Dr. Siddhant Bhargava has some tips to build and eat a balanced diet

In the midst of the pandemic, consumption of wholesome edibles remains a vital part of upholding your health. While there are no specific foods that can facilitate in shielding you from the virus, following a nutritious diet can enhance your immune system thus helping you to combat the symptoms.

A balanced diet delivers vitamins, minerals, and proteins that your body requires in the right proportion. These are essential nutrients that you must derive from food since your body is unable to produce them itself. Intake of a balanced diet also implies fuelling your body with the right number of calories it requires. This means that caloric intake must not be additionally high and neither should there be a scarcity of calories. Most of your day-to-day nutrients should come from the five food groups like fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. The keystone of a healthy diet should be to substitute processed edibles with natural ingredients.

These simple tips can help you learn how to build and stick to a healthful and nourishing diet:

We all require a balance of fat, protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to withstand a healthy body. Instead of eliminating certain types of food from your diet, you must rather select the healthiest options from each category.

Protein: These nutrients lend you the energy to keep going while also bracing mood and cognitive functioning. Choose lean proteins, and ensure you have an assortment of the following subgroups like poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, legumes, and soy products. Limit processed foods and treated poultry.

Fat: Not all fats tend to be the same. While bad fats can ruin your diet and make you susceptible to some ailments, good fats guard your brain and heart. In fact, healthy fats—such as omega-3s—are vital to your physical and mental well-being.

Fibres: Intake of edibles rich in dietary fibres like legumes, grains, fruit, and vegetables can facilitate in lowering your risk for heart ailments, stroke, and diabetes. It can also improve your skin and move you closer to weight loss goals.

Calcium: Alongside contributing to osteoporosis, not getting enough calcium in your diet can also lead to bouts of anxiety, depression and sleep problems. It is important to include calcium-rich edibles in your diet, eliminate those that reduce calcium, and get enough of magnesium and vitamins D and K to enable calcium in performing its job.

Carbohydrates: These are one of your body’s foremost energy sources. But most of them should come from complex, unrefined carbs like grains, fruits, and veggies rather apart from sugars and refined carbs. Eliminating white bread, starches and sugar from your diet will help in prevent speedy spikes in blood sugar, variations in mood and energy and a fat accumulation, particularly around your waistline.

Making the switch to a healthy diet

A better approach towards building a healthy diet is to make a few healthy diet alterations: Make the right changes: When you cut back on unhealthy foods in your diet, you must ensure it is being replaced with healthier options. For instance, substituting trans fats with healthy fats can have a healing impact on your health.

Stay hydrated: Water aids in flushing out of toxins and waste from our systems. It is common to mistake thirst for hunger, hence staying well hydrated will also facilitate you in making healthier food choices.

Portion control is key: Start by reducing portion sizes of unwholesome foods. As you lessen your consumption of unhealthy edibles, you may find yourself craving them less or thinking of them as only sporadic indulgences.

Keep emotional eating under control: We might not always eat to content our hunger pangs. We might at times turn to food to release stress or cope with unpleasant emotions. By learning restored ways to uphold stress and emotions, can help you to regain control over your food intake and feelings.

Eating and building a wholesome diet is not about strict limits, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it is about refining your well-being and enhancing your mood with the right food choices.

(The author is a  fitness and nutritional scientist as well as co-founder, Food Darzee.)