ARTICLE 3: Healthy Eating

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Food keeps us healthy and helps us grow. Food provides us with energy to be able to function
throughout the day. By eating a balanced diet, your body obtains the fuel and nutrients it needs
to function properly. Your body needs minerals to make hormones, build bones and regulate
your heartbeat. Water flushes out toxins, transports nutrients to cells and performs other vital
bodily processes.
Eating a healthy diet is not about strict limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving
yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving
your health, and boosting your mood.
Healthy eating doesn’t have to be overly complicated. If you feel overwhelmed by all the
conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone. It seems that for every expert
who tells you a certain food is good for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. The
truth is that while some specific foods or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect
on mood, it’s your overall dietary pattern that is most important. The cornerstone of a healthy
diet should be to replace processed food with real food whenever possible. Eating food that is as
close as possible to the way nature made it can make a huge difference to the way you think,
look, and feel.
The fundamentals of healthy eating
While some extreme diets may suggest otherwise, we all need a balance of protein, fat,
carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to sustain a healthy body. You don’t
need to eliminate certain categories of food from your diet, but rather select the healthiest options
from each category.

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Carbohydrates
Bread, rice and potatoes are examples of carbohydrate rich foods. These foods give us plenty of
energy. You should try and eat a lot of carbohydrates each day. As well as energy, carbohydrates
provide us with fiber, iron, B vitamins and calcium.
Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit and vegetables provide us with vitamins and minerals essential for keeping us healthy as
well as fiber which is important for digestion. A diet high in fiber can also reduce your risk of
heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables
a day. Remember that potatoes do not count as a portion of vegetables.
Dairy
Dairy products are great sources of protein and calcium and are found in milk, cheese and
yogurt. Protein helps our bodies to grow or repair themselves. Protein builds, maintains, and
replaces the tissues in your body. Your muscles, organs, and immune system are made up mostly
of protein. Calcium helps to keep our bones and teeth strong. We should eat between two or
three portions of dairy foods a day.
Meat, Fish, Eggs and Beans
These foods are a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals in your diet. These foods help
the body to grow and repair itself and keep hair, skin, muscles and nails strong. We should eat
some of these foods a day.
Foods High in Fats and Sugar
These foods provide the body with energy, warmth and insulation around vital organs. Too
much fat in your diet can raise cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. A small
amount of fat is part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fat is a source of essential fatty acids such as
omega-3 because the body can’t make them itself. Fat helps the body absorb vitamins A, D and
E.
To be healthy, nutritious food is needed to provide energy for the body. A variety of food is
needed in the diet because different foods contain different substances that are needed to keep
you healthy.
Making the switch to a healthy diet
Switching to a healthy diet doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. You don’t have to be
perfect, you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy, and you don’t have to change
everything all at once—that usually only leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan.
A better approach is to make a few small changes at a time. Keeping your goals modest can help
you achieve more in the long term without feeling deprived or overwhelmed by a major diet
overhaul. Think of planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps—like adding

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a salad to your diet once a day. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add
more healthy choices.
Setting yourself up for success
To set yourself up for success, try to keep things simple. Eating a healthier diet doesn’t have to
be complicated. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories, for example, think of
your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. Focus on avoiding packaged and processed
foods and opting for more fresh ingredients whenever possible.
Prepare more of your own meals. Cooking more meals at home can help you take charge of
what you’re eating and better monitor exactly what goes into your food. You’ll eat fewer calories
and avoid the chemical additives, added sugar, and unhealthy fats of packaged and takeout foods
that can leave you feeling tired, bloated, and irritable, and exacerbate symptoms of depression,
stress, and anxiety.
Make the right changes. When cutting back on unhealthy foods in your diet, it’s important to
replace them with healthy alternatives. Replacing dangerous trans fats with healthy fats (such as
switching fried chicken for grilled salmon) will make a positive difference to your health.
Switching animal fats for refined carbohydrates, though (such as switching your breakfast bacon
for a donut), won’t lower your risk for heart disease or improve your mood.
Read the labels. It’s important to be aware of what’s in your food as manufacturers often hide
large amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats in packaged food, even food claiming to be healthy.
Focus on how you feel after eating. This will help foster healthy new habits and tastes. The
healthier the food you eat, the better you’ll feel after a meal. The more junk food you eat, the
more likely you are to feel uncomfortable, nauseous, or drained of energy.
Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush our systems of waste products and toxins, yet many of
us go through life dehydrated—causing tiredness, low energy, and headaches. It’s common to
mistake thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated will also help you make healthier food
choices.
Moderation: important to any healthy diet
What is moderation? In essence, it means eating only as much food as your body needs. You
should feel satisfied at the end of a meal, but not stuffed. For many of us, moderation means
eating less than we do now. But it doesn’t mean eliminating the foods you love. Eating bacon for
breakfast once a week, for example, could be considered moderation if you follow it with a
healthy lunch and dinner—but not if you follow it with a box of donuts and a sausage pizza.

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REFERENCES

Authors: Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal Ph.D., and Robert Segal, M.A.-Last updated:
August 2021

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, 9th Edition. (2020).
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/202103/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans
-2020-2025.pdf