What is a balanced diet?

Generally, a healthy diet consists of many fresh fruits and vegetables and limits processed foods. But ask your doctor or a dietitian for advice on making more specific dietary changes to improve your health.

A balanced diet gives your body the nutrients it needs to function correctly. To get the nutrition you need, most of your daily calories should come from:

• fresh fruits
• fresh vegetables
• whole grains
• legumes
• nuts
• lean proteins

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans explain how much of each nutrient you should consume daily.

A balanced diet supplies the nutrients your body needs to work effectively. Without balanced nutrition, your body is more prone to disease, infection, fatigue, and low performance.

Children who don’t get enough healthy foods may face growth and developmental problems, poor academic performance, and frequent infections.

They can also develop unhealthy eating habits that may persist into adulthood.

Without exercise, they’ll also have a higher risk of obesity and various diseases that make up metabolic syndrome, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 4 of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States are directly linked to diet.

These are:

• heart disease
• cancer
• stroke
• type 2 diabetes

A healthy, balanced diet will usually include the following nutrients:

• vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
• carbohydrates, including starches and fiber
• protein
• healthy fats

A balanced diet will include a variety of foods from the following groups:

• fruits
• vegetables
• grains
• dairy
• protein foods

Examples of protein foods include meat, eggs, fish, beans, nuts, and legumes.

People who follow a vegan diet will focus entirely on plant-based foods. They won’t eat meat, fish, or dairy, but their diet will include other items that provide similar nutrients.

Tofu and beans, for example, are plant-based sources of protein. Some people are intolerant of dairy but can still build a balanced diet by choosing a variety of nutrient-rich replacements.