HealthyEating. Health: Nutrition. 18 June 2014Last updated at 16:26 The human body needs a balanced diet to deliver vital nutrients What's your idea of a perfect meal? Sushi? A large piece of cake followed by hot chocolate? Cutting through the myriad of diet plans and faddish eating regimes, the human body needs a balanced, healthy eating plan to keep functioning properly. Grow and build Repair and heal Reproduce successfully Repel illnesses and infections Avoid weight-related health problems Eating a variety of foods can also reduce the risk of getting conditions including heart disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes and osteoporosis. The foods we need to eat can be divided into five separate groups. The reason we need a diet drawn from all of the groups is that they all deliver different, but vital, nutritional benefits to our bodies. Fruit and vegetables are one of our main sources of vitamins and minerals, which the body needs to perform a variety of functions well.
For more information and advice, go to NHS Choices. Healthy diet. A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, adequate essential amino acids from protein,[1] essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and adequate calories. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods. A healthy diet supports energy needs and provides for human nutrition without exposure to toxicity or excessive weight gain from consuming excessive amounts. Where lack of calories is not an issue, a properly balanced diet (in addition to exercise) is also thought to be important for lowering health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer.[2] Various nutrition guides are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate the public on what they should be eating to promote health.
Recommendations[edit] World Health Organization[edit] Other recommendations include: For specific conditions[edit] Healthy eating - information from Bupa on healthy eating. The amount and type of food you eat has a major influence on your health. If you eat a well-balanced diet, it can reduce your risk of various diseases as well as help you to maintain a healthy weight. There are certain times when it can be particularly important to make sure that you follow a healthy diet, for instance, if you want to lose excess weight or if you’re watching what you eat because you’re pregnant. However, it’s important to eat a healthy diet throughout your life, no matter what age you are – there’s never a bad time to make some changes and improve your eating habits.
Why is healthy eating important? There is good evidence that eating a healthy diet can reduce your risk of obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. The food you eat contains several different types of nutrients, which are all required for the many vital processes in your body. Carbohydrates provide you with energy. A balanced diet Starchy foods. Healthy eating - Live Well.