HEALTHY DIET

It is the diet that promotes human health and prevents diseases by providing appropriate nutrients from the food, which a person eats. A healthy and balanced diet protects against the risk of malnutrition and also helps in reducing the risk of developing non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and others, in the later stage of life.

A healthy diet should include the ingredients like carbohydrates, protein, fat, salt, and many more things in the required quantity. An excess amount of any of these ingredients could result in some serious conditions over the long run while the lesser amount could lead to the development of deficiency symptoms, most commonly malnutrition.

Here, we will have a look at the normal daily allowances and sources of the above-listed ingredients. Moreover, we will also look at the diseases and symptoms arising due to the consumption of excess or lesser amount of such ingredients.

Let's start with some of the common items which are necessary to be present in our food.

1. Fat :- 

• Fat provides the highest amount of energy among all the ingredients i.e. 9kcal. The contribution of fat to the total energy intake should be less than 30%. The saturated fat and trans fat should be replaced with unsaturated fat. Saturated fat should make up less than 10% of the total energy intake and trans fat should make up less than 1%. This would help in preventing unnecessary weight gain in the adult population.

• Consuming too much saturated fat through diet can raise the amount of "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood which could, in turn, result in an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

• Intake of unsaturated fat, raises the level of "Good" High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol which shows a positive effect on human health, by transferring the excess cholesterol from various parts of the body to the liver, where it gets disposed of.

• Common sources of unsaturated fat are fish, avocado and nuts, sunflower, soybean, and many others. Saturated fat is found in fatty meat, butter, coconut oil, cheese, ghee, and many others. Trans-fat is commonly found in baked & fried food, pre-packaged food like pizza, cookies, biscuits, wafers, and others.

• The intake of saturated and trans-fat could be reduced in many ways. Firstly, while cooking, the food should be boiled or steamed instead of frying. Secondly, the use of butter, cheese, ghee should be replaced with polyunsaturated rich oil such as soybean oil and sunflower oil. The consumption of baked, fried, and pre-packaged food such as cakes, cookies, and biscuits should be reduced or limited to some extent.

• Fat is essential for the human body as it contains fatty acids, some of which are not produced in our bodies. Hence, it needs to be supplied to the body through food. Fats are also necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin K, A, D, and E. Deficiency of fat may lead to the deficiency of these fatty acids and vitamins.

• Excess or unused fat gets stored as body fat. Similarly, excess carbohydrates and proteins also get converted to body fat. From this, some of the fat gets accumulated beneath the skin which provides insulation to the body in extremely cold weather condition.

• However, the problem arises when it gets accumulated on the wall of blood vessels which results in atherosclerosis. 

2. Sugar (Carbohydrates) :-

• The ideal limit for Sugar consumption is less than 5% of the total energy intake per day. However, the level of 10% is not much harmful to humans.

• Sources of free sugar are naturally occurring honey, syrup, the food or drinks in which the sugar is added as the supplementary ingredients to modify their taste.

• Excess of sugar can lead to dental caries (i.e. tooth decay) and Diabetes. It can also influence blood pressure, serum lipid level and cardiovascular health. Moreover, the unused sugar gets converted to fat and gets accumulated in the body which could, in turn, lead to overweight and obesity.

• However, an insufficient quantity of sugar can result in weakness, fainting, lightheadedness, anxiety, and nervousness.

• Sugar intake could be reduced in many ways. Firstly, by limiting the consumption of foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugar such as candies, sugary drinks, flavoured milk, soft drinks, etc. Secondly, by developing a habit of eating fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks instead of sugary snacks.

3. Proteins :-

•  An adult should consume 0.8 gm of protein for every kilogram of body weight.

• Sources of protein are nuts and seeds (such as almonds, cashews), soy, eggs, dairy products (like Greek yogurt), peanut, fruits (such as guava), legumes, beans, seafood, whole grains, etc.

• Excess of proteins can lead to obesity, bad breath, constipation (because higher consumption of protein limits the consumption of carbohydrates and hence the level of fiber in body decreases), and diarrhea.

• Proteins are found throughout the body- in muscles, bone, skin, hair, it also make up the enzymes, which are involved in many chemical reactions, and the haemoglobin that carries oxygen in the body. As proteins are present everywhere in the body, their deficiency symptoms can arise in any part of the body. Most common symptoms are increased appetite, weakness, fatigue, muscle atrophy, thinning of hair, brittle nail, stunted growth, liver failure, etc.

4. Salt :- 

• There are two different ions very essential for our body which are normally obtained through salt. They are sodium and potassium.

• The daily limit for salt consumption is less than 5 gm. 

• Many people consume too much sodium while the quantity of potassium does not even reach the minimum level. A perfect balance between sodium and potassium is necessary as potassium mitigates the negative effect produced by sodium. Thereby, the risk of heart failure and stroke could be reduced.

• There are various ways of controlling salt intake. Firstly, the use of salt while cooking should be reduced. Secondly, by purchasing food products containing less sodium.

• Many manufacturers are reformulating their food products to reduce the sodium content. The promotion of these food items can benefit the health of individuals.

• Intake of potassium can be increased by consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.

Except from the food which we eat, there are other activities which could have a significant impact on our health. They are

1. Physical activity:- 

• Exercise is one of the best ways of removing an extra amount of energy being stored in the body in the form of fat.

• This would reduce the risk of heart attack and also reduce elevated blood pressure. Moreover, the exercise also relieves the strain in the muscles and also makes them strong.

2. Breastfeeding :- 

• Healthy dietary practices begin from the early stage of life i.e. breastfeeding phase.

• Infants should be breastfed for the first 6 months of their initial life. From 6 months of age, breast milk should be supplemented with a variety of food, full of nutrients.

• Breastmilk helps in developing and boosting the baby's immune response. Moreover, it also helps in better cognitive development and also prevents the risk of non-communicable diseases in the later stage of life.

3. Eating Habit:- 

• According to the studies, it has been proved that fast eaters are more likely to eat more and hence they could have higher body mass index (BMI) as compared to the slow eaters.

• Eating slow and chewing more often may help you eat less.