5 Key Principles of Safe Balanced Nutrition

It is not a secret that a good indicator of a person’s personal success is his health. Indeed, even the richest man on earth will not be happy if his body does not function properly. The importance of well-being can be discussed endlessly. It includes the number of factors, among which there is such as the uniform work of all organs and systems, strong nerves and good physical preparation. One of the most important and basic conditions for preserving and strengthening health is the balanced nutrition, about which people forget in the rhythm of an active stressful life.  Rational nutrition is a diet that satisfies the physiological needs of the body and, subsequently, provides adequate processes for the development and growth of the body.

This type of nutrition contributes to the preservation of health, active longevity, provides good physical and mental performance, as well as increases resistance to adverse environmental influences. In our body, in accordance with the laws of nature, an optimal amount of food must be supplied, in which all the nutrients needed will be in the required quantity. One cannot but rejoice that the body’s ability to recover is truly wonderful, and you can start planning your diet at any time, as the state of health after the planned innovations will certainly improve. Let’s have a look at the principles of safe eating habits that will help you to improve your life quality.

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Principle number 1: The energy value obtained from food should strictly correspond to the energy costs of the organism

The energy value obtained from food should strictly correspond to the energy costs of the organism. The minimum calorie for replenishing energy for an office worker is calculated as follows: 1 kcal per 1 kg of weight per hour.

With active physical loads, the resulting value must be multiplied by the coefficients:

  • From 1 to 3 workouts per week – 1.3
  • From 3 to 5 workouts per week – 1.55
  • From 5 to 7 workouts per week – 1.73

This may sound strange, but the “balanced diet formula” is not just a beautiful speech turn, such a formula exists in fact. To determine the amount of food that must be consumed throughout the day to cover the energy costs of the body, you need to calculate proteins, fats and carbohydrates in a percentage ratio of 25%: 15%: 60%.  At the same time, in no case should you forget about physical activity and observance of the principles of a balanced diet.

A man should get per day more calories than a woman. So, more protein, carbohydrates and fats. To feel the charge of vivacity for the whole day, a man should start his day from carbohydrates, to wake up his body, give him a signal to act.

Menu for men

  • Breakfast: oatmeal with bananas and jam, coffee or tea. Second breakfast: you can make a sandwich of black bread and peanut butter, eat it with coffee and tea.
  • Lunch: borsch without meat, but with beans for the first dish and buckwheat with boiled meat (preferably chicken) on the second.
  • Mid-Afternoon: fruits, preferably citrus fruits.
  • Dinner: boiled vegetables with fried poultry meat (fry without sunflower oil), you can grill.
  • Late supper: if you really want to eat, you can eat vegetables or fruits 2 hours before bed, bananas in the evening is better to exclude.
  • This menu is best used for a week. Then its composition should be changed.
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Menu for women

The diet of women should be based on proteins. It’s beautiful skin, reliefs, and all this without excess weight. Menu for women:

  • Breakfast: a sandwich of black coarse grain bread, a little butter, on top of sliced bananas; you can drink with milk for breakfast, coffee or green tea. The second breakfast: an omelet from eggs with vegetables or yogurt is fat-free.
  • Lunch: vegetable soup, like the first dish, rice and fish for the second; you can add cabbage, like a salad, coffee-tea at will, but better without sugar.
  • Mid-Afternoon: kefir.
  • Dinner: chicken and vegetables, you can grill, or give preference to a double boiler, you can put it all together; welcome to eat cottage cheese without sour cream.
  • Late supper: you can drink a glass of kefir or eat some vegetables (cucumber, tomato), you can have fruit, but citrus fruits are better. 2 hours before bedtime, it is better not to eat. Follow this menu for a week.

Menu for children

It is especially important for children to receive all microelements, vitamins and minerals. Therefore, their food should contain the maximum possible amount of useful substances. Menu for children:

  • Breakfast: semolina porridge for breakfast – you can add a little cinnamon and oil – it does not hurt. The second breakfast: a sweet omelet from eggs, kefir or yogurt.
  • Lunch: soup either dairy or vegetable, wheat porridge with boiled chop for the second. You can make an easy salad of vegetables, as an addition.
  • Mid-Afternoon: fruit salad.
  • Dinner: to not load the child’s body at night, it is better to eat oatmeal.
  • Late supper: kefir, milk, fruit.

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Principle number 2: Dependence of proteins, fats and carbohydrates should be in a ratio of 1:1:4

Proteins, fats and carbohydrates perform different functions and each of these substances should be sufficient to meet the needs of organism.

Proteins

Proteins are responsible for the formation of internal organs, muscle tissue and strengthening immunity. Animal proteins are high-grade proteins with a high amino acid balance in the composition.

Fats

Fats participate in metabolic processes, help to assimilate vitamins and produce hormones. A diet without fat does not make the diet more healthy, as it eliminates fat-soluble vitamins and substances. Fats of animal origin should be 60-70% of the total amount of consumed fats, and vegetable – 30-35%.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy needed for the operation of all organs, muscles, growth and cell division. Therefore, their content in the diet is so great. Complex carbohydrates – wheat of solid sorts, macaroni and bread of coarse grind, whole grains of porridge, vegetables, fruits – must be included in a balanced diet.

The expert consultation of the World Health Organization recommends consumption of protein at least 0.75 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. The need for protein increases dramatically in children, pregnant women (5-9 months) and lactating women, athletes and can reach 1.2-1.5 g / kg / day.

The need for fats depends on the climate, the nature of the work activity. So for residents of the southern regions, the need for fats will be 0.7-0.9 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, and for residents of the northern regions – up to 1.3 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.

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With modern comfortable living conditions, the climate has become less important, and the rate of consumption of fats and carbohydrates is increasingly associated with the nature of work. With the mental work of fats and carbohydrates, 0.9-1.0 g / kg / day and 3.6-4.0 g / kg / day, respectively, are required.

Thus, the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates for different people may vary:

  • for workers of intellectual work – 1: 1: 4.
  • for people engaged in easy work – 1: 1,2: 4.
  • for people engaged in labor of medium difficulty- 1: 1.2: 4.6.
  • for athletes trying to build muscle mass – 1: 0,8: 4.
  • for teenagers – 1: 0.9: 4.2.
  • for people over 60 years old – 1: 1.1: 4.8.

Important: The harder and more intensively a man’s labor activity, the more fats and carbohydrates must be in his ration. With active sports or hard work, the need for fats and carbohydrates is 1.1-1.3 g / kg / day and 4.5-6.0 g / kg / day, respectively.

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Principle number 3: Indispensable adherence to the regime: food should be distributed for reception during the day

The term “ nutrition regime” includes the following components:

  • The number of meals or the amount of food.
  • Time of having meals and intervals between them.
  • The distribution of food according to the energy value, chemical composition
  • The behavior of a person when having meals.

There are three main points on how to distribute food during the day:

  1. The maximum must be a breakfast. In the first meal, food costs 40-50%, about 25% – for dinner and supper. This view is based on the fact that in the first half of the day, the life of most people is more active.
  2. According to the second opinion, the food should be distributed on the average by 3- 4 meals – 30% – on breakfast and dinner, 40% – on supper.
  3. The third point of view: maximum should be dinner – preferably 50%, 25% – for lunch and breakfast each one. If to stick to this variant, it is recommended to eat not later than 6-8 o’clock in the evening.

A healthy person should eat at least once every six hours, but not more than in four hours. To understand what interval you need, nutritionists recommend keeping a diet diary and experimenting. Remember, if you have inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, then the frequency of meals should be increased. And in the event that your weight is normal, then meals should be distributed evenly throughout the day. As for the amount of each meal and its composition, then everything depends on your goals.

Important: If you decide to eat more often in small portions then do not forget that the portion volume should be small: 200-250 milliliters and not more often than every 2.5 hours.

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Principle number 4: Creating the most acceptable conditions for the assimilation of food

First, you cannot eat on the run and in a hurry. Food should be taken in a measured way, thoroughly chewing it. This will allow you to eat much less at a meal. In addition, a person chewing on food spends far more calories than swallowing food. Do not forget that with slow chewing much more saliva is produced , which allows you to moisten the food and speed up digestion.

In those who love eating much, the stomach can stretch to 5-6 liters instead of the optimal two. This is fraught with all sorts of problems with the stomach, and therefore a violation of digestion. In order not to become a slave to your own stomach, it is also necessary to ensure the normal functioning of the digestive tract, it is important to eat a little, but 4-6 times a day.

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During the day a person needs to drink about 3.5-4 liters of water, including liquid food, as well as juicy fruits and vegetables that support the water balance in the body. And before eating you need to drink a glass of water to improve digestion. On the contrary, after a meal, you can not drink water, as it dilutes the gastric juice and slows the digestion process.

In the daily diet, cereals and legumes should be present, as well as all kinds of vegetables and fruits. These products are extremely necessary for the body due to the richness of fiber, which is able to purify it of toxins and toxins. Regular use of such foods will not let you lose fats, which are important for maintaining intestinal motility. In addition, it is necessary to control the level of vitamin A in the body, since it is important for the normal operation of the intestinal mucosa.

Important: Do not forget to maintain the level of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which protect against infections, and also establish the process of food assimilation. To do this, it is necessary to regularly include in the diet natural sour-milk products. Thinking about proper nutrition, you need to protect yourself from stress and keep a good mood, which is useful for digestion and coordinated work of all body systems and metered exercise.

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Principle number 5: Food and its preparation should meet sanitary and hygienic requirements

Keep raw products separately: Keep raw meat, poultry and seafood away from other foods. And store them in containers to avoid contact between the first and the second. In the refrigerator, raw food (if it is not in the freezer) keep below ready-to-eat or cooked foods. Raw, especially meat, poultry, seafood and their juice contain, dangerous microorganisms, which can “infect” other foods.

Conduct careful thermal processing: Thoroughly warm up the prepared food. This means that the products should be brought to a temperature of 70 ° C (then even large clusters of microorganisms are destroyed within 30 seconds) in order to be sure of their safety. Warm up the foods until they are really hot on all sides. The products that require special attention include chopped meat, meat rolls, large pieces of meat and whole poultry carcasses – they should be warmed up especially.

Keep products at safe temperature: What is meant by “safe”? The temperature is above 60 ° C or below 5 ° C. With the rest, the microorganisms multiply very quickly. And the best for them is the room temperature. Do not leave the finished products at the room temperature for more than 2 hours. Keep everything in the refrigerator, even cooked food (preferably below 5 ° C).

Use clean water to cook food: Uncleaned water from reservoirs is unsafe! It contains pests and pathogens that can cause diarrhea, typhoid fever or dysentery.

Important: Raw products, as well as water and ice, can contain dangerous microorganisms and chemicals. In spoiled or moldy foods, toxins can form. Carefully selected and well-washed or peeled products are less dangerous to health.
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