Why Do You Need Healthy Balanced Diet?

A healthy balanced diet helps keep the body strong and resistant to disease. It keeps the mind sharp and promotes a feeling of well being. Eating the right foods also helps you function better at work and at home. When you do not feel your best because your diet is poor, you suffer, and your loved ones suffer, too.

The Basics

A healthy balanced diet includes foods from all the food groups. Foods that contain saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol usually raise your cholesterol level and are not considered healthy. You should limit your consumption of alcohol to help keep bones healthy. When your body does not get enough calcium, it takes what it needs from your bones. If this happens often enough, your bones become thin and brittle. A healthy and balanced diet aids in the prevention of diabetes.

Healthy Development

Food helps the body grow, and it contributes to beautiful skin, hair, eyes and teeth. A healthy balanced diet is important at any age, but a healthy balanced diet is especially important when a child is developing. A child's diet needs to be healthy and balanced so the child does not become obese and suffer with health problems associated with obesity. Strong teeth without cavities is another reason why healthy foods should be eaten, and so is enhanced mental performance. According to the Indian Health Service Start Program, children of all ages who follow a healthy balanced diet perform better in the classroom because they have the nutrition they need to feel their best.

Strong Bones

A healthy balanced diet is necessary if you want to have strong bones. Calcium-rich foods will give you what your body needs to build up bone if you are between the ages of 18 and 25, and calcium foods will help maintain bone strength if you are older than 25. Strong, healthy bones are less likely to break easily. A balanced diet that has calcium foods in it will ensure that you are putting calcium in your bones.

Healthy Weight

A healthy balanced diet is essential to a healthy weight. As long as the foods you eat are healthy food choices and you don't eat excess amounts of those foods, you should be able to have and maintain a healthy weight. Carrying excess weight can put you more at risk for serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer and high blood pressure. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 65 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, and roughly 17 percent of U.S. youths ages 2 to 19 are either overweight or obese.

Healthy Heart

A healthy heart depends on a healthy balanced diet. The consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol can lead to heart disease, especially if these foods are eaten in excess. Foods that have high sodium content can cause a stroke if too many are included in your diet. If you want a healthy balanced diet that contributes to a healthy heart, you need to eat different fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, legumes and milk foods that are low in fat or fat-free.