Our diet is very important. It is necessary to eat healthy foods , not only for good health, but also to have enough energy throughout the day . However, there are some more reasons to have a healthy diet, such as stopping premature aging or having a more fulfilling life . In addition, good food and nutrition is vital since babies start with complementary feeding. Healthy children’s food helps them grow and develop properly, avoiding many diseases.
How to eat a healthy and balanced diet?
To eat a healthy and balanced diet, it is important that our meals contain the necessary nutrients and in the right amounts. Only in this way would a person have all their needs covered and would not have deficiencies.
You will achieve a healthy diet if you follow the following tips:
- Take all kinds of food . No single food contains all types of nutrients, so it is important to eat foods from all groups. You have to eat fruits, vegetables, cereals, dairy products, legumes, meat, fish…
- In the event that you are a vegetarian, for example, if you do not eat meat or fish, you can change those foods for others that contain vegetable proteins , such as legumes. If you can’t eat dairy, or you don’t like it, there are other foods that contain calcium, such as spinach, broccoli, asparagus, salmon, sardines…
- The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the better . Eat foods of animal origin in moderation. The Mediterranean diet is perfect as an example of healthy eating. In it, priority is given to fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, vegetables, fish and olive oil. Meat is consumed less.
- Junk food is not included in healthy eating habits . Try to eliminate or reduce as much as possible industrial pastries, sausages, snacks and fast food in general.
- Eat in moderation . When we eat we look for the energy contribution that our body needs to function correctly. It is not necessary to eat more than we need, and, in addition, it can be a problem, since it would bring overweight. With obesity come diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or even some types of cancer.
- Eat five meals a day . This way you will avoid arriving too hungry at lunchtime and taking excessive amounts.
- Don’t forget the water .
What are the healthiest foods for children?
Perhaps now you have the question about which are the healthiest foods for children. Every day they try to sell us special foods for children, which they claim to include a large amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that they say are important to them. However, the foods they try to sell us are full of sugars, and not only not necessary for children, but not even suitable for them.
Children, like adults, need to follow a balanced and varied diet that includes all food groups, so that their needs are covered. They need to take vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and (good) fats .
It is important that certain foods are not given before one year of age, such as honey (due to the risk of botulism), large amounts of spinach and green leafy vegetables (due to the concentration of nitrites), large fish (due to the concentration of mercury), undercooked meat, fish and eggs, low-fat foods in fat or skimmed, whole milk or its derivatives (up to one year they should only drink breast milk or formula), salt (causes liver problems) and sugar. In addition, it is very important to be careful with foods with a risk of choking, such as whole nuts (they can be eaten from the age of six months, ground or crushed), grapes or round foods that must be cut into four pieces lengthwise, sausages They should not be cut into slices, but lengthwise as well, as they could get trapped in the trachea…
After one year, they can practically eat the same as adults, delaying sugar and foods that have no nutritional value as much as possible.
The well-known growth milks are not necessary, as some have sugars. In addition, a healthy child who follows a varied diet does not need dairy products fortified with vitamins and minerals, which he already gets at every meal.
Benefits of a healthy diet
Following a healthy diet has many benefits, among which the following stand out: obtaining energy, protecting the heart, improving the brain, reducing stress, strengthening bones, improving the immune system, helping to maintain blood pressure…
