Do you have well-balanced meals? Here’s all you need to know

Diet is one of the most important factors in helping to maintain health and well-being. Therefore, experts often emphasize the importance of eating a well-balanced diet.

Here’s nutritionist Pooja Bohra explaining what a balanced meal includes: a simple lunch plate. In the expert’s opinion, a balanced diet is one that meets all of a person’s nutritional needs. ‘Humans need a certain amount of calories and nutrients to stay healthy. A balanced diet provides all the nutrients a person requires, without going over the recommended daily calorie intake,’ she mentioned.

What are the benefits of a balanced diet?

The benefits of a healthy diet include increased energy, better body function, stronger immune system, and weight loss, said Bohra. She added that it will also help you feel energetic, manage one’s weight, and combat stress. Moreover, it provides the nutrients you need to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

But what all does it include?

‘A balanced meal is a snapshot of a diet that covers three core food groups. As seen on the above portion plate, the balance is one-quarter protein, a quarter carbohydrates and half portion vegetables,’ she said.

According to the United Nations’ paper Healthy diet: A definition for the First UN Food Summit, a healthy diet promotes healthy living and prevents disease. ‘It provides adequacy without excess, of nutrients and health promoting substances from nutritious foods and avoids the consumption of health-harming substances.’

Despite being conceptually simple, there is currently ‘no straightforward, universally accepted approach to quantifying the nutritional value of food’. Likewise, individual foods must be categorised according to their context. According to the study, the same food, such as whole fat milk, may provide much-needed energy and other nutrients to one population group (e.g., overweight children aged 3), but would be less ‘healthy’ for another due to its high energy (calories) and fat content.

Rujuta Diwekar, a celebrity nutritionist, recommends eating locally and seasonally, as well as exercising regularly. She even urges eating without distractions. ‘Like food, exercise is important, too. If you have a body, you have to exercise. Exercise has four pillars — strength, stamina, stability and stretching. At least 30 minutes of exercise or 3 hours a week is necessary for everybody,’ she said.