Downloads:
General information
Well-balanced diets
Keywords
Diet, health, lifestyle, wellness, healthy eating, balanced diet, longevity
Level
General information
We need to eat to live. Feeding is the way our body has to obtain energy and be able to develop its functions. In this way, through the food we eat, we get energy and nutrients that are essential for all physiological functions, from breathing to jumping, from talking to growing, from laughing to even healing a wound.
But that energy and nutrients should not be consumed without control, it is necessary to take them in a certain amount and proportion in order to achieve the correct function for our body. But the nutrients as such are not available for consumption, what we must consume are foods that contain those nutrients.
An essential fact to take into account is that eating is not the same as being nourished. Everybody eats, but depending on the food and in what proportion, they are actually being nourished or not.
On many occasions it is normal to confuse having a good physical appearance with a good health status, but it is not the same. Just because a person looks good does not mean that they eat properly.
Well-balanced diets
A well-balanced diet is the basis for an adequate diet. But it is true that sometimes it is very difficult to achieve it. A well-balanced diet does not always mean that it is healthy. In the absence of any pathology, the population must be educated about the consumption of healthy, local, natural foods, avoiding ultra-processed foods. It would be necessary to show how to read the nutritional labels of the food and the list of all the ingredients.
It is essential to have an adequate nutritional education from a very young age, an adequate diet is acquired through eating habits learnt either from family or friends. Those eating habits are the ones that will really affect life and health status. Feeding affects health because it is something we do daily and several times, there are few things that are done so regularly.
Currently social networks are full of information on how to follow a proper diet and how to achieve a good health status. But not all the information is reliable, it is important to know how to distinguish between which is interesting and which is not.
Description
We need to eat to live. Feeding is the way our body has to obtain energy and be able to develop its functions. In this way, through the food we eat, we get energy and nutrients that are essential for all physiological functions, from breathing to jumping, from talking to growing, from laughing to even healing a wound.
Labels
Benefits
A healthy lifestyle, both physically and alimentary, has demonstrated to improve health status and reduce the prevalence of diseases, especially chronic diseases. A healthy diet is essential to prevent or reduce the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia or cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or myocardial infarction.
There are a great number of scientific studies that show that most of these diseases also appear as a consequence of the high consumption of ultra-processed foods, pulling away from a more natural meal, with nearby products and with classic culinary techniques. Associated recommendations to follow besides the healthy diet are to engage in daily physical activity, adequate water consumption, socialization, emotional balance and healthy cooking techniques.
Representative Products
Vegetables, fruits, grain (cereal) foods, fish, meat, milk products, eggs, legumes, nuts.
Risks
The associated risks are based on the ignorance of what is a healthy diet. There is the false belief that a high protein or low carbohydrate diet can be healthy dietary patterns such as some diets to lose weight recommend. Those restricted diets must be prescribed and controlled by a specialist who evaluates clinical parameters to avoid risks.
Dietary supplements are products that should be under a more strict regulation, since many of them lacking scientific studies that validate their properties, are available to consumers without restrictions. It is a cause of concern, causing adverse reactions from allergic reactions to severe liver injury.
Further references
Ríos, Carlos. Planner Realfooding. Editorial Planeta Gifts. Year: 2020.
Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J, et al; PREDIMED Study Investigators. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jun 21;378(25):e34.
Play Audio
