A good diet improves and maintains our health.
It provides us with defences against disease.
It protects us from some types of cancer.
It prevents us from osteoporosis (loss of bone mass).
Helps prevent heart disease.
Improves academic performance.
Improves physical appearance.
Good nutrition, together with physical exercise, keeps our body in shape.
No food contains all the nutrients or is essential.
To establish a balanced diet, it is convenient to combine all foods.
Eat everything: A balanced diet should be varied and contain all the essential foods.
The foods in this pyramid are classified according to their function in the body, and these functions depend on the nutrients they contain. According to this criterion, they are grouped into:
Bread, cereals, rice and pasta: They have a lot of carbohydrates and some proteins.
Energy function: They provide the necessary energy to maintain an adequate body temperature and carry out everyday activities.
Fruits, vegetables, vegetables: They have significant amounts of minerals and vitamins and a large amount of fibre. Regulatory function: facilitate and control essential metabolic processes of the body.
Milk and dairy products: High in calcium and animal protein. Plastic function: they help form the body’s tissues during growth and replace existing tissues’ continuous wear and tear.
Meat, fish, eggs: They are the primary source of protein of animal origin—plastic function.
Fats and oils:
Not all fats are harmful; fats are necessary for the diet because they have essential substances for the body and the transport of some vitamins. They have an energetic function.
Legumes, potatoes, nuts: They combine the three functions (energy, plastic and regulatory).
What is the difference between food and nutrition?
Food is a conscious, voluntary, educable and social act (influenced by economic, cultural, etc.), by which we provide our body with food “as when I want,” “I can eat a lot or a little,” “each country or culture has its diet. ” Ultimately, it is up to us to modify it or not!
Nutrition is an involuntary act (not voluntarily modifiable), unconscious, which includes the physiological processes of digestion, absorption, transport, utilization and elimination of nutrients.
Nutrients are the components of food that we need to develop our vital functions and, ultimately, to live. We do not ingest them directly since they are part of the food. These nutrients are:
Protein
Carbohydrates or carbohydrates
Lipids or fats
Vitamins
Minerals
Food also contains water and fibre, but they are not usually classified as nutrients since it does not provide calories.
If we want to have and maintain good health, we must know the nutrient content of food, to think and analyze if our usual way of eating is correct and, if it is not, modify our diet.
We cannot voluntarily influence the processes of nutrition, but we can influence our diet.
By improving our eating habits, we improve our nutritional status and our health.
How to get a balanced diet?
In our diet, all the foods in the food pyramid groups must be present and reduce, as much as possible, the foods that provide you with more calories than energy, such as sweets, pastries, sweets, fast food and soft drinks.
Do not obsess over calories and follow these tips; they will help you not gain weight and maintain a healthy weight:
Eat vegetables, greens, cereals, bread and potatoes every day.
Take fresh fruit every day (citrus, orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon).
Eat legumes at least two times a week.
Take olive oil as the primary fat in your diet, both for cooking and dressing.
Drink low-fat milk or yogurts, or cheeses daily. The contribution of calcium is essential to promote bone mineralization and prevent osteoporosis.
Eat fish several times a week, white and blue.
Fats are necessary for a correct diet but do not abuse very fatty animal meats. Choose lean meat (without a lot of fat) and take it 2 or 3 times a week. I was eating fatty meats (red, cold cuts, bacon) occasionally, only once a month.
Do not abuse salt or salty foods. Use garlic, onion, vinegar, lemon, or aromatic herbs for seasoning as an alternative to salt.
Drink about two litres of water a day. Water is not fattening!
Moderate the consumption of sweets, pastries, pastries (on the industry l) and fast food.
Avoid alcoholic beverages. One gram of alcohol provides 7 kilocalories (1 degree of alcohol equals 0.8 grams of alcohol).
A healthy lifestyle is associated with the performance of habitual behaviours and attitudes that contribute to people’s well-being. Promoting healthy habits is promoting health and improving the quality of life.
Eating is sharing, having a good time, celebrating, meeting with family, with friends. It is also enjoying, eating deliciously, trying new flavours and preparations.
Eating is learning and teaching, transmitting customs, family traditions, healthy habits.
Encourage yourself to cook, rescue our products and recipes, our culinary identity, homemade food. I found that cooking can be a pleasurable time.
Eating is much more than feeding ourselves. It is transmitting culture; it is a moment of encounter, of strengthening ties and transmitting affection.
Why eat healthily? Because it helps you take care of your health, feel and look better, and prevent various diseases. That is why food plays a decisive role in health care. A healthy diet provides all the essential nutrients and energy that each person needs to stay healthy. For this reason, it is necessary to consume foods from all groups and in adequate quantities.
Chart of Daily Food for the Argentine population. Ministry of Health of the Nation
Vegetables and fruits:
This group represents half of the graph. This shows the need to increase its consumption in the daily diet. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre, water and phytochemicals, making them very beneficial for health. How much is the portion? Three fruits a day and two servings of vegetables are recommended, which can be distributed half a plate of vegetables at lunch and half a plate at dinner.
Legumes, cereals, potatoes, bread and pasta:
This group includes potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and cassava because the nutritional composition of these vegetables is more similar to cereals. They are the primary source of energy. To make the most of its nutrients, it is convenient to choose whole grains. How much is the portion? The recommendation per day is ½ shallow plate for lunch or dinner + 2 mignons, preferably wholemeal or three slices of mould-type bread or 1 cup of unsweetened cereal flakes or 4-5 water cookies.
