Write a short note on Balanced Diet?

Balanced diet can be defined as ‘the one which contains different types of foods in such quantities and proportions that the need for all the nutrients are adequately met and a small extra provision is made for nutrients as a margin of safety’.

Thus, our meals will only be said to be adequate and balanced when the quantity of food consumed is sufficient to meet our daily requirements, plus there is an allowance to be stored in the body to be used in conditions of stress. When a person due to some reasons is not able to consume the required amount of nutrients, like in fevers or fasting, then the body stores of these nutrients are utilized.

The quantity of our meals can be improved or is said to be optimum when our diets are complete. Every meal should have foodstuffs providing energy, protein, and vitamins, and minerals.

The component of a balanced diet will, however differ according to age, sex, physical activity, economic status and physical state of human being, which shall be discussed in detail in the next chapters. However, as an example a day’s diet for an adult man belonging to middle income group is given below.

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