Balanced Diet: Why it is essential for your health

A balanced diet is a meal that contains an adequate supply of every nutrient needed by the human body to develop, stay healthy, and be disease-free.

Because it gives the body the necessary nutrients — carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals — in the proper proportions, a balanced diet is crucial for human health.

These nutrients are essential for preserving general health and wellbeing in a number of ways. Some are listed as follows:

1. Energy
The body uses fats and carbohydrates as its main energy sources to power daily activities and keep you active example of food rich in fats include: seeds and nuts such as groundnut, cashew, eggs, avocado etc. Carbohydrates rich food include rice, yam , potatoes, etc

2. Growth and Repair
Enzyme and hormone synthesis, tissue repair, and growth all depend on proteins. Example of protein rich food include: milk, egg, yogurt, meat, fish

3. Immune System
The body uses vitamins and minerals to strengthen its defences against infections and diseases. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins and minerals

4. Bone Health
Strong bones and teeth depend on calcium and vitamin D. Milk, fish , white beans are rich sources of calcium and vitamin D

5. Heart Health
Eating a balanced diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats can help lower the risk of developing heart disease. Examples eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon etc

6. Digestive Health
Dietary fibre facilitates the breakdown of food and keeps constipation at bay. Fruits, Vegetables, beans, oats are some rich sources of dietary fibre

7. Weight management
By lowering the chance of obesity and associated health problems, a balanced diet can assist in maintaining a healthy weight. Foods rich in dietary fibre can help for effective weight management

8. Mental Health
Eating foods high in nutrients can improve mood and cognitive performance.

9. Skin and Hair Health
Vitamin C and biotin are two nutrients that help maintain healthy skin and hair. Vitamin C can be gotten sufficiently from citrus family such as oranges, grapes, lemon etc while Biotin is available in egg yolk, bananas, mushrooms etc

10. General Well-Being
By lowering the risk of chronic illnesses and increasing longevity, a balanced diet can improve general physical and mental well-being.

It is worthy of note that a variety of health issues can arise from nutrient deficiencies brought on by an unbalanced diet. To make sure you get all the vital nutrients your body needs for optimum health, it’s crucial to eat a variety of foods.