Good Health

Good health is fundamental to leading a full and active life. The right nutrition is an important step towards good health. The word diet is often used to describe an eating plan intended to aid weight loss. However, diet really refers to the foods a person eats in the course of a day, or week. The more balanced and nutritious the diet, the healthier the person can expect to be. A balanced diet means eating the right amount of foods from all food groups. The benefits of a balanced diet are numerous. No single food contains everything the body needs so it is important to eat a wide variety. The right amount of vitamins and nutrients can increase life expectancy by keeping the heart

A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve health. It is important for the prevention of many chronic disease such as: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.^[1]

A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts all of the food groups, including an adequate amount of water. Nutrients can be obtained from many different foods, so there are a wide variety of healthy diets.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) makes the following 5 recommendations with respect to both populations and individuals:^[2]

• Achieve an energy balance and a healthy weight
• Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids
• Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts
• Limit the intake of simple sugars
• Limit salt / sodium consumption from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized

Other recommendations include:

• Sufficient essential amino acids ("complete protein") All essential amino acids are present in animals. A select few plants (such as soy and hemp) give all the essential acids. A combination of other plants may also provide all essential amino acids (except rice and beans which have limitations).
• Essential micronutrients such as vitamins and certain minerals.
• Avoiding directly poisonous (e.g. heavy metals)
• Avoiding foods contaminated by human pathogens (e.g. E. coli, tapeworm eggs).

Fruits and vegetables

The WHO recommends a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables per day. This groups excludes potatoes and other starchy tubers.^[3] Fruits and vegetables also prevent several micronutrient deficiencies.^[3]

Salt While a moderate amount of salt is required for health, a high salt diet can have detrimental effects on blood pressure^[5].

An unhealthy diet is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases including: high blood pressure, diabetes, abnormal blood lipids, overweight/obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.^[6]