What does a balanced diet include?

Basic coverage of the entire category, matching of calories and consumption, and adaptation to individual needs. Those requirements for holding a food scale accurate to the gram are prepared for special groups such as fitness preparations and clinical intervention. Ordinary people do not need to be restricted.

When I helped my mother adjust her diet two years ago, she was particularly resistant. She said that she had eaten plain porridge with pickles all her life without any problems. However, the physical examination revealed mild anemia and low albumin. I didn't make any complicated recipes for her and just let her stew it. Mix a small handful of millet or oats when making rice, add a palm-sized piece of lean meat or fish when cooking at noon, and eat a small apple or orange instead of melon seeds in the afternoon. After more than three months of simple adjustment, the indicators were all normal again. In fact, covering all categories is really not that complicated. You don’t need to collect cereals, potatoes, meat and eggs, fruits and vegetables, and soy milk at every meal. You can just touch them all throughout the day. If you are in a hurry in the morning and don’t eat vegetables, you can make up for it by picking up two extra chopsticks at noon. There is no need to worry about such small things.

Many people's misunderstanding about balance is "eat all kinds but less of each kind." A little girl born in the 2000s came to me for consultation and said that she eats vegetables and meat every day and eats staple food as well. Why has she been away from her aunt for three months in a row? I calculated for her that the total calories she eats in a day is only about 800 calories, which is not as high as her basal metabolism. This is not called a balanced diet, but a diet. To use an analogy, it's like you add all types of lubricating oil, coolant, and gasoline to a sports car, but the total amount of oil is only enough to run 10 kilometers. Of course, the car will break down. If ordinary office workers sit for long periods of time, it’s okay to eat less than two bites of their staple food. If they plan to go hiking for an afternoon on the weekend, eating two more bowls of noodles won’t be considered a “diet out of control”. The amount is never fixed and has to follow your consumption.

There is a lot of quarrel on the Internet right now about "should we completely quit refined carbohydrates and added sugars?" There is actually no standard answer. One group of nutritionists holds that refined carbohydrates raise blood sugar quickly, and long-term consumption of large amounts can easily increase metabolic burden and aggravate the problems of acne and weight gain. It is best to replace them with whole grains.； The other group believes that if ordinary people have normal metabolism, there is no need to regard white rice and flour as a scourge. When you are in a hurry, eating a bowl of white rice with green vegetables and braised eggs is better than eating fried takeout with high oil and salt. I usually eat white rice, and drink iced Coke when it’s too hot in the summer. As long as I don’t eat every meal and drink it every day, the overall dietary framework is correct. There is really no need to count the glycemic index of every piece of bread for half a day in order to be “absolutely balanced”. Making eating a burden goes against the original intention of balance.

I have been a dietary guide for so many years, and the most common thing I tell people is that there is never a unified template for a balanced diet. Some people are lactose intolerant and cannot drink milk, so they should eat more soy products and dark green vegetables to get enough calcium.； Some people are allergic to seafood and cannot eat fish and shrimp, so eating more lean pork, beef, and chicken can still provide enough high-quality protein. As long as you don't feel uncomfortable after eating, and you don't feel hungry before meals, you have regular bowel movements, and there are no problems with your annual physical examination indicators, then it is the best balanced diet for you.