Healthy Food Essay: The Importance of a Balanced Diet

Food is essential for our body for a number of reasons. It gives us the energy needed for working, playing and doing day-to-day activities. It helps us to grow, makes our bones and muscles stronger, repairs damaged body cells and boosts our immunity against external harmful elements like pathogens. Besides, food also gives us a kind of satisfaction that is integral to our mental wellbeing, but there are some foods that are not healthy. Only those food items that contain nutrients in a balanced proportion are generally considered as healthy. People of all ages must be aware of the benefits of eating healthy food because it ensures a reasonably disease-free, fit life for many years. 

Switching to a healthy diet doesn't have to be a one-size-fits-all approach. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to eliminate all of your favourite foods and you don't have to make any drastic changes all at once—doing so frequently leads to straying or abandoning your new eating plan.

Making a few tiny modifications at a time is a recommended approach. Maintaining modest goals will help you achieve more in the long run without feeling deprived or overwhelmed by a very drastic diet change. Consider a healthy diet as a series of tiny, accessible actions such as including a salad in your diet once a day. You can slowly add additional healthy options as your minor modifications become habitual.

Cultivating a positive relationship with food is also crucial. Rather than focusing on what you should avoid, consider what you may include on your plate that will benefit your health such as nuts for heart-healthy, predominant fat that reduces low-density lipoprotein levels called monounsaturated fatty acids(raspberries) for fibre and especially the substances that inhibit oxidation which we call antioxidants.

Why is Healthy Food Important?

Living a healthy lifestyle has immense payback. Over time, making smart eating choices lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, certain malignancies, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even anxiety and depression. Daily, you will have more energy, feel better and possibly even be in a better mood.

It all boils down to how long and how good your life is. According to several surveys, A healthy diet consists of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and fish. A higher diet of red or processed meats on the other hand doubled the chance of dying young.

Types of Healthy Food: 

Following are the various types of healthy foods and their respective nutritional value:

• Cereals,potatoes,bread and other root vegetables- These are the main sources of carbohydrates. The calories obtained from them enable us to do work. 

• Pulses, milk and milk products, eggs, bird meat, animal meat in limited quantities - these are great sources of protein. They build muscles and repair the damaged cells of our body, i.e., they are important for our immunity. 

• Ghee, butter, nuts and dry fruits, edible oil used in restrained quantities- These are rich sources of good fat. They provide more energy to our body than carbohydrates but should be consumed in a smaller amount. 

• Fresh fruits, vegetables and leafy vegetables, fish, egg, milk-these are good sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are essential for normal functioning of the body. Though they are needed in small amounts, nowadays, nutrition experts prescribe their higher consumption as they help to fight lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity and even cancer. 

Different types of healthy food when included in our daily diet in the right proportions along with water and roughage comprise a balanced diet. However, a balanced diet is not the same for all individuals considering many factors. It depends on a person’s age, gender, condition of the body-healthy or suffering from any disease and the type of work or physical activity a human  does.

Benefits of Eating Healthy

Healthy food intake nourishes both our physical and mental health and helps us stay active for many years. One who break downs this broad benefit into micro-benefits will see that eating healthy:

• Helps us in weight management

• Makes us agile and increases our productivity 

• Decreases the risk of heart diseases, stroke, diabetes mellitus, poor bone density, and some cancers, etc. 

• Helps in uplifting mood

• Improves memory

• Improves digestion and appetite

• Improves sleep cycle

Healthy food habits are inculcated in children by their parents early on. These habits along with the right education and physical exercise lead to an overall development of an individual which ultimately becomes the greatest resource of a country.

What is Unhealthy Food or Junk Food?

To fully understand the prominence of healthy food in our diet, we must also be aware of unhealthy food, that is, the food that we must avoid eating. These are mainly junk food items which are low in nutritional value and contain an excessive amount of salt, sugar and fats which is not healthy for a human body.

Junk food is one of the unhealthy intakes in the present day scenario. It makes us more unfit than ever before. It is high time that one realised this and adopted a healthy food habit for a sustainable lifestyle.

Steps to improve Eating Habits:

• Make a detailed plan; break down the timings; kind of food to be included in each meal and keep the plan weekly and avoid making the process dull and repetitive. 

• Cook your food, minimise eating from outside. It helps keep the ingredients, quality and measurements in check as well as saves money.

• Stock your kitchen with healthy snacks for your cravings rather than processed food so that your options are reduced to consuming unhealthy food.

• Take the process slowly. You do not have to have a strict plan; ease yourself into a healthy mindset. Your mind and body will adjust gradually. Consistency is important. 

• Track your eating habits to understand the intake of food, items, portions etc. This motivates you to see the progress over time and make changes according to your needs.

Myths About Healthy Food:

• Carrots affect eyesight: According to historic times, during World War II, there was a popular belief that eating a lot of veggies would assist maintain the pilot's eyes in good repair. In actuality, the fighter pilot's eyesight was aided by advanced technology. However, the myth has persisted since then and many parents still use this narrative to get their children to eat more veggies. Carrots are high in vitamin A and make a terrific supplement to any healthy diet, but they don't usually help you see better.

• Fat-Free Food: Health foods continue to dominate grocery store shelves but it's always a good idea to look beyond the label before buying. This is especially true when it comes to "fat-free," "low-fat," and "non-fat" foods. It's generally true that anything with less fat is preferable for some dairy and meat items. 

Lower fat alternatives in packaged and processed foods contain other dangerous additives as fat substitutes. Manufacturers compensate for the loss of fat in packaged cookies, for example, by adding other undesirable elements like sugar.

• Protein shakes: Pre-made smoothie beverages and protein powder mixes which typically claim to contain less sugar than milkshakes, slushies and diet sodas are likely to be the popular choice among customers because of the above mentioned reason. They both have the same amount of sugar and artificial sweeteners. 

However, this is not true of all pre-made protein shakes and smoothies. Many of them, particularly the plant-based mixtures, are still nutritious additions to a balanced diet. Check the nutrition label to be sure there are no added sugars or artificially sweetened mixtures.

• Organic food is better: Foods that are grown organically are better for you. Nutritionists labelling a product as organic doesn't mean it's superior to non-organic foods. It's a popular misperception that organic produce is nutritionally superior to non-organic produce. Organic produce has the same caloric and nutritional value as non-organic produce since it is grown and prepared according to federal rules.