Healthy Balanced Diet

A healthy diet contains adequate quantities of six groups of substances: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. The first three contain kilojoules (i.e. produce energy) and the second three do not. It is also essential to have a supply of safe drinking water. You can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without water.

Proteins

Proteins are the chemical compounds that make up the body's structure. If you do not have a daily supply of proteins, the body cannot grow properly, nor can it repair damaged or worn-out tissues. Animal products (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) provide much protein in a form able to be used by your body. Vegetable proteins exist in peas, beans and other legumes, as well as in grains (and thus bread). If you eat more protein than your body needs it will provide extra energy, but if you do not use it up it will be converted to fat and stored.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are chemicals that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are the body's preferred source of energy as the process of digestion converts them into forms of sugar that the body can use easily. Sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes and cereals are all foods rich in carbohydrates. Sugar, however, is not the best means of getting adequate carbohydrate as it has no minerals, vitamins or fibre, and is not always metabolised properly because it enters the bloodstream so quickly. It also gives rise to tooth decay.

Fats

The main function of fats is to provide energy, although minute amounts are used in growth and repair. Fats enable energy to be stored and play a role in insulation. Most fats come from animal products, although some are found in plant foods such as olives, peanuts and avocados. Excess fat is laid down in the body as fatty tissue and is the main cause of obesity.

Depending on chemical composition, fats are either saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fats are more likely to increase the amount of cholesterol in the body and therefore increase the risk of heart disease. Broadly speaking, animal fats, especially those in milk, butter, cheese and meat are highly saturated, and the fat in fish, chicken, turkey and vegetable products is unsaturated. Most of the fat in chicken and turkey is in the skin, which can be removed.

Fiber

Fibre is that part of the vegetable, cereal or fruit which is left over in the intestine, cannot be digested, and is passed out with the faeces.

Fibre food does not cause indigestion because it cannot be digested, and it does not always look stringy. For example, peas and beans are high in fibre, cucumber is very low, and celery is in between.

The average Australian eats 20 g of fibre a day, and should probably eat twice this much.

A high-fibre diet is one way of overcoming obesity, since it makes the stomach feel full so you feel less hungry, but there are fewer kilojoules to be absorbed from the food into your body. Furthermore, the fibre residue in the bowel increases the size and wetness of the stools, and so eases defecation and prevents constipation. The down side may be an increase in flatulence.

Diseases that benefit from a high-fibre diet include diverticulitis (small outpocketings of the large bowel), diabetes, gallstones, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), cancer of the bowel, varicose veins, piles and hernias. The incidence of these diseases is significantly less in populations who eat high-fibre diets, e.g. the natives of Africa. Moderation, however, is important. A diet made up entirely of fibre-based foods would lack essential nutrients, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins. It is important to tailor your intake of fibre to your specific needs.

If you are overweight, constipated or suffer from specific diseases, you will benefit from a high-fiber diet. The rest of us should balance our diets with an emphasis towards doods that are above average in fiber content.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are chemicals of various kinds which are required (usually in tiny amounts) if the body is to function properly. All vitamins have been given letter codes, sometimes with an additional number to differentiate vitamins within a group, for example, vitamin A, vitamin Bl, B12, vitamin C, D, E, K and so on. See also vitamins, Section 6.

Vitamins are contained in food, and in general most people who eat a balanced diet will get enough vitamins to service their body's basic needs. The virtue of added vitamins in the form of supplements has generated long, vigorous and as yet largely unresolved debate.

The minerals we need to remain healthy are mostly metals and salts, such as iron, phosphorus, calcium and sodium chloride (table salt). Like vitamins, minerals are needed in minute quantities and will be obtained from a reasonably well-balanced diet. In the case of salt, it has been found in recent times that too much can be bad for you and that adding salt to meals is not only unnecessary but may have a harmful effect, especially if you have high blood pressure.

Iron is a particularly essential mineral, since it is the core element in the manufacture of haemoglobin, the compound found in red blood cells which transports the oxygen from the lungs to the organs. If the iron levels are low, haemoglobin levels drop and the body becomes starved of oxygen, making you feel tired and weak. Iron is found naturally in many foods, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cereals and vegetables. Red meat, oysters, liver, beans, nuts and wheat contain particularly high levels of iron.

What To Eat

In broad terms, a healthy diet is a varied one. It is not possible to put forward a diet that is perfect for everyone, since people's needs vary according to the age and stage of life they are at, how active they are, and on many other factors. However, any diet should include, daily:

* protein from foods such as fish or other seafood, poultry, very lean meat, or eggs, dried peas, beans or lentils;
* some salad and three or four vegetables, including at least one serve of a green leafy variety and one yellow variety such as carrots;
* two or three pieces of fruit;
* cereal or grains, such as rice;
* bread (some dietitians recommend that this should be wholemeal or wholegrain but others are content with white bread);
* some dairy products, preferably low-fat for most adults (women in particular should ensure that they get an adequate supply of milk, yogurt or cheese to prevent the loss of calcium in their bones after menopause which causes osteoporosis).

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