Most Nigerians eat junk foods and other unhealthy food types only for taste and just to satisfy hunger. They don’t even have time to nourish their bodies with the required diet. A healthy and balanced diet reduces stress level and promotes healthy life without suffering certain diseases. Thus, it stands out of outmost importance to us to examine the significance of a healthy body. It’s pertinent we cultivate the habit of consuming a balanced diet consisting of essential nutrients, liquids, adequate proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and calories. We should and must eat fresh fruits, salads, green leafy vegetables, milk, egg, youghurt etc. early enough in our lifetime in order to maintain healthy bodies.

What is balance diet?
Balance diet is a diet that contains all kinds of necessary ingredients in almost the required quantity. A diet that has in it all the essential nutrients that the human body requires e.g carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre and water (Narayana health).
Let’s take a look at these essential nutrients and where we can find them.

• Minerals: we require mainly iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and small quantity of iodine, copper etc. They can be found in green vegetables and fruits.
• Vitamins: we have a number of kinds of vitamins required bythe body e.g Vitamin A, B,C,D. Vitamin A is found in fish oil, butter, carrots, papaya, moringa leaf(Zogale), sweet potato, tomatoes etc. Vitamin B is found in green leafy vegetables, wheat grains, Banana etc. Vitamin C is found in green chili, green vegetables, lemon, orange, red cabbage, green tomatoes, grapefruit, potato, paw paw etc. Vitamin D is found in butter and sun rays. We also have Vitamin K which is found in sweet potato leaf, okra, lettuce, broccoli, red cabbage etc and Vitamin E is found in Almond, peanuts etc.
• Protein: Animal protein can be found in meats, poultry and fish.The white of an egg also contains protein. Another kind of protein is found in milk (casein), chese, soybeans, dry fruits etc.
• Fats: It’s found in butter, pork, coconut and all edible oils, cod liver oil and the yoke of an egg.
• Carbohydrates are found in popcorn, bread, beans, milk, corn, soft drinks etc. There are some carbohydrates that should be avoided e.g soda, Processed sugary cereal, potatoes chips and corn chips, french fries, doughnuts, canned fruits etc.
  Better still, we should eat only fresh, well washed and well cooked foods which are free from dust and flies. Fried foods and foods containing excess fats, spicies, chilis and road side eating should be avoided. We should take our last meal 2-3 hours before bed time ( some of us eat and jump into bed which is very unhealthy). There should be a time gap between two meals so that the food gets to digest properly in our stomach. Drink at least 7-8 glasses of water per day, it helps to balance blood pressure and supplies the body with nutrients quickly. Eating healthy builds our immune system and helps us to be more resistant to infections and diseases.

Wealth matters, but, health is important too. Spending money on junks has no advantage other than self-satisfaction. Being physically and mentally healthy helps an individual to be socially and financially healthy as well. If we don’t take care of our health, we would end up eventually losing the wealth we neglected our health for. Eat healthy and stay healthy. Your health is your wealth. – Jemimah Thomas

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