Introduction
Usually, people just consume any type of food thinking that it’s a healthy diet. They even go a long way to try different types of food like carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins but end not having the right combination that is required to form a healthy diet. Although most people think that the intake of nutrition supplements is also a way of enhancing a balanced diet/ nutritious eating, they tend to forget that these supplements can have adverse side effects in the long run. A healthy diet can lead to a healthy life but not healthy especially in this century due to different conditions like poisoning by heavy metals, infections as well as deficiencies in minerals and vitamins.
Main Body
A healthy diet encompasses not exceeding the required digestive capacity that is required per individual, either in stipulations of quality or quantity. This means that the foods that cannot be efficiently or easily digested must be removed from one’s regular diet. In doing this, one keeps his or her immune system properly working, maintains a weight that is healthy as well as avoids conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes (McCarthy 10) A healthy diet can entail consuming the basic groups of food like proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fiber and mineral salts as well as an adequate amount of water. In terms of proteins, one should also consider eating on the rare side some types like red meat which should be eaten in small quantities( not more than 5 or 6 ounces).
Eating a healthy diet can be sometimes difficult but one should make sure that he or she maintains the healthy diet for the purpose of a healthy life and avoidance of health risk diseases. This can be done by making sure that one achieves a healthy weight and an energy-balanced foods, limiting the consumption of simple sugars, energy intake is advised but not from total fats like saturated fats as well as Trans fatty acids but try to use unsaturated fats. One should also consume more vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts and reduce sodium/salt intake from any source available and if it is a must to use salt it should be an iodized one but not in raw form. Furthermore, for a healthy diet one should also consume adequate essential amino acids (present in animal foods), essential micronutrients like vitamins and minerals and avoid poisonous substances like heavy metals and pathogens (Furtado).
Unhealthy diet or poor diet is the eating of food in excess/ over consumption, high energy-rich diets like fats, deficiency in certain minerals and vitamins or even low fiber dietary intake, that are harmful to one’s health and can lead to chronic health conditions. They can also be due to lack of knowledge on how to eat the required diets for a healthy diet. Poor diets most commonly include recreational foods like snacks, ice creams, cookies as well foods with high-fat contents like fries and a high intake of red meat. This can lead to chronic diseases or conditions like obesity which is due to the consumption of more snacks which make a person prone to weight-related disease as well as high blood pressure and coronary heart diseases. Poor diet can also lead to conditions like diabetes (especially Type 2), stroke, and high cholesterol levels in the body, and some forms of cancer like colorectal cancer (Willett and Skerrett 50).
Most the people nowadays follow the latter the recommendation in food faddism or FAD diets as a way of reducing weight or treating cases of obesity. The FAD diet uses the means other than restriction of calories to reduce the weight of a person. These fad diets, which includes an intake of particular food groups with an aim of cure thus being incorporated into one’s diet, eliminating a particular type of food from the diet due to the view that it is harmful or eating only a certain type of food is not recommendations made by dieticians and nutritionists. Some of the examples of the FAD diets includes; the Hollywood diet, cabbage soup diet and south beach diet among others. These fad diets do not constitute the required foods for a healthy diet as they concentrate on particular foods that can only help them lose weight or cure obesity. Most of the fad diets do not contain enough energy food, suitable proteins, required mineral salts and vitamins especially fat-soluble ones which are essential for a healthy diet as recommended by nutritionists and dieticians (Spector).
Conclusion
The intake of a healthy diet is essential for a healthy life as it provides a stronger immune system, maintenance of a healthy weight, and reduction or elimination of health-related diseases or conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, coronary heart diseases and obesity among other conditions. One should therefore consume a diet with enough energy, fruits, and vegetables, mineral, fibers and proteins but with rare red meat. One should also avoid the intake of foods with simple sugars, saturated fats, and raw salts among others. If one wants to reduce weight or treat obesity, it is recommended to visit a nutritionist and dietician instead of concentrating on the fad diets. The FAD diets lack the required nutrients that make up a healthy diet such as vitamins, minerals and suitable proteins that can lead to a person having a deficiency in certain minerals and vitamins or certain foods. Therefore, the intake of a healthy diet is essential for the growth and health of a person and should be recommended at all times.
Works Cited
Furtado, Kim. Diet and Nutrition Resource Guide. 2009.Web.
McCarthy, Rose. Food Labels: Using Nutrition Information to Create a Healthy Diet. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005.
Spector, Reynold. Science and Pseudoscience in Adult Nutrition Research and Practice. 2009. Web.
Willett, Walter, & Skerrett, Patrick. Eat, Drink And Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide To Healthy Eating. New York: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001.