What is known about nutrition and diet keeps changing as more is learned.[3] However, basic nutrition remains much the same.[3] The best advice is to talk to a doctor or dietitian for personalized information based on an individual's lifestyle, health, and food likes and dislikes.[3]
Basic nutrition begins with a diet based on the major food groups that includes vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products.[3] It should also have lean protein such as beans, legumes, nuts and seeds plus healthy fats.[3]
A basic nutrition plan should include guidelines for how much food from each group to eat.[3]
Foods should be those that can be found in local grocery stores instead of specialty and gourmet food stores.[3]
A basic food plan should be based on an individual's budget, lifestyle and (healthy) preferences.[3]
Drink plenty of water.[4] Drink fewer Soft drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks which usually have sugar.[4]
Read the food labels to see what is in the foods.[4] For example, labels usually show what foods are lower in sodium such as in soup, bread, and frozen meals.[4]
A healthy diet should include seafoods (such as salmon, tuna, and trout) and shellfish (such as crab, mussels, and oysters). Seafood has protein, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids which are heart-healthy.[4]
Basic nutrition should contain balanced amounts of macronutrients for energy.[5] Carbohydrates are one of the three macro-nutrients in the human diet (fat and protein are the other two).[5]
A healthy diet can replace dieting for weight loss.[6] Eating healthy, along with physical exercise and practicing moderation, can lead to better health in the long run.
A healthy diet or balanced diet is a diet (what you eat) that contains the right amounts of all the food groups. It includes fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy products, and protein. It does not include too much or too little of any kind of food.[1] Eating wrong amounts of a food group, whether it be too much or too little, is called an 'unhealthy diet' or an 'imbalanced diet'. A healthy diet is one that includes more foods that come from plants and fewer.
Participants at the 6th Global Conference on Health Promotion. The Bangkok Charter for health promotion in a globalized world. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2005 Aug 11. Accessed 2009 Feb 4.
Kickbusch I. 2003. The contribution of the World Health Organization to a new public health,private and health promotion..
food group is a collection of foods that have nutritional properties or biological classifications that are almost the same. People have written nutrition guides to put different foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet.
The number of "common" food groups can change depending on who is defining them. Canada's Food Guide, which has been printed every year since 1942 and is the second most requested government document (after the income tax form) in Canada, recognizes only four official food groups, with all other foods called "another." Some of these "others" include:
Alcohol is put away from other food groups and recommended only for certain people in moderation by Harvard's Healthy Eating Pyramid and the University of Michigan's Healing Foods Pyramid,[8][6] while Italy's food pyramid includes a half-serving of wine and beer.[9]
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