A healthy and balanced diet includes the types and amounts of foods needed to provide you with all the nutrients your body requires to have energy. To accomplish this, your diet must include a variety of foods from all the major food groups: grains, fruits and vegetables, meat and meat substitutes, and dairy and dairy substitutes.
History
The foundation of a balanced, healthy diet is established by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a set of recommendations first established in 1980 that are reviewed and, where necessary, updated every 5 years by a government-selected panel of nutrition scientists and physicians who serve on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The production of the dietary guidelines is a coordinated effort between the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The guidelines are summed up for consumers in the USDA's MyPyramid food guide program, an illustrated tool to help consumers plan healthy, balanced diets.
Features
The Dietary Guidelines say that vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat diary products form the basis of a healthy and balanced diet. That means your diet should consist mostly of foods from these four groups. In addition, a balanced diet should include a variety of foods from the meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts group, also called the protein group. It also includes meat analogs, or meat substitutes, many of which are made from soybeans.
Sample Menus
To balance a plate of food, fill a little more than half with grains and vegetables or fruits and divide the remaining space up between lean protein, healthy fat and, for at least two meals, low-fat dairy or dairy substitute. For breakfast, that might translate to a bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk, a cup of strawberries and a side dish of two or three slices of turkey bacon or soy sausage links cooked in a little olive oil. For lunch, a whole-wheat pita round filled with lettuce, tomato, avocado and lower-fat cheese with orange sections on the side provides the balance you need. A mixed vegetable stir-fry over brown rice with a little chicken or tofu is an example of a balanced dinner. You can substitute any one food for another in the same food group, such as pear halves instead of strawberries or roasted red peppers instead of tomato.
Servings
A healthy, balanced diet includes a certain number of servings from each food group each day. The good pyramid recommendations include six to 11 servings of grains (pasta, rice, bread or) cereal, three to five servings vegetables, two to four servings fruit, two to three servings meat or other protein and two to three servings dairy or dairy substitute. At any one meal, you may choose to have more than one serving from any group as long as you end up with a balanced plate of food.
Portion Sizes
Standard portion or serving sizes help ensure you eat healthful amounts of foods from each food group. When filling your plate (or cup), keep these portion sizes in mind: 1 cup milk or yogurt, 2 ounces processed cheese, 1 1/2 ounces natural cheese, 2 to 3 ounces lean meat, poultry or fish, 1/2 cup cooked legumes (dried beans, lentils, split peas); 1 egg or 2 tablespoons peanut butter or other nut butter (the equivalent of 1 ounce lean meat), 1 cup raw leafy vegetables such as lettuce or spinach, 1/2 cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables, 3/4 cup vegetable juice, 1 medium piece whole fruit, 1/2 cup chopped fruit, 3/4 cup fruit juice, 1 slice bread, 1 ounce cold cereal, and 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta.
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