The phrase balanced diet is one of the most common in the nutritional realm, but the specifics of what it means are sometimes murky. There's more to achieving balance than just eating a variety of foods, so it's useful to learn some guidelines that can help people maintain healthy weights and make the best dietary choices for their bodies.
Benefits
Eating a balanced, varied diet that keeps calories in check has serious health advantages. The USDA states that including a variety of whole foods in the diet can help cut risks for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, kidney stones, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and bone loss. Eating in moderation also helps with weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. Finally, choosing a balance of foods from all major food groups will guard against nutrient deficiencies and naturally provide the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to function most effectively.
Features
The five main food groups are dairy items, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and grains. Strike a balance by eating servings from each group every day. To get the best nutrition and fewest calories out of your choices, pick dairy products that are low in fat, meats and proteins that are minimally processed and whole grains instead of refined grains. Try to feature at least four of the five food groups at every meal.
Nutrition
Nutrition is closely tied to caloric intake and balance. The Mayo Clinic recommends getting about 55 percent of daily calories from complex carbs, 25 percent from unsaturated fat and 20 percent from lean protein. To prevent weight gain and ensure you'll be able to burn as many calories as you take in, avoid or limit the amounts of added sugar, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium that you eat. Pick foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Those nutrients can help people feel full and stay full for longer periods of time. Help Guide suggests aiming for at least 25 g of fiber per day.
Calories
The number of calories you regularly eat and burn is directly correlated with your weight, so balancing calories can be just as important as balancing food groups and nutrients. One pound is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so if you need to lose weight, cutting about 500 calories per day should result in about a pound of weight loss per week. If you need to gain, adding 500 calories per day should help you gain a pound each week. Eating healthfully and exercising regularly help keep your daily caloric intake balanced.
Considerations
A balanced diet does not guarantee weight loss or better health, but it's one positive step toward those and other significant goals. Before starting any new diet plan, talk with a doctor about your goals and the plan's details. The National Institutes of Health cautions that healthy eating plans have the potential to become unbalanced if dieters eat too much of one particular food group at the expense of others.
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