day |
A young boy of about 15 years requires more calories or energy than an adult man who does not do heavy work. Similarly, lactating mothers require high energy and high protein diet for good lactation.
High Energy Foods
Here is a handy list of high energy foods which you could attempt to integrate into your daily diet. A high energy food can supply your body with additional energy needed to get through the day.
Vegetables
The list of vegetables which supply your body with high amounts of energy is exhaustive.
The main foods in the vegetable area which provide high amounts of energy are; sprouts, broccoli, asparagus and spinach.
Nuts
Some nuts are a great energy source and are often very suited to a quick snack. Almonds, peanuts and soy nuts are perfect for this example.
Yogurt
Yogurt is full of vitamin-B, and this vitamin helps your body convert other nutrients into energy. You should not eat excessive amounts of yogurt due to the fat content. You could eat a nut yogurt to mix the yogurt and nut energy foods into one snack.
Eggs
Eggs are a great source of energy, and this food will supply a high amount of protein throughout the working day. Some experts advise not to eat more than three eggs a week, so try to mix your weeks food plan up with other high energy foods.
Orange & Other Fruit Juice
Vitamin C can help to reduce levels of fatigue, which will keep you going all day long. As with many other vitamins, too much vitamin C can be bad for your body, so drink these juices in moderation.
Citrus fruits are also very good in providing vitamin C, a great example of this is the main ingredient in the fairly new lemon detox diet.
Beans & Lentils
Beans and lentils are a great source of potassium and carbohydrates. Kidney beans, lentils, baked beans and many others provide a great source of energy for your body.
Seeds
Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are also a great source of energy for your body. These are great as a stand-alone snack, and also combined with other ingredients in nut bars.
