Healthy Diet

A healthy diet plays a crucial role in people's health, to the extent that many scientists consider a good diet to be before medicine. The question is, what is a healthy diet?
A healthy diet is a diet that meets all of the body's needs for micronutrients and macronutrients. Except for breast milk, no known food can meet all the requirements of an adult human body.
That is why our diet must include a wide range of foods to meet all the body's needs.
In a healthy diet, in addition to the wide variety of foods, the amount of food you eat in your diet should be enough so that you do not become deficient in different nutrients.
A healthy diet protects your body against many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, etc.
According to the food pyramid, a healthy diet should include five main food groups: cereals (bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.), fruits (apples, bananas, pomegranates, citrus fruits, etc.), Vegetables (spinach, cucumber, tomato, celery, lettuce, cabbage, etc.), meat and protein (red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, etc.), dairy products (milk, yogurt, buttermilk, etc.), and fats (oils, nuts, etc.).
The amount of intake of each of these food groups in each person is different. It varies according to the body condition and physical activity of each person.

An essential part of a healthy diet is calorie balance. Calorie balance means that the amount of calories you eat is equal to the number of calories your body consumes.
Your body needs calories to perform its daily activities such as breathing, heart rate, brain activity, etc. In addition, you need calories to perform your activities, such as walking, eating, etc.; these calorie needs should be obtained through a healthy diet.
Consumption of higher calories causes the body to store extra calories in the form of fat, which in the long run, causes overweight and obesity, and eventually, other chronic diseases caused by obesity.
The low-calorie intake in the long term also leads to decreased metabolism and impaired bodily functions, which in the long run, can lead to weight loss and damage caused by underweighting.
Therefore, calorie balance is an important principle in a healthy diet that, along with dietary variety, can help increase your health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that you should follow the following five points in a healthy diet:

♦ Have a calorie balance and get as many calories as your body burn.
♦  Increase the consumption of plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, etc., in your diet.
♦ Limit your intake of fats and use unsaturated fats such as olive oil instead of saturated fats and trans fatty acids.
♦  Limit sugar and other foods that use sugar in their compound.
♦  Limit your salt intake to one teaspoon a day. Also, make sure that the salt you use is iodized.

♦ In choosing cereals, choose fibre rich and whole grains. Also, avoid white and refined bread as well as sweets.

♦ To get protein, use good protein sources such as eggs, poultry, fish and seafood, nuts and legumes. Reduce red meat consumption such as beef, lamb, pork, etc., as much as possible.

♦ Eat good and healthy fats such as olives, avocados, sesame seeds, seeds, nuts and their oils for your daily fat intake, and avoid saturated and trans fats such as animal fats and margarine.

♦ Choose a high-fibre diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

♦ Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, the more colourful the fruits and vegetables, the better.

♦ Calcium is one of the most important minerals, and its primary source is milk and dairy products. Still, there are other sources of calcium, including soy milk, cabbage, and calcium-fortified foods.

♦ Water is the best food to supply the body with the fluids it needs. Avoid sugary drinks.

♦ Avoid processed foods and try to eat fresh foods.

♦ Taking vitamin D can help increase your health.

♦ Do not forget to exercise regularly and do physical activity.

Against many people's opinions, having a healthy diet is easy. To have a healthy diet, follow the below recommendations about food groups in your daily diet plan to increase your health.

Cereals:

Starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, etc., are in cereal groups. In a standard diet, these foods are the basis of our diet.
Use whole grains when choosing cereals. Whole grains contain fibre and B vitamins. Fibre helps the digestive system better digest and absorb food, and B vitamins are needed to increase health and proper body function. About 30-40% of a healthy diet should be consists of cereals.
Avoid simple grains such as white rice, refined flour or white bread or sweets, and such foods. Instead, use brown rice, whole grain, whole meal bread, etc.

protein products:

Meat, fish, seafood, eggs, poultry, legumes and their products are in this group.
Protein is essential for the body to grow and repair itself and perform vital roles such as hormonal and enzymatic functions. Also, these foods contain a variety of vitamins and minerals needed for the body to work correctly and increase the body's health.
Fish meat is a better choice than red meat and poultry because it is high in omega-3 fats, which boost cardiovascular health.
When choosing red meat, choose the lean parts and separate the fat from the meat as much as possible. When eating poultry, remove the skin because the skin has a lot of saturated fat.
It is recommended to eat fish and seafood such as shrimp at least two meals a week.
Eggs are another great source of protein that you can use to increase your diet's protein amount.
Nuts and seeds also have much protein, but it is recommended not to use them too much and consume them in moderation due to their high-fat content.
Dairy products also have a lot of protein, but we put them specifically in a separate group.
In general, about 20% of our diet should be protein; excessive protein intake can not help you or even harm you.

Dairy product:

Dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, etc., are high in protein and calcium that help increase bone strength and prevent osteoporosis.
Also, they contain other vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins and vitamin D that help meet the body's need for these vitamins.
Osteoporosis is one of the most common problems in people over 50. You should use 2 to 3 serving of dairy per day in your diet daily to prevent this problems.

Fruits and Vegetable:

Fruits and vegetables are the primary sources of vitamins and minerals in the diet. The recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in the diet is five servings per day. You should eat at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits in a healthy diet.
Studies show that people who eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables are less prone to chronic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, diabetes, cancer, etc.
Of course, you should note that excessive consumption of fruits due to their high carbohydrate content can increase calorie intake and weight gain.
It is better to use fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet. If you do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, you can also use frozen or dried types, such as frozen raspberries, raisins, dates, etc.
The last point about consuming fruits and vegetables is to use colourful and various fruits and vegetables in your diet to provide different types of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your body needs.

Fats:

About 30% of your calorie intake in a healthy, standard diet should come from fats.
We have two general categories of fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Plant fats are often unsaturated fats, and animal fats are often saturated fats. Due to their nature, plant fats are usually liquid and better options for using than solid animal fats.
Unsaturated fats include olive oil, olive, avocado, nuts and seeds, corn oil, sunflower oil, etc.
Saturated fats are butter, milk fat, cream, meat fat, etc.
Trans fatty acids found in processed foods and solid vegetable oils such as margarine and cheddar are the worst fats. You should avoid any trans fatty acids.
It is better to use olives, walnuts, flaxseed and avocado, which have a high omega-3 content. Omega 3 promotes cardiovascular health and plays an anti-inflammatory role in the body.
Of course, be careful when consuming oils; their large calorie content causes weight gain and obesity.

Simple sugars:

You can get up to 10% of your daily calorie intake from simple sugars in a healthy diet.
For example, in a 2000 calorie diet, you can consume about 45 grams of simple sugar.
Simple sugars include soft drinks, sugar, chocolate, sweets, candy, etc.
The lower the number of simple sugars in your diet, the better for your health.
Excessive consumption of simple sugars is associated with an increased risk of high triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases.