Learning how to eat a balanced and healthy diet can seem overwhelming. You might not have any idea where to even begin. Don’t worry, I will simplify this for you to build your own nutritious, balanced, and tasty meal. There are many benefits to eating a healthy diet. According to the CDC, eating a healthy diet may help you live longer and lowers your risk of several health issues.
Vegetables and Fruits
So, where do we begin to build our healthy plate? We begin by adding vegetables to half of our plate. Most vegetables are low in fat and calories. They also protect you against heart disease and certain cancers. Veggies are high in dietary fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C, and potassium. Vegetables are known to fight inflammation, improve blood pressure, keep your brain young, and so much more. Examples of vegetables to add to your plate include: asparagus, broccoli, green beans, or spinach. Alongside vegetables, you can add whole fruits because they provide great nutrients like vegetables. Try adding apples, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, bananas, and more to make it a healthy and nutritious meal.
Grains
Next, let’s focus on adding ¼ of whole grains to our plate. Grains are shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. They give you dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals. Fiber is key for a proper bowel function and B vitamins are known to help have a healthy nervous system. Eating whole grains can also help you with weight management. We have several options for grains to add to our plate. Adding brown rice, whole-grain tortillas, oatmeal, or quinoa is another step in creating a healthy and nutritious meal.
Protein
Now let’s add our protein. Proteins help our body stay healthy and work the way it should. It gives you energy and helps carry oxygen throughout your whole body. Protein helps your body repair cells and make new ones. Protein should fill up ¼ of our plate. It includes meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, nuts, and seeds. Protein helps the body by repairing muscles and cartilage. Try choosing your proteins lean or low-fat for better health benefits.
Diary
Adding low-fat or fat-free diary like milk, yogurt, and cheese helps you build strong bones. They give you calcium, potassium, and vitamin D, and protein.
If you want more information, visit MyPlate to teach you the many benefits eating healthy has on us. MyPlate is created by the government to teach everyone what foods our body needs. Check out their website to get a personalized food plane based on your age, sex, heigh, weight, and physical activity.