Healthy diet

What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet means eating the right amounts of different food groups. This helps to avoid obesity or malnutrition.
The World Health Organisation suggests that at least half of your calories should come from carbohydrates and no more than 30% from fats. It also advises eating 400 grams of fruit and vegetables every day.

Nutrients

Nutrients are substances that the body needs for various purposes. There are different kinds of nutrients:

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates give energy. You can find them in foods like bread, potatoes, rice and pasta.
Proteins: Proteins help the body make new cells and repair damaged tissues, such as muscles. Foods that are rich in protein include beans, eggs, fish, meat and milk.
Vitamins: Vitamins are important for many processes in the body. For example, vitamin K helps blood clot and vitamin C helps prevent sickness. Fruit and vegetables have many vitamins.
Lipids: Lipids (fats and oils) also give energy. Foods that have a lot of lipids include butter and chips.

There are 16 minerals that the body needs. These include iron, which helps carry oxygen in the blood, and calcium, which helps make bones and teeth.

Fibre

Fibre is not a nutrient. The body cannot use it and it has no calories or vitamins, but it is still essential for a healthy and balanced diet.
Fibre makes food bulky, and helps it move through the digestive system. Fibre also helps prevent constipation and heart disease.
Fruit, vegetables and wholegrain cereals have a lot of fibre.

Water

Water makes up about 70% of the human body. Water is needed for chemical reactions in cells and for transporting substances in the blood.
Drinking water often replaces the water that is lost in urine, sweat and breathing out.

Summary:

All food groups are important for a balanced diet.
The food groups are: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and water.
Each food group has a different function in a healthy diet.