People often think of "a diet" as a specific weight loss plan, but the diet simply refers to the types and amounts of food a person eats.
A healthy diet should include a balance of various food groups, as no group can provide everything the body needs for good health. Choosing healthy foods reduces a person's risk of many chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. There is a wealth of information available, so designing a proper and healthy diet can be overwhelming. That said, a few simple changes can make a diet more nutritious and reduce the risk of many medical problems. What is a healthy diet? Having a balanced diet means eating foods from all major food groups in the right amounts. These food groups are:
In addition to choosing healthy foods from each food group, the following tips will help a person eat a healthy diet. Tip 1: Check portion sizes People of different ages, genders and activity levels need different amounts of food, but many people eat more energy than they consume. Research suggests that portion sizes are a key factor and that larger portions than necessary lead to weight gain. The AHA explains that a part is what a person chooses to eat, while a part is the amount of food that manufacturers list on the nutrition information label. Examples of portions are a slice of bread and a slice of melon. The AHS report that the size of portions in restaurants has increased dramatically over the years. Pay attention to what a serving is, how many calories it contains, and how much food a person eats can make the difference between obesity and maintaining a healthy weight. Tip 2: Eat fresh and avoid processing According to a 2018 study, ultra-processed foods can make up 60% of the reliable source of calories people consume in the U.S. Fresh foods are more likely to be "nutrient-rich," while processed foods are often "energy-rich" due to added fats and sugars. Processed foods not only contain added ingredients, including dyes and preservatives, but processing itself can destroy nutrients. Whole foods, such as fresh fruit, are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Many processed foods contain little nutritional value. Consuming a high proportion of processed foods can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Tip 3: Limit added sugars Adding sugar to food and beverages improves taste, but adds little or no nutritional value. Many people in the U.S. consume too many added sugars, leading to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In contrast, natural sugars can have health benefits. These include fruit fructose and dairy lactose. The AHA recommends that people consume no more than 25 g of added sugars for women and 36 g for men. This amount does not include natural sugars, only added sugars. Changing cakes and biscuits to fruits and halving or removing sugar added to coffee and tea can reduce your daily sugar intake. Seasonings, such as tomato sauce, can also add more calories than a person realizes. Replacing sweetened soft drinks with gas water and drinking alcohol sparingly can further reduce excess calories. The CDC recommends limiting alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
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