The Basics of a Healthy Diet and Good Nutrition – Your Only Helpful Guide

Staying healthy has never been as vital as it is today during the surging COVID-19 pandemic. When you are having a healthy diet and taking good nutrition, your overall well-being improves substantially. The USDA Dietary Guidelines have emphasized the importance of following a healthy and nutritious diet.

With a proper diet, it is no wonder that your health receives a positive boost of energy, exhibits enhanced performance, reduced risk of inflammation, and better sleep quality. No wonder that a healthy diet is what you should be planning for, but it’s hard to eat healthy meals without being fully aware of the fundamentals. Here we share a comprehensive guide to get you started on the basics.

The Infamous Calorie Count

Before you set out to do something that’s even remotely healthy, you must understand the daily caloric requirements for your body. Generally, an adult’s food requirement should have about 2500 calories in a day to maintain their body weight. Counting calories may seem a big switch from the thoughtless eating habit that you are used to but knowing the benefits you can get from the food you eat can be your greatest motivator. You can use the food groups as your guide to know what should go in your diet.

Choose Your Indulgence Wisely

Food is the most irresistible of indulgences, and you must consciously make healthy choices daily. One way to help yourself do this is by keeping a food diary where you keep track of what you eat regularly. This would help you stay in check and monitor how you fall off track. It is an excellent way to observe your existing eating behaviors and give you a standard starting point to work from.

The essence of keeping a watch on what is making its way into your gut is to choose foods that are healthy and nutritious. Keeping a food diary and learning about your caloric requirements would help in this struggle. For instance, you can choose to have some low-carb and low sugar ice cream, with recipes like the ones at https://phenq.com/blogs/nutrition/, instead of the usual pint from your favorite ice cream shop. This will not only let you wisely satisfy your sweet craving but will also allow you to watch out for what goes and how your food is being prepared. For example, plant-based milk would be healthier than those from cows.

What to Eat and What Not to Eat?

As a general rule of thumb, remember to avoid saturated fats, sugar, sodium, and processed foods. You should also ensure that your food choices have a balanced variety. However, you must consume appropriate calories from the major categories:

• Calcium & Dairy to Choose: You should go for 2-3 servings from this category daily. If you aren’t a dairy lover, then deep-green leafy vegetables or orange juice (calcium-fortified) is a good alternative.

• Grains Make You Whole: There should be about 6-11 servings from this category, with 3-6 being whole grains. This group brings in the fiber, minerals, and vitamins in your diet.

• Fresh Vegetables & Fruits: You should have up to 3 cups or more from this group daily. They are rich in minerals, vitamins, fiber, and phytochemicals.

• Protein That’s Healthy: For vegans, nuts, seeds, dried beans, and whole grains can be an excellent protein source. For meat-lovers, fish, meat, and eggs are rich protein sources. You should aim for one serving from this category.

• Some Fats for Health: Canola and olive oil are healthy. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, soy, fish, and flax seeds are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. You should minimize the trans-and-saturated fats because these are unhealthy and put you at significant risk of developing cardiac ailments. Your body does not require a lot of oil, so by making a few conscious adjustments, you will do just fine.

Moderating a Balanced Portioned Diet

You should keep a watch on how much trans or saturated fats, sodium, and sugar is sliding down your plate and then limit its consumption. Also, if you are not keeping a close eye on the portions of your diet, you would likely lose control and end up eating more than your body requires.

An example of a balanced diet may include about a cup of pasta, 2 cups of leafy greens, a cup of green vegetables, cheese (about 2 ounces), meat (about 3 ounces), and some peanut butter (about 2 tbsp). You can also use the ‘quarter rule,’ where you divide your plate into four sections (you can buy a plate with four sections too). One section is for proteins; the other is for carbs; the remaining two sessions are for low caloric food, including fruits and vegetables. 

So now that you have the tidbits on all the basics of a healthy and nutritious diet, you should feel empowered to embark on this health journey. An important thing to remember is that you should never ever skip a meal. Skipping a meal is a fad-diet idea. When you skip a meal, it can backfire, and you may start feeling starved and end up eating way more than usual.