Healthy Food Choices

Food choices used to be natural and simple, yet over time those once simple choices turned into a world full of processed and fast foods. This makes it challenging to please taste buds and maintain healthy eating habits. It seems people have little understanding of what a nutritious diet should consist of and how to apply that to daily living. There are five characteristics that make up that nutritious diet, which include adequacy, balance, calorie control, moderation, and variety. "A well-planned diet is adequate in nutrients, is balanced with regard to food types, offers food energy that matches energy expended in activity, is moderate in unwanted constituents, and offers a variety of nutritious foods" (Sizer & Whitney, 2012, p. 11). 

• The nutrients in a person's body needs to continually be replenished daily to keep up with the demands, or else health consequences can be experienced. This is where adequacy plays into keeping the body supplied with the essential vitamins and minerals through continual healthy eating. A nutrient that is often brought up is iron, since a lot of people seem to be deficient. This is often true among women because of the extra blood loss through menstruation. When the iron levels fall too low iron-deficiency anemia can develop. A person who has suffered this understands the fatigue that comes with those low iron levels. The good news is that adding enough iron-rich foods, such as fish or legumes, can boost iron levels to normal and rid of the deficiency and fatigue.
• Careful consideration needs to be addressed for the balance between nutrients. If a person is trying to boost one nutrient then sometimes others may fall. A person that is not aware of this may suffer additional deficiency problems, even when trying to correct another. This is why it is vital to incorporate a wide variety of foods. For example, a person boosting iron levels may not get enough calcium, since iron-rich foods can be low in calcium. The situation can be relieved by making sure to eat both nutrients to keep balance.
• A person that is used to eating big portions of foods can benefit from applying calorie control, which can help guarantee the person is not eating too many calories. This means a person would count or estimate portion sizes and total daily calories. Too many calories and not enough physical activity can raise body fat and weight. This can lead to obesity and other health problems. Calorie control can assist a person with a healthy diet and weight.
• Treats are wonderful to the taste buds, but need to be put into the moderation category. Sugar, salt, fat, and cholesterol intake should be monitored to make certain that it is kept at a healthy limit. Also, even healthy nutrients should be used in moderation to prevent other nutrient imbalances. This can be found true with fiber, which can help assist a healthy digestive tract, yet inhibit other nutrients when too much is eaten.
• Finally, variety is important in a healthy diet. This means eating different foods that can deliver many various nutrients to fuel the body to function properly. 

Applying the characteristics can be a challenge, but putting them into practice each day will help form a healthy diet.

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2012). Nutrition: Concepts and controversies, MyPlate Update (12th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.