Healthy diet from WHO prospect

According many studies and researches, WHO has put certain features and criteria matching with daily needs and internal biochemical reactions. With them you could be guided about your food as possible and your role to make little adaptation with your way of feeding according to your lifestyle. food is important and how you feed yourself is most important ever than before particularly in our atmosphere which fill of mess of products and brands. The below criteria of ideal food could help to keep your body healthy and in balance with external environments and also numerous stressors. Before enumerate the characters of ideal meal, for sure the main aim and goal would be highlighted;

Ø  A healthy diet helps protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Ø  Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.

Ø  Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.

Ø  Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. Evidence indicates that total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake to avoid unhealthy weight gain (1, 2, 3), with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the elimination of industrial trans fats (4).

Ø  Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 5) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (5).

Ø  Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day helps prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (6).

Ø  WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% and halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (7, 8, 9).

 Healthy food for adults should contain;

Ø  Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice).

Ø  At least 400 g (5 portions) of fruits and vegetables a day (2). Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables.

Ø  Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars (2, 5) which is equivalent to 50 g (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2000 calories per day, but ideally less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits (5). Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and can also be found in sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

Ø  Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats (1, 2, 3). Unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard) (3). Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet.

Ø  Less than 5 g of salt (equivalent to approximately 1 teaspoon) per day (6) and use iodized salt.

In order to keep society individuals ongoing with healthy food along; that should be implemented in form of regular promotional health campaigns. Moreover, government, public and private sector are considered three basic stakeholders can adapt markets and delivery channels network to offer healthy meals