A balanced diet is one that covers the nutritional requirements necessary for our body to effectively perform all its functions. That is, it consists of providing our body with a wide variety of foods that, together, manage to provide all the essential nutrients to carry out all our activities and stay healthy.
As you can imagine, throughout our lives, the nutritional requirements will change, since the nutritional needs of a child are not the same as that of an adult. So how can we have a balanced diet adapted to our personal circumstances? Take note of the guidelines we explain in this article!
What is a balanced diet?
As you have read in other articles on our blog, eating a balanced diet is essential for our well-being.
But what exactly is a balanced diet? Well, the key to eating in a balanced way is to consume, in its proper proportion, all the variety of nutrients that our body needs to function properly according to our particular circumstances. That is, although there are general recommendations, they must be adapted to each specific moment of life.
The conventional diets and the advice that we will give below are based on generic recommendations that are effective in many people, however, thanks to genetics we know that it is now possible to go one step further in personalizing our needs. This is because we are all unique and have different metabolic characteristics, lifestyles, and particular circumstances, which also influences our diet. If you want to know more about genetics and how it can influence personalized diets,
The food wheel for a balanced diet
In the food wheel of the SEDCA (Spanish Society of Food Sciences), you can see represented the different food groups where they explain the role they play in our bodies. In addition, depending on the colors, this wheel indicates the foods that we should consume to a greater extent (with a green background) and to a lesser extent (with a red background).
At the time of consumption, it is important that the variety of foods within each group is as large as possible since each food is unique and provides us with certain nutrients, thus achieving a more complete contribution.
Next, we will review the food groups that appear on the wheel, to see what each of them provides us and, once we have these clear concepts, we will explain which ones should be prioritized in some specific stages of life.
Regulatory Foods
They are the groups that are colored in green, among which we find fruit, vegetables, and vegetables. They are called regulators since thanks to these our body can conveniently use the rest of the food we eat (those found in the other groups). They are essential for our body to function properly. Within this group, it is worth highlighting:
Fruit, at least three pieces a day
The fruit is a food that must be present in our daily diet, due to its contribution to water, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The World Health Organization recommends consuming at least 5 pieces of fruit a day. In addition, the fruit has multiple possibilities when taking it, since it can be whole, chopped or crushed, however, the whole fruit is the most recommended, since, for example, if you make a fruit juice or the fruit in syrup, reduces your fiber intake. It is also important to know the different properties of each fruit, and that you include in your diet pieces of fruit that are rich in antioxidants, since they have multiple health benefits, such as strawberries, kiwis or blueberries.
Vegetables, essential in main meals
Vegetables are another group of foods that cannot be missing in your meals due to their important contribution of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is recommended to consume more than 400 grams of fruits and vegetables a day, as this improves the general state of health and reduces the risk of certain non-communicable diseases such as some that affect the cardiovascular system.
If a priori it seems difficult to incorporate so many vegetables in your diet, we give you several options. You can take them raw in salads or in multivitamin smoothies along with fruits, which are easy to drink. You can also choose cooked vegetables, ideally cooked or steamed, which are easier to digest.
Food forming
Within this group are the foods that appear with a red background and owe their name to allowing the development, growth, and maintenance of the essential structures of our body, such as muscles and bones. All these foods are rich in protein, although their daily consumption should be moderate, as we explain below.
Dairy products: the source of protein, lactose, calcium, and vitamins
Within the group of dairy products, we find milk and its processed derivatives such as yogurt or cheese. As we have mentioned, they contain a large number of proteins and it should be noted that they have a high biological value (proteins with a high biological value are those that have all the essential amino acids). In addition, it is one of the main sources of vitamin D, A, and E and among its fatty acids those of short-chain standout, which facilitate the digestion of milk. As you may have heard, milk contains a high content of calcium, which is essential in many body processes such as being part of bones and teeth and participating in their maintenance, in addition to participating in the transmission of nerve impulses.
Despite all the beneficial characteristics of dairy products, they contain a high level of cholesterol, which is why low-fat dairy products are recommended for people with overweight or obesity problems and, in addition, their main carbohydrate is lactose, therefore, those people intolerant to this component have specific dairy products that they do not contain.
Meats, preferably lean
Meat, in addition to being a food rich in proteins of high biological value, also contains vitamin B12 and minerals, among which zinc, phosphorous, iron, and potassium stand out, depending on its origin. However, it is also high in saturated fat, whose excessive consumption can increase levels of "bad" cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease. We can consume meat, yes, but always prioritizing lean cuts that contain less amount of saturated fat. It is recommended that meat consumption does not exceed 3 servings per week.
Fish and seafood, 3 or 4 servings a week
If you do not consume it regularly, it is important that you consider including fish in your diet since it is an important source of proteins of high biological value, vitamin B and bluefish is also rich in vitamins A, D, and E., In addition, Most of them are also rich in minerals such as iodine, calcium, phosphorus and selenium, and especially blue fish contain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the health benefits of which are increasingly proven. The general recommendation is to consume between 3 and 4 servings of fish per week, although these data may be modified in population groups such as children or pregnant women, in which it is important to avoid consuming fish with a high level of mercury such as it can be swordfish or bluefin tuna.
As for seafood, it shares many properties with fish and also contains high levels of water, vitamins B1 and B12 as well as minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine, fluorine, and zinc.
Eggs, a food of great nutritional interest
Eggs provide proteins of high biological value, are rich in vitamins such as B12, biotin, and vitamin D and also contain minerals such as phosphorous or zinc. Furthermore, they contain choline which is an essential molecule for brain development and the functioning of some organs. That is why, the recommendations of balanced diets recommend an intake of up to 7 eggs per week, however, in people who have high cholesterol, they should reduce this number from 3 to 4 a week, being able to consume more whites.
Pulses, 2 to 4 servings per week
It is recommended that you incorporate legumes into your regular diet, consuming 2 to 4 servings weekly. Legumes provide carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other components that make them essential. In addition, there is a great variety of them (chickpeas, lentils, beans, etc.) and you can cook them in many different ways: cooked, in hummus, or added to salads.
Nuts, source of energy
You can consider dried fruits as a healthy snack that provides multiple benefits. Among many of its properties, it should be noted that, although they have a high-fat content, they are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, which help to decrease "bad" cholesterol levels. In addition, they are rich in fiber (which helps control appetite and regulate intestinal transit), an important source of vegetable protein, they are rich in vitamins such as B1, B3 or folates and are rich in minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, iron, in addition of presenting antioxidant properties. It is important to opt for natural nuts, avoiding fried or roasted nuts with added salts, and always controlling the amount, since they are very caloric.
Energetic food
Foods that we could consider the "fuel" of our body are included in this group since they provide us with energy for those daily activities. They are those that contain carbohydrates and fats and in the food wheel, we find them on a yellow background.
Cereals, better whole grains
Another essential for a balanced diet are cereals since they contain carbohydrates, proteins, minerals such as calcium, iron and magnesium and vitamins, among which B1, B12, and B2 stand out. Within cereals, there are different ways to manufacture them and, although their daily consumption is recommended, it is important to always favor whole grains or those made with whole-grain flours, which are richer in fiber, vitamins, and minerals than refined ones.
Sugars, sweets and sugary drinks consumed on a limited basis
In a balanced diet, it is important to limit those foods rich in rapidly absorbing sugars such as table sugar, since these are quickly transformed into glucose and released into the blood. Although they provide the body with energy very quickly, in people with diabetes they are not recommended and there are more and more medical indications that prefer the consumption of slow-absorbing sugars although people do not have previous pathologies. In addition, sweets and sugary drinks have been linked to the appearance of overweight, cavities, and other pathologies.
Oils and fats, essential but in moderation
Fats are essential to keep us healthy, since, among other functions, they play an essential role in the formation of membranes, which are part of all our cells. In addition, they provide the body with a high energy level, which is why they must be consumed in a moderate way and always prioritizing fats of vegetable origin that are not refined, such as virgin olive oil high in omega 3 fatty acids and 6, beneficial for cardiovascular health. Whenever possible, it is preferable to choose this type of fats before those of animal origin, such as butter.
Guidelines for a balanced diet in childhood
A balanced diet has a fundamental role in health at all ages, but, in addition, in the case of children, it is essential for their physical, cognitive, and psychomotor development. It has a great weight in terms of being able to sometimes prevent the risk of developing overweight, obesity, or other diseases. In addition to the recommendations for a balanced diet that you have been reading in this article, in the case of children we can include some more:
- In the case of infants, the World Health Organization recommends that during the first six months of life they feed exclusively on milk and that it continue to be supplied for at least two years. In addition, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among others, recommend breastfeeding, whenever possible, since various studies have shown the existence of antibodies in this milk that formula does not contain, helping the correct functioning of the immune system. When you start supplementing your baby's diet with other foods, it is important to follow the experts' recommendations and avoid foods rich in salt and added sugars.
- It is important for children to eat breakfast, as studies show that children who do not eat a full breakfast are more likely to become obese in the future. Making breakfast a habit will be easier if they start taking this habit from a young age.
- Do not abuse processed products! Although sugary drinks are the preferred choice of children, it is important to offer other products that are healthier and may seem just as appetizing, such as exchanging carbonated drinks for kombucha, a drink based on fermented tea that has been shown to be beneficial for digestive health.
Nutritional needs of the elderly
In addition to all the advice, we have previously seen, following this series of tips can help improve the quality of life and even prevent certain pathologies during old age.
The nutritional requirements of older people, in most cases, are characterized by needing a lower contribution of energy, mainly due to the decrease in physical activity and the loss of muscle mass that occurs at these ages. However, there are other nutrients whose contribution must be emphasized during this stage. Below, we are going to see a couple of them, although there are more recommendations:
- Minerals: Calcium absorption decreases with age and, in the case of women, menopause favors the loss of bone mass, so it is essential to introduce it into the diet. In addition, some diseases and medications such as diuretics can cause a magnesium deficiency, which increases the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, among others.
- Vitamins: There are some common diseases at this age that cause a decrease in vitamin B12 levels, and, in addition, in the case of taking certain medications, their interaction with vitamins may increase the needs of some of them, such as the vitamin C.
Special needs during pregnancy and lactation
Feeding the mother is very important in the development of the fetus, as is a healthy lifestyle.
Diet must be adapted to the physical and physiological changes that occur during the 9 months of pregnancy and be as varied and complete as possible.
In addition to the recommendations that we have seen throughout the article, it is important to ensure the correct supply of some specific nutrients for this important moment:
- Calcium: During pregnancy it is important to increase the supply of calcium since the developing baby also needs it to do it correctly. Calcium can be found in a high concentration in sources such as dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach or kale.
- Iron: it is essential for the synthesis of hemoglobin, a component of red blood cells that transports oxygen. It is very important that the iron supply is appropriate, and even more so if you are pregnant. When a person does not have adequate levels of iron, they do not synthesize enough red blood cells, and their organs and tissues do not receive enough oxygen, so they do not function properly.
Some of the foods richest in iron are lentils, salmon, and dehydrated fruits.
- Folic Acid: It is recommended that those women who are planning to become pregnant take a folic acid supplement. There are numerous studies that have shown that taking it at least a month before conception and during the first 3 months of pregnancy reduces the risk that the baby will be born with a neural tube defect, which can lead to spina bifida.
As you have seen in this article, in a balanced diet there are food groups that should be prioritized to lead a healthy life, while others recommend a moderate intake due to its high content of saturated fat or sugar.
We hope you liked this article and, above all, that it is useful for having a balanced diet depending on your circumstances.
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