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Balanced Diets
There are many balanced diets and one is not necessarily better than another. Here you will find general guidelines on how
balanced diets are constructed.
The advantage of balanced diets is they allow you to maintain weight control naturally rather than having to resort to fad
diets or crash diets.
What actually are balanced diets?
Most nutrition professionals agree that balanced diets are based on three basic concepts:
1. Balance.
Most health professionals recommend a diet consisting of a balance as follows: Carbohydrate: 55-65%, Protein: 10-15% and Fats
Up to 30%.
2. Moderation.
Many dieting programs are successful simply because they are very good at helping people learn to plan their food portion
size, as the feeling of fullness in the stomach can take as long as twenty minutes to register to the brain.
Moderation, therefore, involves learning the difference between hunger satisfaction and fullness. Generally the accepted
norm is that meals should be at least 3 - 5 times a day and this will have the affect of decreasing hunger pangs and the need
to over eat.
3. Variation.
All healthy diets involve the inclusion of several food-types.
The primary reason for this is by including a wide-variety of foods you increase your chances of obtaining the required
amounts of essential nutrients. It is a well known fact that vitamin and mineral composition is food-specific, so you need to
eat a wide variety of foods to get all the essential nutrients for overall health and vitality.
Variation also helps to avoid food-boredom and allows you to enjoy a variety of different foods.
The composition of a balanced diet
Fruit & Vegetables
Eating healthily means at least 5 portions a day this includes frozen, canned, dried and pure juices as well as fresh. Also
included in this group are beans, including baked beans, pulses and lentils.
Bread, Other Cereals & Potatoes
In this group you should also aim for 5 portions daily. This group includes breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, noodles, oats,
bread and potatoes. You should aim to include at least one food from this group at each meal.
Milk & Dairy Foods
In this group 2-3 servings daily is the recommended healthy eating level. Milk, cheese, yoghurt are examples of foods to be
included, but go easy on butter, eggs and cream.
Meat Fish & Alternatives
In this group aim for 2-3 servings daily. This group includes eggs, poultry, meat and fish products such as beef burgers and
fishcakes.
Some of these products can be high in fat - so you should choose lower fat versions of products, and trim fat from meat and
poultry. Alternatives are non-meat sources of protein such as nuts, tofu, mycoprotein, textured vegetable protein and kidney
beans.
Foods Containing Fat & Foods Containing Sugar
Eat these in small quantities only. These are foods high in fat and/or sugar. Butter, mayonnaise, cream, crisps and fried
foods are high in fat. Soft carbonated drinks, sweets and jam are high in sugar. Cakes, chocolate, biscuits, pastries and
ice-cream are high in both.
It is essential to include a small amount of fat in your diet, but the emphasis should be on unsaturated fats for example:
Olive, sunflower and corn oil an oily fish rather than saturated fats which tends to be found in animal products, cakes and
biscuits.
Find out more about balanced diets and sensible weight control
These are the basics. It is then up to you to tailor the diet to your specific needs. Balanced diets can be different but
follow the principles above and can make eating a pleasure rather than a chore.
For more information on balanced diets and sensible eating plans, go to our website for further information.
Article Source: www.net-planet.org
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