Which type of food should one take for balance diet?

Answer 1

A combination of food types
The term 'balanced diet' is one of those health mantras that is constantly heard but rarely explained. What it means is a diet that includes a combination of several different food types, including grains and pulses, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products, fats and oils.


Food fact
Eating at least three servings of wholegrain foods each day could reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers by up to 30 per cent.

All in proportion
Crucial to the idea of a balanced diet is including foods in the right proportions; the aim is to get all the nutrients your body needs while maintaining a healthy weight. The US government provides a basic idea of what nutrients we need at www.nal.usda.gov. (These are guidelines for Americans, but we Brits aren't much different!)

It isn't a case of having roughly equal measures of everything. There should be a lot of some foods and just a little of others. Some fats and oils, for example, are important in the diet for various reasons, including absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. But you only need a small amount compared with foods such as vegetables.

Balancing act
In the UK, the Food Standards Agency has developed a programme called The Balance of Good Health to show people what proportions and types of foods make up a healthy balanced diet.

This divides foods into five different groups:

bread, other cereals and potatoes
fruit and vegetables
milk and dairy foods
meat, fish and alternatives
foods containing fat and foods containing sugar


The largest groups are bread and vegetables, followed by milk and meat. The smallest by far is the salt and sugar group. For more information on what's included in each one, see Nutrition basics.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are low in fat, calories and salt, and an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Most of us don't eat enough to meet the current recommendation of three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit a day.

Protein-rich foods and dairy foods are needed in more moderate amounts. Your diet should include two to three servings of milk or dairy produce a day, for example. Take care that protein-rich foods don't bring a lot of fat with them; trim the fat off meat and take the skin off chicken. Think about how you cook foods too; meat fried or in breadcrumbs adds extra fat.

How much is a serving?
The size of a serving of some foods, especially fruit, is easy to work out; common sense is also a good guide. More specifically, the USDA Food Guide Pyramid outlines standard serving sizes for many foods, based on the American imperial system of cups. For example, one cup of milk counts as one serving, as does half a cup of pasta or a slice of bread.

How many servings we need of each food group every day depends on our age, gender and level of activity.

Combining foods
It's not too difficult to keep track of how many servings of certain individual foods we eat each day, such as an apple of a piece of cheese. But what happens when you throw a number of foods together in a meal?

All you need to do is break a meal down into its individual ingredients. For example, shepherd's pie with a cheesy crust combines foods from two or more groups, depending on how you make it, including:

minced lamb or beef (meat)
potato, carrot and onion (fruit and vegetables)
cheese (milk and dairy)


Health tip
Want to eat more wholegrains but aren't sure what they are? Wholemeal bread, oats, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice, pot barley, sweetcorn, pure rye crackers and oat or brown rice cakes all count.

Starting early
The earlier the message about eating a healthy, balanced diet is drummed in, the better. Children form habits very quickly and, once set, bad ones are difficult to shift. If you need inspiration for healthy meals, or recipes that your children can cook with you, try BBC Food.

The goal
Don't forget what you're trying to achieve:

a variety of foods
plenty of grains, vegetables and fruits
low fat intake, especially saturated fats
moderate sugar intake
moderate salt intake
keep a lid on alcohol intake

Answer 2

well... It depends on what you mean by a balanced diet, or what you want to accomplish. If you want to build muscle then eat alot of protein. If you want to get stronger and build muscle eat alot of protein and dont worry about the fat too much. Now if you want to loss fat then DONT EAT FATTY FOODS, you should also do around 30 minutes of cardio activity each day such as, Running, Walking, Swimming, Jumprope, Jogging, or rideing a bike. Hope you get into great shape

Answer 3

A balanced diet consists of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and of course vegetables, fruits, nuts etc. The carbohydrates should be in the form of whole grains and not too much refined.

Answer 4

here you go bro....
1. breakfast: Oatmeal, Fruit salad and milk, boiled eggs
2. Lunch: include fish, chicken, potoatos, soya to ur regular lunch.
3. Dinner: light dinner with apple or green banana and milkshake.

drink a lot of fruit juices and milkshakes (ice cream if u want to put on weight). avoid smoking, no boozing too (may b some lager beer). u must also have dates and a lot of fresh fruits and vege.

physical exercise is a must: swimming or jogging will do (twice or thrice weekly) use the stairs NO elevator or use the treadmill.

good luck!!

Answer 5

All types of foods r necessary to maintain our body, but it should be balance.

Answer 6

Simply put-about one half complex carbohydrates like vegetables and fruit,one quarter lean protein and one quarter simple carbohydrates like whole grains and potatoes. Small amounts of fats and concentrated sweets like honey and sugar.

Answer 7

good quantity of carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables... enough chicken, eggs / chicken / fish, salads, fruits and in normal health a little sweets...

pure vegetarians may do without non veg items...

Answer 8

get a copy of the food pyramid

Answer 9

5 bananas per day, 1 & half litres of milk, rice & dal

Answer 10

a balance of food

and more water than anyone you have ever seen...almost nobody drinks enough