A balanced diet involves a supply of nutrients appropriate to the needs of each person to maintain health and must cover the body’s energy demands, according to the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), in Spain.
“A healthy diet helps protect us from malnutrition and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
To be healthy and correct, a person’s diet or eating pattern must meet six basic characteristics: be complete, balanced, harmless, sufficient, varied and adequateaccording to Dr. Fabiola Mabel Del Razo Olvera, from the Metabolic Diseases Research Unit (UIEM), in Mexico.
This diet must contain all the nutrients, including foods from the three groups (vegetables and fruits; cereals and tubers; legumes and foods of animal origin) and these nutrients must be in proper proportions among themselves, without excesses or deficiencies of any, according to Del Razo.
Furthermore, its regular consumption should not imply health risks, being free of harmful substances; It must cover the nutritional needs of the individual according to their age group and characteristics; and include different foods from the three groups in each main meal, explains this specialist.
Del Razo also considers it necessary that food be in accordance with the culture and tastes of those who consume it.
The seventh requirement
In order to meet the previous conditions, another requirement must be taken into account, which is often neglected or does not receive the necessary attention, but which is decisive and whose absence can derail the best intentions and plans to eat healthily: planningother specialists warn.
“Planning is an essential component since it helps avoid impulsive decisions, guarantees nutritional variety, saves time and money, reduces stress and allows you to achieve long-term well-being goals,” says Noelia Suárez, communications director at Nutritienda. com (NT).
The experts of this online platform specialized in beauty, health and nutrition offer some guidelines for eating healthily, with good planning and organization.
Establish eating routines.
It is advisable to eat at the same time every day, which helps regulate metabolism and reduces the need to have unhealthy snacks between meals, adjusting schedules to daily activities, our internal biological rhythms (circadian rhythm) and what our body demands, leaving two or three hours between dinner and bedtime, according to Nutritienda.
Organize your pantry
After eliminating expired or spoiled products, you must organize the food by category (nuts, flour, pasta, condiments, cans, snacks, among others), grouping them in transparent containers to see what is inside and with labels that indicate their expiration date, and placing small products in baskets or baskets, they add.
Optimize your utensils
In addition to keeping them in order, to prepare meals in less time, with more efficiency and satisfaction, it is advisable to invest in quality culinary appliances such as food processors, blenders, kitchen robots, mixers, mandolins or cutters, also having good knives. sharp edges and some pans in optimal condition, advise from NT.
Keep your recipes handy
Compile the recipes you have, classify them by categories (seasons or dates of the year, such as Christmas or summer, duration of preparation, ingredients or any useful information), make a list with an index and keep them organized in folders, notebooks, ‘ apps’ or online platforms, will help plan meals and our favorite dishes, according to NT.
Prepare a meal plan
“Designing a weekly or monthly menu will help avoid impulsive decisions and ensure that meals are balanced. It is convenient that this menu includes breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners. Sometimes we don’t think regarding what we eat between meals, and during those periods we neglect our goal of eating in a balanced and varied way,” says Noelia Suárez.
Plan purchases
Suárez recommends “making a list of the ingredients necessary to prepare the meals included in the week or month plan, which reduces the risk of improvising and eating worse.” He also suggests doing the shopping taking your time, without rushing and having eaten a little before, to avoid purchasing unhealthy products stimulated by hunger.
Prepare food in advance
Once the menu for the next few days or weeks is prepared, you can advance the work, preparing and cooking large quantities of food, organizing them into portions and freezing them, labeling them with their name and date of preparation to ensure their freshness when the time comes. defrost them and consume them, concludes NT.
#importance #diet #planning
