Food: Fuel, not Fiend

What is a healthy diet?

A healthy diet includes proteins, carbohydrates, fibre, fruits, and vegetables. Despite all these listed, what is a nutritious diet, and why does it matter? The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends eating at least five portions or 400 grams of fruits and vegetables for our daily fibre intake, which can be included in every meal. Fruits and vegetables contain essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals to eat daily. Additionally, we can have a healthier diet by reducing fat intake to prevent unhealthy weight gain, either by steaming or boiling in contrast to frying our foods or limiting our intake of baked and fried goods. 

• Protein: Foods that contain large amounts of protein include seafood, chicken, eggs, tofu, milk, yoghurt, and soya. The recommended intake for protein varies, but according to Harvard Health, the minimum recommended intake is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight to prevent illness.  

• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are essential for our bodies, as when the body has carbohydrates, they break them down into glucose. Eating carbohydrates includes a variety of different foods, such as bread, pasta, rice, noodles, apples, cakes, etc. 

• Fibre: Fibre helps keep our bodies energised and full for extended periods. It is usually included in many foods, such as oats, beans, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. According to the American Heart Association Eating Plan, the recommended fibre intake is usually around 25g for women and 30g for men through food. 

• Fruits and Vegetables: Both fruits and vegetables are essential to parts of our diets, as they contain different types of vitamins and minerals that continuously benefit us. 

How does food affect us?

Generally, eating healthy isn’t as daunting as it sounds, as catering to our taste buds would still benefit us as long as we remember to keep our meals balanced. We are not taught to have healthy relationships with food from the beginning. As kids, fruits and vegetables are the most disgusting thing you could possibly eat. However, vegetables are fun to eat if prepared correctly and can cater to each person’s taste buds. We can also have fruits as part of main dishes, snacks, or desserts. 

Food affects us in numerous ways. It provides the energy we need to function normally and be happy. Specific nutrients gained from various foods help our bodies understand and signal the body to function correctly. Using the nutrients from the food we eat gives us bodily functions, and if we do not eat the proper amount of food, it causes our health to decline. According to ‘Perspectives in Nutrition, Wardlow and Insel’, our metabolic processes can slow down or stop due to insufficient nutrient intake. 

Furthermore, foods can help us create more energy for ourselves, as they are taken from the carbohydrates and fats we eat. These give us enough power and focus to help guide us throughout the day. Whilst also giving us energy, it boosts our immunity as our bodies take in the vitamins and minerals taken from the things that we consume. Eating healthy foods can also help us live longer, as having a healthy diet and lifestyle can help us lower disease risk and have a higher mortality rate. According to the American Dining Creations, having foods that are unhealthy increases the risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases. It’s mentioned that having a healthy lifestyle helps stabilise cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, which lowers the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases. 

Consuming food boosts our immune system, gives us energy, and improves our mental health. A balanced diet helps people focus on their tasks while lessening negative emotions and effects such as depression and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, a balanced diet helps regulate our emotions and mood fluctuations, improving our daily lives. 

What should we do to aim for a healthy diet?

Everybody’s body is different, so you should stick to a lifestyle and a diet plan that works best for you; no one recipe fits all if you can’t maintain the diets people give. A healthy diet consists of incorporating foods that contain Carbohydrates, fibre, fruits, and vegetables. There are many fun ways to incorporate all these foods into our diets and have everything balanced. 

Eating more fruits and vegetables and incorporating them into our meals is recommended as they help improve our body’s overall health. If you’re not one to eat vegetables due to their sight or texture, try to ‘hide’ them in your foods by creating sauces out of them in meals such as pasta. As for fruits, trying to incorporate them into baked goods may help. Additionally, we should have our meals based on carbohydrates and have them on approximately a third of our plates. Eating carbohydrates creates the feeling of being full for more extended periods. 

Last but not least, remember to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day.

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