Meerna Muhanna Clinical Dietitian – Marble Medical Center
Nutrition Department
A healthy eating plan gives your body the nutrients it needs every day while staying within your daily calorie goal for weight loss. The importance of a balanced diet can’t be emphasized enough for a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle can be attained by maintaining a balanced diet and keeping into consideration to meet all the essential nutrients required by the body. A proper meal plan helps to attain ideal body weight and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular and other types of cancer.
A healthy diet is all about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential parts of a person’s overall health and well-being.
A balanced diet includes some specific healthy food groups under it:
- Vegetables such as leafy greens, starchy vegetables, legumes like beans and peas, red and orange vegetables, and others like eggplant
- Fruits that include whole fruits, fresh or frozen fruits but not canned ones dipped in syrup.
- Grains such as whole grains and refined grains. For example, quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley, and buckwheat
- Protein such as lean beef and pork, chicken, fish, beans, peas, and legumes
- Dairy products such as low-fat milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and soy milk
Calories are an indicator of the energy content in the food. Once your intake the food, the calories are consumed when you walk, think, or breathe. On average, a person may require about 2000 calories a day to maintain their body weight. Generally, a person’s calories may depend on their gender, age, and physical activity. Moreover, men need more calories than women. Again, people who are more into exercising require more calories in comparison to people who don’t. It’s also important to remember that the source of calories is equally important as the amount. Stuffing your food with empty calories. Those that don’t contain any nutritional value, don’t help in any way. Empty calories can be found in foods such as:
- Sugar
- Butter
- Cookies
- Cakes
- Energy drinks
- Ice cream
- Pizza
A balanced diet includes some specific healthy food groups under it:
- Vegetables such as leafy greens, starchy vegetables, legumes like beans and peas, red and orange vegetables, and others like eggplant
- Fruits that include whole fruits, fresh or frozen fruits but not canned ones dipped in syrup.
- Grains such as whole grains and refined grains. For example, quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley, and buckwheat
- Protein such as lean beef and pork, chicken, fish, beans, peas, and legumes
- Dairy products such as low-fat milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and soy milk
There are so many types of food you can eat each day and you have to make the right choices to stay well nourished. There is no one food that can provide all the nutrients your body needs. You have to eat a wide variety of food, all in moderation and in the right balance.
My Healthy Plate serves as a guide to help you plan a healthy diet meal plan. Follow these dietary guidelines and you will achieve a well-balanced diet that provides the nutrients you need, in the right amounts, each day.
After we defined the healthy lifestyle as well as healthy and balanced, we need to make sure we are eating the following macros in our diet:
- Whole grains:
such as brown rice, whole grain bread and rolled oats contain vitamins (vitamins B and E), minerals (iron, zinc, and magnesium), phytochemicals (lignans, phytosterols) and inulin (a type of dietary fiber) which are good for you. Refined grains such as white rice or white bread have gone through processing which removes the valuable nutrients that wholegrains have to offer. Consuming wholegrains over refined grains can reduce the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes and helps you manage your weight as you get hungry less easily.
- Proteins:
such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cheese, lentils, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Vary your protein routine from both animal-based and plant-based sources for their mix of nutrients. To make a healthier choice, select items lower in fats and saturated fats.
Focus on calcium.
Calcium strengthens bones and teeth. Adequate intake throughout life reduces the risk of osteoporosis. The best sources of calcium are dairy food milk, yoghurt, and cheese. For those who cannot stomach milk and milk products, eat small fish with edible bones, tofu, and green leafy vegetables.
- Healthy fats:
Pay particular attention to selecting healthier unsaturated fats and oils and minimize intake of saturated and trans fats.
- Fruits and vegetables:
Naturally low in fat and rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, fruit and vegetables add color, texture and flavor to your diet. With so many fruits and vegetables in the market, mix and match your choices to get maximum benefit. Remember not to overcook vegetables and go for whole fruit rather than juices.
Don’t forget the water:
Drinking 2-3 L of Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids also it helps in energize the muscles, glowing skin, healthier kidneys, and bowl function as well as control calories.
Physical activity:
Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles – they support your body and help you move. Keeping bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you’re able to do your daily activities be physically active, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
Supplements: Its preferable to check your vitamins and minerals my doing a regular every 6 months blood test so you can be able to take the correct type and dose of vitamins and minerals that your body will benefit from such as Iron, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Magnesium, zinc and calcium since taking supplements without doing blood tests or your Dr consult may have the following side effects like stomach pain, stomach cramps & burning sensation, digestive issues, sudden weight gain or weight loss, vomiting, loss of appetite, feeling of nausea, diarrhea and swelling that may also affect your kidneys.
