5 Benefits of Healthy Diets

5 Benefits of Healthy Diets

A healthful diet includes a variety of fruits and vegetables of many colors, whole grains and starches, good fats, and lean proteins. Eating healthfully also means avoiding foods with high amounts of added salt and sugar.

In this article, we look at the top 5 benefits of a healthful diet, as well as the evidence behind them.

1. Weight loss

There are many benefits to eating healthfully. Losing weight can help to reduce the risk of chronic conditions. If a person is overweight or obese, they have a higher risk of developing several conditions, including:

• heart disease
• non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
• poor bone density
• some cancers

Whole vegetables and fruits are lower in calories than most processed foods. A person looking to lose weight should reduce their calorie intake to no more than what they require each day.

Determining an individual's calorie requirements is easy using dietary guidelines published by the United States government. Maintaining a healthful diet free from processed foods can help a person to stay within their daily limit without having to count calories. Fiber is one element of a healthful diet that is particularly important for managing weight. Plant-based foods contain plenty of dietary fiber, which helps to regulate hunger by making people feel fuller for longer.

In 2018, researchers found that a diet rich in fiber and lean proteins resulted in weight loss without the need for counting calories.