Balanced Diet

A balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development.
Well-balanced diet
A well-balanced diet provides enough energy and nutrition for optimal growth and development.

TOP FOOD SOURCES

Milk group (milk and milk products)

* Cheese
* Milk
* Yogurt

Meat and beans group

* Legumes (beans and peas)
* Meat (chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb)
* Nuts and seeds

Fruit group

* Apples
* Berries
* Grapes
* Peaches

Vegetable group

* Cauliflower
* Lettuce
* Spinach
* Squash

Grain group (breads and cereals)

* Enriched breads
* Pasta
* Rice
* Whole-grain breads

Oil

* Light salad dressing
* Low-fat mayonnaise
* Vegetable oil

TOP SIDE EFFECTS
An unbalanced diet can cause problems with maintenance of:

* Body tissues
* Brain and nervous system function
* Growth and development

It can also cause problems with bone and muscle systems.
TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

The term “balanced” simply means that a diet meets your nutritional needs while not providing too much of any nutrients.
To achieve a balanced diet, you must eat a variety of foods from each of the food groups.
The most important step to eating a balanced diet is to educate yourself about what your body needs, and to read the nutrition label and ingredients of all the food you eat.
Balance your calorie intake with exercise. Slowly decrease the amount of calories you take in while increasing exercise to prevent gradual weight gain over time. Exercise regularly and reduce activities in which you sit.
Eat 2 cups (4 servings) of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables (5 servings) per day for an average 2,000-calorie per day diet.
* Eat 3 or more ounces of whole-grain products per day.
* Consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or milk products.
* Get fewer than 10% of calories from saturated fatty acids.
* Avoid trans fatty acids.
* Limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg/day.
* Make total fat intake no more than 20-35% of calories. Choose “good” fats such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils containing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Lean, low-fat, or fat-free meats, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products are preferable. Total fat intake can approach 35% if most of the fats are “good” fats.
* Stay away from added sugars.
* Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately one teaspoon of salt) of sodium daily, and limit added salt when you prepare food.
* Do not consume more than one alcoholic drink per day for women, two per day for men. Certain people should not drink any alcohol.

Lack of sleep increases overeating

Researchers from several separate studies 1 have found a link between sleep and the hormones that influence our eating behavior. Two specific hormones are involved. Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger. Leptin tells the brain when it’s time to stop. When you’re sleep deprived, your ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels decrease. The result is an increased craving for food and not feeling full. Add the fact that sleep deprived people tend to chose different foods to snack on—mainly high calorie sweets and salty and starchy foods—and it’s easy to see how these small changes can lead to long-term weight gain.
Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. Some more, some less. Very few of us actually get the minimum of seven. How do you know how much sleep you really need? Experts say to sleep as long as you want for several days (best done on vacation). Then, your sleep should stabilize and you’ll find yourself waking up after the same number of hours daily, within 15 minutes or so. Once you know about how much sleep you need, start getting into a steady routine. Set a regular time for sleep. Start getting ready ahead of time. And experts say, avoid using the bed for watching TV or doing work.
Sleep + exercise + a healthy diet = weight loss

Don’t think snoozing a few hours longer each night will solve a weight problem. It won’t. Exercising and eating healthfully is still the way to go. But, lack of shut-eye may soon be considered another risk factor for obesity. Especially since 65 percent of Americans are overweight and 63 percent of people don’t get eight hours of sleep a night. Interestingly, many of those who are overweight also don’t sleep enough.

One thing does seem to be clear. When your body is not hungry for sleep, it won’t be so hungry for food either.

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