With the rising risk of obesity and poor-eating health related complications on the rise, our society is today bombarded with conflicting advice about healthy eating plans. As such, it becomes extremely challenging for a person searching for insight about the same to get the appropriate details. This raises the question; what exactly is a healthy eating plan? It is simply a concise arrangement by a person to include healthy foods in his daily diet.
To formulate a healthy eating plan, one needs to know what constitutes healthy meals. For starters, fruits and vegetables should be a daily inclusion in all meals. Dieticians recommend that any person above five years of age should at least consume five portions of fruits and vegetables everyday. A portion is defined as 80 grams of any fruit or vegetable.
A healthy eating plan should also include at least five portions of cereals and whole meal foods. Foods from this group include oats, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, noodles and whole meal breads. One can also consume Irish and sweet potatoes to compliment his or her diet. A healthy eating plan should also include 2 average servings of milk and other dairy products. Some of the healthy food choices in this category include yoghurt, cheese and skimmed milk. One should avoid the consumption of butter and dairy cream.
A healthy eating plan should also include food groups that are high in proteins. Such includes meat, fish and poultry. Eggs are also a healthy source of animal proteins but they should be consumed in moderation. When consuming animal proteins, it is always advisable for a person to plan on consuming foods that have low fat content. Alternatively, one can opt for animal proteins, which can be sourced from kidney beans and nuts.
Although there has been so bad comments going around about fats and sugars in the diet, it is important that every one realizes that they too have a vital role to play in the human body; they are the main source of energy. As such, a healthy eating plan should contain a healthy content of the same. To avoid the disadvantages that come from such foods, one should limit their consumption to a maximum of three servings a day. To be on the safe side, one should plan to include unsaturated fats such as corn oil, sunflower and olive oil in their dietary plans. Saturated fats contained in animal products and highly processed foods should be avoided. When factoring in sugar in the diet plan, one should strive to include complex sources of the same. Foods containing highly refined sugars such as biscuits should be avoided. Overall, a healthy eating plan should contain foods in the three basic food groups: proteins (body building foods), vitamins (mineral-rich foods) and carbohydrates (energy-giving foods). Fats are also a vital component in the eating plan.