Why Do People Need A Balanced Diet?

Eating a varied diet gleaned from all the food groups naturally provides the right balance of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and fatty acids. Your body needs dozens of these nutrients to sustain metabolism. It manufactures some of them, such as vitamin K and cholesterol, but must have daily input of so-called essential nutrients that the body can't make, such as vitamin C. The nutrition from a balanced diet helps you to grow even before birth and to age well and longer into life.

For Growth

Child development begins during a woman's pregnancy, when meeting nutritional needs enables fetal cellular growth, prevents birth defects and facilitates the birth process. As children and adolescents mature, nutrients that include calcium, vitamin D, potassium, protein and iron support the continued growth of bones, blood, muscles and other emerging cells and tissues. Balance in nutrient and calorie intake is important because eating more of some types of foods and not others, such as more meats and grains and fewer fruits and vegetables, can stunt or delay normal growth in youth.

For Energy

Your body multitasks all the time and needs different types of energy supplies from nutritionally balanced meals. The sugar in simple carbohydrates provide short-term bursts of energy, for instance, while starch and fiber of complex carbohydrates offer a more sustained supply. Dietary protein supports the function of every cell in your body. A balanced diet from the fruit, vegetable, grain, protein and dairy food groups contributes natural sugar, starch, soluble and insoluble fiber, incomplete and complete protein, and many other nutrients that propel your body into activity.

For Fitness

Getting too much energy results in the excess food calories being stored in the body as fat, causing weight gain. A balanced diet, however -- which includes portion control -- equalizes your calorie intake with your calorie expenditure through physical activity. The outcome is your maintenance of an appropriate weight, which preserves your mobility and allows you to become fit through exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that this combination improves your mental outlook as well as your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health.

For Long-Term Health

Keeping at a proper weight by eating balanced meals reduces your risk for chronic illness and for premature death. The weight control that comes from following high-fiber and low-fat diets, for example, is associated with fewer cases of cancer and heart disease, as per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This type of balanced diet can also help you avoid arthritis, incontinence, asthma and depression for a better quality of life in your advanced years.