A Healthy Eating Plan

Almost everyone has deviated away from healthy eating plans because of the temptations of chocolate, fast foods among other factors. 

A combination of a healthy eating plan and basic regular exercises is the key to a stress-free and healthy life.

Essential Nutrients in a Healthy Eating Plan

The body contains some standard minimum nutritional needs which ought to be fulfilled every day. 

Here are standard figures for every nutrient to help you in the evaluation of your daily healthy eating plan.

Carbohydrates: You need to have 45 to 65% of daily intake of calories from the carbohydrates. Legumes, beans and grains are a few of the possible sources of carbohydrates. Remember to limit your intake of sugar from candy or any other sweet product.

Proteins: You need to obtain 10 to 35% of daily calorie intake from the proteins. Proteins have both plant and animal sources. Legumes, dairy products and meat are examples of such sources.

Fat: You need to obtain 20 to 35% of the daily intake of calories from the fats. You must however limit the saturated intake of fats to 10%. Trans-fat intake should never exceed 1%.

Nuts and oils, such as olive oil, are the possible sources of good fats while saturated fat is available in red meat, coconut oil, butter and poultry. Trans-fat sources are cookies, crackers, and donuts among others.

Cholesterol: Your daily intake of cholesterol should never go beyond 300 milligrams. The body has a sufficient amount of cholesterol for proper functioning of the cells. Any extra cholesterol consumed will result in the fatty deposits within your arteries. 

Eggs, meat, dairy products, poultry and seafood are some common cholesterol sources. 

You should go very easy on these, if not avoid them altogether.

Fiber: The fiber requirement for each day differs according to a person's gender. 

The fiber intake recommended for each day is 30 to 38 grams for the males and 21 to 25 grams for females.

Vegetables, oats and dried beans are a few of the rich fiber sources. 

Fiber helps in the prevention of constipation and maintenance of healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Tips on Healthy Eating Plans

Opt for dairy products: There is a misconception that a person will only end up with a healthy diet plan if he cuts out every dairy product from his diet. 

However, some dairy products are great sources of vitamins and calcium and should therefore feature in your healthy eating plan. Use the skimmed milk, low-fat milk or the soy milk if you desire to have the best eating plan.

Go Green: Although most people think that a vegetarian diet has nothing to offer when it comes to nutrition, a vegetarian diet will have many delicious and healthy alternatives to the nutrients offered by meat alongside other options for non-vegetarians. 

Any diet consisting of fresh vegetables, nuts, fruits and other foodstuffs such as tofu is not only delicious but an ideal option for any healthy diet plan. 

If you are a hardcore non-vegetarian, ensure you don't take excess meat and have your meat intake balanced out with sufficient vegetables as well as fresh fruits. To moderate the meat intake, incorporate tofu or meat substitutes in your daily diet.