Healthy food full of nutrients is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet doesn’t mean that the diet has to be complicated and a lot of planning needs to be done. You just need to be aware of the type of food you are taking. A healthy lifestyle is acquired by including all the nutrients needed by our body in an optimal amount in our diet every day. Before going further, let’s start by understanding what a balanced diet is.
A balanced diet is a diet that contains all sorts of nutrients required by the body to function properly. Most of these nutrients can be obtained by including a different variety of foods in your diet whereas some nutrients can also be taken through various supplements. Our body requires carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in large amounts where some nutrients such as iron, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, etc are required in less quantity as compared to the former ones.
But it’s important to understand that no matter whether these nutrients are macro or micro, they play an essential part in the proper functioning of the body. Therefore, all types of nutrients must be included in your diet to make it a balanced diet.
Carbohydrates and fats are the main sources of energy in our body, proteins help to increase the immunity protecting our body against all the foreign materials, and minerals and vitamins help in the proper circulation in the body while building our bones and muscles. Most of these nutrients also play a very important role in proper functioning of our brain and nerve system thus improving our mental well being as well.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A BALANCED DIET?
Below are the five benefits of a balanced diet:
- Gives you protection against diseases: when you consume all sorts of nutrients in our diet, it helps to make our immune system stronger. When your immunity improves, your body becomes capable of fighting against foreign particles more effectively. A balanced diet and improved immunity in turn prevent any major disease like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
- Mental well being: Some might think that a balanced diet only helps in improving the physical being of the individual but that’s not true at all. Some nutrients such as phosphorus, iron, sodium, calcium and carbohydrates play a major role in the ion influx and help in the proper signaling to and fro the brain.
- Body development and growth: Right amount of nutrients help the cells to grow and thus facilitates the development of the body and the overall growth. Calcium is one of the nutrients that contribute majorly in the development of the bones. These nutrients are very important when the individual is in the growing phase.
- Boost your energy and increase your productivity: Foods rich in proteins and carbohydrates help to increase the energy level. These foods are easier for the cells to break down and convert easily from complex substances to simple substances. In this way, the cells function properly. This makes the individual less lethargic and also helps in increasing productivity.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?
According to the explanation given by WHO about a healthy lifestyle, healthy living is a way of living that helps you enjoy more aspects of your life. It’s a way of living that decreases the risk of being seriously ill or dying early. Health is not just about avoiding a disease or illness. It is about physical, social and mental well-being too. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t solely depend on our eating habits. It depends on our overall attitude towards ourselves and the way we are taking care of ourselves. It’s true that our eating habits make up a huge part of our healthy lifestyle but a healthy lifestyle is also defined by the things we do to maintain it. When we include all these in our daily lives, it makes our life more positive. For example, how effectively we are capable of managing our stress is also a part of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle depends on you.
WHY WE NEED A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?
As already mentioned earlier, a healthy lifestyle decreases the risk of diseases, helps you to stay fit and even improves your attitude towards life. Our overall life quality increases when we follow a healthy lifestyle. It all helps us to make better decisions and handle situations more effectively. When we talk about a healthy lifestyle in terms of a balanced diet, we can conclude by saying a healthy lifestyle is not possible without minding our eating habits. When we talk about keeping a healthy lifestyle, a balanced life is a must!
Now that we have discussed the relationship between a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle in detail, you must have finally understood its importance. So what are you waiting for? Go and make your healthy life choices now.
