“When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow. Tomorrow is disease.”V.L. Allineare

Nutrition is essential for a healthy sustenance of human life. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals. Foods have a direct impact on the immune system, emotions and energy levels. Eating healthy is a prerequisite to maintain a robust lifestyle.

A healthy diet includes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meat and beans, milk and dairy, and fats and oils. This food when combined with exercise improves the absolute health and maintains a healthy weight, eating healthy is an excellent way to feel good, gain bounds of energy, in conjunction with the body staying stronger and healthy through an entire lifespan.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” as correctly said, Apples provide a huge source of essential vitamins and minerals, therefore, cut up an apple into your morning cereal. Eat peaches with your lunch. Frozen raspberries or blackberries are a yummy dessert too.

Nutrition experts recommend a diet should be rich in fruits and vegetables, because each of them contains different nutrients. A good way to include all of them is to eat foods with all the colors of the rainbow. Green is broccoli. Red is peppers. Yellow is a banana. Purple is eggplant. Orange is an orange. Include dark green vegetables like spinach, collard greens, or kale at one meal, and carrots, sweet potatoes, squash in the next.

Health and Nutrition organizations across the world, recommend 3 ounces or more of whole grains per day. They have the bran and the germ intact and hence, include more fiber, minerals, and vitamins than refined grains. Brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, and barley are examples of whole grains that can be included in your daily meals.

Nutrition experts’ advice 35% of your daily calories should come from fat, preserved in fats and oils. Consuming oils that helps improve good cholesterol (HDL) and inhibit bad cholesterol (LDL) is essential for a healthy heart. Oils manufactured from canola, corn, soybean, mustard, olives and sunflower promote healthy heart.

Meat is a good source of the protein and fatty acids. The USDA guidelines recommend 5 1/2 ounces of meat (includes poultry and fish) per day, choose lean cuts and largely opt for chicken or fish. Eggs are also included in this category, and one egg equals a 1-ounce serving of meat.

It is recommended to add milk and dairy products regularly in your meals. Suitably 3 cups of low-fat/fat-free milk or yogurt, 4 slices of low-fat/fat-free natural cheese, and 6 slices of low fat / fat-free processed cheese must be included in your diet daily. Alternatively, a combination of the above foods can be taken, provided the recommended calorie content remains the same.

These five food groups supply you with abundant ad essential nutrients that your body requires to stay healthy and strong. Even junk foods when prepared hygienically and includes some of these food categories, and consumed in moderation adds to the nutrition value and supplements your body with additional nutrients. Always strive for nutritious food whether it’s a take-away or home cooked.