What is a balanced diet?
For the proper growth, maintenance and development of body an ideal combination of balanced diet, essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals must be aimed at. What type of food you take has a bearing on your health. Food faddists tend to be very particular in their food selections. The diet has to be not only nutritious, well balanced and appetizing but one must also cultivate healthy eating habits.
Cultivate a discipline in your food habits. Rich foods can be as bad as starvation diets. A balanced diet should contain adequate proportions of carbohydrates, proteins (both of animal and vegetable origin), fats (preferably polyunsaturated), minerals and vitamins. Since this diet meets most of the daily requirements of vitamins, extra supplements are not required. To have a really nutritious diet it is not essential to be dependent on costly foodstuffs.
Milk and dairy foods (and alternatives)
Milk is an ideal food and contains all the suitable principles of a balanced diet. For people who cannot afford, skimmed milk is a satisfactory substitute since it will contain all the essential constituents of whole milk except fats and vitamins A and D.
Eat lots of fruit and vegetables
Prefer as much of fresh fruits and raw vegetables as possible since a number of vitamins and minerals are destroyed while cooking. Fruits and fresh vegetables provide beneficial nourishment. The sugars of fruits are easy to digest and at the same time the fruit juices help in the proper elimination of acids formed during digestion. Preferably take fruits with peels as in case of apples and tomatoes since a greater proportion of nourishment of the fruit lie in their skin. But one does not have to overestimate the value of fruits. They are important for maintaining a correct balance in the diet.
A good number of cheap fruits serve the required purpose. Thus, for vitamin C, papaya, guava, gooseberry(amla), lemon and tomatoes are very rich sources and one need not go for costly orange juice for obtaining one’s supplies of this vitamin. Carrots are a good source of vitamins A, C and to a large extent also contain some amount of vitamin D.
Pulses, beans, fish, eggs, meat and other
Foods are required for body-building, protective functions and for energy. Milk, cheese, eggs, fish, meat, liver, pulses, nuts, peas, beans etc., are all body-building foods while milk, butter, cheese, ghee, green and leafy vegetables are protective foods.
Then there is question of brain power. There is no doubt that good nutrition in childhood goes a long way in developing the efficiency of the brain. Though factors of heredity, environment and socio-cultural influences cannot be ignored in the proper development of the brain yet the importance of proper nutrition in this regard also cannot be minimized.
Cultivate, healthy eating habits
One should eat slowly, chewing every morsel and not be in the habit of gulping down the food. There should be no hurry at the food table. Forget your urgent work at that time. Do not take too much of fluids with the food, since it will cut down the proper digestive action of essential juices in the stomach. So, drink liquids either before meals or afterwards but not during the meal.