Nutrition and food are the essential building blocks of human life. Nutrition-focused healthy life keeps disease at bay and promotes physical and psychological well-being. Adopting healthy nutrition is a life-long process and should be followed consciously. To know the top food nutrition tips for a healthy life, keep reading. We will also cover the relationship between health and nutrition.
Introduction
A balanced, nutritious diet and a healthy lifestyle must be well-planned with adequate calories, nutrition, and antioxidants that include health-promoting foods. A disciplined regime of physical exercise also helps in the maintenance of your body. Food is the main substance that enters our human body and gets absorbed, which further provides us energy, repairs our tissue, and regulates the body’s processes.
It is important to follow some key tips to inculcate healthy habits in our daily practice and lifestyle with diet modification, nutrient-dense menu planning and nutrition food with optimum consumption of macronutrients and micronutrients. To know more about this in detail, read this article till the end for a nutritious diet.
Nutrition for a healthy life
Nutrition food derived from major food sources that are listed below is good for our bodies and must be included moderately in our diet.
Carbohydrates and millets:
In our diet, 50 to 60% of total calories are derived from carbohydrates and millet. One should always prefer complex carbohydrates that are high in fibre, slow to digest and thus keep us full for a long time. Some examples of carb-friendly, nutrition food options include quinoa, oats and Dalia.
Pulses and Dals:
Pulses and dals are rich in protein sources and in our diet, about 10 to 15% of calories come from protein-rich foods like whole pulses and dals, which include rajma, chole, soya beans etc. These are good sources of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It helps in tissue formation and building up new cells in our body.
Fats and Oils:
In our diet, around 20 to 30% of calories are derived from fats and oils that include both visible (mustard oils, groundnuts, ghee, etc.) and invisible fats (walnuts, flax seeds, sesame seeds, etc). Good fats like sesame seeds, flax seeds, mustard oils, etc. are good sources of fat-soluble vitamins A and D. They also facilitate the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in our body and provide energy and nutrients.
Dairy foods:
Dairy foods are high in calcium, Vitamin D, protein, potassium, and phosphorus. Food sources are milk, paneer, tofu, curd, etc.
Non-vegetarian foods:
Eggs, meat, and fish have a high content of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and other essential nutrients. Hence, these options should be included moderately in your diet. We recommend having this delicious lemon chicken every now and then.
Fruits & Vegetables:
Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants and dietary fibre and contain compounds that have a protective effect on our bodies called phytochemicals. These are low in calories and are ideal for maintaining your body weight as well.
Nuts and dry fruits:
These have a high content of proteins, vitamins, and minerals that act as energy-rich food, body-building foods, and protective foods. Nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts have good sources of protein, calcium, zinc, selenium, etc. Best part? It’s extremely easy to make a fruit and nut custard at home.
Nutrition Tips
Adequate food intake:
Portion control is very important if you want to maintain optimum weight and a healthy lifestyle. Every nutrient needs to be planned appropriately with the proper amount. For example: On a platter, have more complex carbohydrates, protein meals, more vegetables, and greens instead of high carbohydrates and fewer vegetables.
Balance diet:
Plan your balanced diet well in advance with a unique food combination like high protein, moderate carbohydrates, and fat food groups.
Avoid processed foods:
To maintain a healthy body weight, it's important to avoid excess intake of processed foods, packed foods, high sugar, and salted products.
Liquid diet:
Occasionally, make sure to include a day that has only a liquid diet that contains smoothies, shakes, juices, and soups. It is a kind of detoxifying your body.
Hydration:
Adequate hydration is important, be it with mineral water, juices, or soups that balance our electrolyte imbalance and re-energise our bodies.
Healthy fats, and adequate protein:
In a balanced diet, make sure you include healthy fats and adequate protein that act as protective foods and are good for your overall health.
Limit salt and sugar intake:
Excess sugar and salt retain water in the body and increase water retention and weight too. It must be limited in our diet.
Be physically active:
It is important to be physically active to maintain good health and weight.
Food plays an important role in maintaining healthy nutrition and the overall well-being of an individual. Therefore one needs to balance their meals well, include each type of food as mentioned above in defined portion size and focus on fresh and healthy foods.
Thus, a nutrition-rich diet must be a well-balanced diet. That means one should plan their meals with different food groups. It is also important to have a daily breakfast that is high in protein and fibre and low in sugar, fat, and simple carbohydrates. Nutrition for health is an essential element for longevity.
Conclusion
Nutrition and food go hand in hand in the development of your body. There is a strong diet-disease and health and nutrition relationship that needs to be considered if you want to remain healthy lifelong. Daily nutrition with proper intake of nutrient-dense food with moderate exercise keeps your body healthy and energetic.
Imbalanced food intake (high in calories, sugars, and bad fats) leads to overweight and obesity, which affect the overall metabolism of your body. Thus, eating a wide variety of foods as mentioned above helps individuals to stay healthy and promote nutrition for health.
