The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidelines on diet, emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet for overall well-being. A balanced diet helps provide essential nutrients and reduces the risk of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
WHO’s Recommendations for a Healthy Diet
- Eat More Fruits and Vegetables: Include a variety of vegetables, raw vegetables, and seasonal fruits in your daily diet.
- Limit Salt Intake: Consume no more than one teaspoon of salt per day. Opt for iodized salt.
- Avoid Trans Fats: Reduce consumption of foods high in trans fats, such as fried foods, baked goods, and packaged snacks like frozen pizzas, pies, cookies, and wafers.
- Use Healthy Oils: Replace butter and ghee with polyunsaturated oils like soybean, canola, corn, and sunflower oils.
- Cut Down on Sugars: Excessive sugar intake can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Limit sugary drinks like carbonated beverages, sports drinks, ready-to-drink teas, and flavored milk.
- Moderate Grain Intake: Limit the amount of grains in your diet. A balanced plate should have up to 45% grains. Beans, eggs, and meat products should make up about 14-15% of your total energy intake. Fats should constitute around 30% of your energy intake, with nuts, seeds, milk, and dairy products making up 8-10% of daily energy.
- Eat More Fruits and Vegetables: To reduce sugar, salt, and fat intake, focus on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers should include more milk, eggs, and meat in their diet.
Following these guidelines can help you maintain a healthy diet and improve overall health.