{"id":175,"date":"2021-02-11T19:29:38","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/?post_type=chapter&p=175"},"modified":"2021-02-11T19:40:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:40:19","slug":"healthy-diet","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/chapter\/healthy-diet\/","title":{"raw":"Healthy diet","rendered":"Healthy diet"},"content":{"raw":"A\u00a0healthy\u00a0diet<\/a><\/b>\u00a0is one that helps maintain or improve overall\u00a0health<\/a>. A healthy diet provides the body with essential\u00a0nutrition<\/a>: fluid,\u00a0macronutrients<\/a>,\u00a0micronutrients<\/a>, and adequate\u00a0calories<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\r\nA healthy diet may contain fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and includes little to no\u00a0processed food<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0sweetened beverages<\/a>. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods, although a non-animal source of\u00a0vitamin B12<\/a>\u00a0is needed for those following a\u00a0vegan diet<\/a>.[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Various\u00a0nutrition guides<\/a>\u00a0are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate individuals on what they should be eating to be healthy.\u00a0Nutrition facts labels<\/a>\u00a0are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to health.[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n

Recommendations<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

World Health Organization<\/span><\/h3>\r\nThe\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>\u00a0(WHO) makes the following five recommendations with respect to both populations and individuals:[6]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Maintain a healthy weight by eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Limit intake of fats. Not more than 30% of the total calories should come from fats. Prefer\u00a0unsaturated fats<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0saturated fats<\/a>. Avoid\u00a0trans fats<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Eat at least 400 grams of\u00a0fruits<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0vegetables<\/a>\u00a0per day (potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots do not count). A healthy diet also contains\u00a0legumes<\/a>\u00a0(e.g. lentils, beans),\u00a0whole grains<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0nuts<\/a>.[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Limit the intake of simple\u00a0sugars<\/a>\u00a0to less than 10% of calorie (below 5% of calories or 25 grams may be even better).[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Limit\u00a0salt<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0sodium<\/a>\u00a0from all sources and ensure that\u00a0salt is iodized<\/a>. Less than 5 grams of salt per day can reduce the risk of\u00a0cardiovascular disease<\/a>.[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe WHO has stated that insufficient\u00a0vegetables<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0fruit<\/a>\u00a0is the cause of 2.8% of deaths worldwide.[9]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\r\nOther WHO recommendations include:\r\n