Well Balanced Diet: Defining the Term

Do you know what the term "well-balanced diet" means? It something we hear a lot about, but few of us really fully understand it. A good definition comes from the University of Maryland Medical Center, which says this:

"A well balanced diet means getting the right types and amounts of foods and drinks to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, and organs, and for supporting normal growth and development."

The UMMC described the function of a well-balanced diet as one that "provides enough energy and nutrition for optimal growth and development."

Those definitions are good, as far as they go. But when most of us seek information about a well balanced diet, what we are looking are recommendations about how to build such a diet - what foods should we eat, and how much of them, to achieve a well-balanced diet?

The Food Pyramid of Well Balanced Diet

That's where the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Pyramid comes in very handy. The colors in the pyramid represent different "slices" of a well-balanced diet. From left to right, here are the recommendations:

• Orange/Grains: Eat at least three ounces of whole-grain bread, cereal, crackers, rice or pasta every day. In other words, get rid of that white flour and white starch and replace it with whole grains. (On ingredient lists, look for "whole" before the grain name.)
  
  
• Green/Vegetables: Eat a lot of vegetables, and a variety of them. Specifically focus on getting more green leafy veggies and orange veggies into your diet. Legumes are great, too, and should constitute part of veggie portion, but be sure to eat dry beans and fresh or frozen peas, as opposed to canned.
  
  
• Red/Fruits: Eat a variety of fruits, but don't confuse drinking fruit juice with eating fruits. Fresh or frozen fruit is so much more beneficial than fruit juice, which typically is very high in sugars and doesn't give you the fiber or as much nutrient value as fresh fruit.
  
  
• Yellow/Oils: Cut way back on solid fats (butter, margarine, lard, etc.). Those are bad fats. Good fats are those found in fish, nuts, avocados, and oils such as olive oil.
  
  
• Blue/Milk: Yes, milk gets its very own category. Choose low-fat or fat-free. If you don't or can't drink milk, you'll need to get calcium from other low-fat dairy or lactose-free sources.
  
  
• Purple/Meats & Beans: Always select low-fat or lean meats and poultry. Cut way back on red meats and substitute chicken, turkey or fish, or get protein from beans, nuts or seeds instead.
  

You can find much more specific recommendations about the Food Pyramid, portion sizes and balancing your meal planning at MyPyramid.gov.

Well Balanced Diet and Weight Loss

We'll let you in on a secret about weight loss: There is no secret way to lose weight. The only way to lose weight over the long term, and keep the weight off, is to eat better, eat less and exercise. That's it.

Sure, there are tons of gimmicky diet plans out there that promise great results, but if it sounds too good to be true, then - as far as dieting is concerned - it is too good to be true. Gimmick weight loss programs might works for short periods of time, but never over the long haul. That weight will come back.

If you need to lose weight, the key is focusing on a well balanced diet combined with portion control and exercise. You might need the support and structure that comes from joining a weight loss program, and that's fine. Just make sure you choose one that takes a well-balanced diet approach and avoids gimmicks.

Well Balanced Diet: Recipes and Resources

• Eat This Not That: Eat This Not That is a terrific resource from Men's Fitness (but it works for women, too) that explains just how bad so much of that restaurant food is, and suggests things to eat instead.



• Maya Clinic's Healthy Recipes: These are recipes recommended by the prestigious Mayo Clinic



• Nutrition Action Health Letter: Published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, this newsletter provides invaluable information about nutrition, plus great-tasting healthy recipes.



• Nutrition.gov: The USDA's hub of information about healthy eating and the well balanced diet.



• What's In the Food You Eat? From the USDA, this database allows you to search more than 13,000 foods to determine their nutritional value.



• Healthy recipes from OSU: Selection of recipes for a well balanced diet from the Oregon State University Agricultural Extension Service.