What is a balanced diet?

[patliputra]

Is eatng carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements in proper proportion and is it a balanced diet?

[andyswarbs]

I prefer the term a healthy diet. We're not balancing on something and one person's needs for carbs will be different from another's or even their own on a different day.

If we are healthy what we all need is a diverse diet full of plants and legumes and fruit, and if we grew that or foraged it all then, with exercise we would all stay very healthy, free from many of modern society illnesses.

[deejames in reply to andyswarbs]

I would amend that to having a better chance of staying healthy. A good diet alone does not guarantee freedom from illness.

Otherwise I agree with Andy. The lifestyle you lead affects the body's requirements for types of nutrition. Also your age and to some extent your gender. There is lots of guidance onine as to the proportions of the different elements in our food that we need.

Dee

[patliputra in reply to andyswarbs]

Does it mean that balanced diet is not a healthy diet?

[andyswarbs in reply to patliputra]

A balanced diet can be healthy, but it could also be unhealthy. The focus in the concept of a balanced diet focuses things like recommended daily values aimed at the average person.

Many if not most people with health issues are far from average. For myself in my worst days of RA I slept possibly 10 hours a day and lay on the sofa in agonising pain the rest, whereas prior to RA I had a heavy labouring job for 40 hours per week. With RA I was housebound because walking was so extremely painful. I was stressed and depressed.

The term "balanced" is often a shorthand for averagely healthy, perhaps that is disingenuous but I suspect if you ask the person in the street that's what they will think. I am convinced that someone who is ill needs, nay deserves, an incredibly healthy diet that is tuned to their needs. And yes, that means no choccy bars.

[cure in reply to andyswarbs]

andyswarbs there is a very nice message from 'Ayurveda'

'हित भुक,

मित भुक,

ऋत भुक.

which means

- eat only those things which are beneficial for you...

-eat less than capacity of your stomach ..

-Eat as per season..

[andyswarbs in reply to cure]

perfect, totally perfect.

[patliputra in reply to andyswarbs]

A balanced diet is not a fad or crash diet. It is a way of ensuring you eat all required nutrients for your body to function properly. A balanced diet will not be the same for everyone . Everyone is different and often, indivisual s will require a different amount and type of nutrients. What you need will vary and will depend on age,gender,life style,illness and the rate at which your body works.

Eating a balanced diet is key in maintaining good health and keeping your body in optimum condition. A balanced diet does not cut out food groups. It consists of wide variety foods , served in the correct proportion to support your body and keel you energised,motivated and healthy.

[BadHare]

Minerals are trace elements.

Everyone's dietary needs are individual with regard to nutrient requrement. Where people live can affect nutrient availability with regards to soil quality & mneral content, climate, & terrain.

[patliputra in reply to BadHare]

Minerals and trace elements belong to different categories. Sodium,potassium,calcium,and magnesium are minerals, while Zn,manganese,selenium,copper,iron,cobalt,iodine,chromium,lead,cadmium etc are trace elements. There is another category which are called biological variables which includes nitric oxide,carnitine,glutamine etc.

[BadHare in reply to patliputra]

That's still a list of minerals!

Glutamine is an amino acid, carnitine is produced by the body, & nitric oxide from exercise or medication.

[patliputra in reply to BadHare]

Thank you . You are very right. Only the quantity required is different.

[Tibblington]

Why do we have to take the pleasure out of eating by worrying about what a meal includes? I'm old enough to remember when food was food not the analysed plate of various items.

We eat a wide range of WHOLE food which is, a good selection of vegetables, probably as many as four different ones with each meal of which one is green leaf. Plenty of fresh fruit of known origin (not sprayed), butter, cheese, eggs, a moderate amount of meat and fish. Our milk is whole milk unpasteurised. Our bread is all made in the home and is 100% wholemeal; supermarket wholemeal is factory made and is a travesty of the real thing.

We do NOT eat polyunsaturated fats or oils, that is Sunflower oil, Rape seed oil or any other seed oil all of which are frequently the subject of a long industrial process, nor any of the artificial spreads associated with these oils. No manufactured cereals for breakfast and lastly we keep our added sugar intake to an absolute minimum; 1kg a year for the two of us and visitors.

If you must give it a name that's what we call a balanced diet and we enjoy it without analysis.