Knowing how to make good food choices when making healthy meals has many benefits, creating the foundation for optimal health.
1. What is a healthy meal?
A good diet is the foundation of health for each family member. Healthy meals with healthy and properly prepared foods help provide essential nutrients for a healthy body, while also supporting the immune system to work more actively. Maintaining healthy living habits such as eating nutritious foods and being physically active helps improve your quality of life, contributing to increasing your longevity.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam - former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition said: A healthy meal must first have a clean food source, food that can be selected to ensure food safety, and meal processing. Balance enough protein, fat, sugar, flour, green vegetables... Healthy meals need to reduce meat consumption, increase shrimp, fish, tofu, green vegetables... depending on age, reduce processed dishes: High-temperature frying and grilling cause fat and protein to change, which is not good for heart health.
From early on, you need to build a healthy eating plan for yourself and your family. A healthy diet prioritizes the consumption of nutrient-dense, low-fat foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Foods that provide the body with essential protein include lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. Limit your consumption of foods containing saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugars.
Associate Professor. Nguyen Thi Lam suggests that adults need to consume an average of 400g of green vegetables every day, depending on each person, eat 100-300g of ripe fruit to help provide vitamins C, E, A, and beta-carotene. The plant antibiotics found in Vietnamese vegetables and spices are very good for us. Increase the use of traditional foods such as turmeric, ginger, and spices that contain many good antibacterial and antioxidant elements. It is good to divide daily meals into smaller portions (at least 3 meals). Especially for the elderly and young children, they should have 1-3 extra meals.
2. A healthy meal should include healthy foods
Healthy foods are foods that give you all the nutrients you need to feel healthy and have lots of energy.
The best way to make sure you eat healthy is to eat a variety of foods. Associate Professor, PhD. Nguyen Thi Lam said, you should eat a variety of diets. A healthy meal includes all 4 nutrient groups: protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Change foods regularly and diversify foods, you should eat 15-20 types of foods every day.
- Eat vegetables, salad or fruit at every meal because they contain many healthy vitamins, minerals and fiber, help you feel full and protect you from chronic diseases. Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors to get the best combination of protective nutrients. At least 5 servings of vegetables, salad and fruit are recommended for a healthy diet.
- Cereals, brown rice, pasta, potatoes and bread are great sources of energy. It's best to eat whole grains because they contain fiber to keep your digestive system working properly. How much you need depends on your age, size, gender, and daily activity level.
Eat a variety of foods with appropriate portions.
- Milk, yogurt and cheese provide calcium and protein. Calcium is needed for healthy bones throughout life. Choose low-fat milks and dairy products, which provide the same amount of calcium and other nutrients with fewer calories and saturated fat.
Your body needs protein to support growth and maintain a healthy body, so it's needed every day. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts are good ways to get protein in your diet.
When preparing meat dishes, choose lean meat and poultry. Eat fish at least twice a week, white fish one day and oily fish another day. Fish oil provides essential omega-3 fats that help keep your heart healthy. Beans and eggs are good protein options for meat-free days.
Healthy fats are an essential part of a balanced diet but are only needed in very small amounts. Low-fat spreads and vegetable oils like canola and olive oil are best. Saturated fat, found in hard fats like butter, can increase your cholesterol levels.
In addition, you should note that you should eat healthy snacks such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk and high-fiber cereals instead of snacks high in fat, sugar and salt such as candy, cakes and potatoes. crispy fried potatoes. Don't forget that drinks make up a large part of our diet. Fruit juices and nut milks are the healthiest options and it's best to avoid sugary drinks.
When planning a healthy diet, food variety is key. Your body needs many different nutrients to be healthy, and no one food or food group can provide all of these nutrients.
You don't have to balance every meal, try to balance foods throughout the day or even during the week. For example, when eating a lunch rich in protein and fat, dinner should include more green vegetables and fruits. Meal planning can help you know what you're eating and make healthier choices.
Thien Chau - Health & Life Newspaper