Eating healthy foods is important, but it isn't enough. Good nutrition is more complicated than just choosing certain foods over others. If you want to be healthy, you have to have a healthy diet plan that balances the five food groups. Otherwise, you won't have your foods in the right proportions, and that can lead to poor health.
One of the most neglected areas of the five fruit groups is fruits and vegetables. In the American diet in particular, people seldom get enough vegetables to eat. Fruits, although less important than their greener, leafier friends, are still significant. Many of them have excellent cancer fighting properties as well as quite a bit of fiber.
Of course, fiber is a matter that is rarely covered by the five food groups.. Having enough fiber is one of the most important aspects of a balanced diet, but you can't necessarily control your fiber intake just by choosing the right food groups. Both the group containing fruits and vegetables and the grain family contain fiber, for example, but individual foods vary greatly. Highly refined starch contains far less of it than raw vegetables or whole wheat, for example.
The bottom line is that, although you can't maintain a healthy diet without respecting the five food groups, you also can not use this particular model alone. On the one hand, you need to make sure you get enough fruits and vegetables, and enough grains. On the other hand, you have to make sure that the vegetables, grains, meats, and dairy products that you eat are the right ones. By having less processed, leaner, and healthier foods, you will increase your longevity and improve your health.
The best thing to do is to plan out a basic diet. By planning your meals ahead of time, you can ensure that you eat a healthy balance of foods. Use the five food groups as a guide, but also take into account your own tastes as well as which foods are available to you. Start out moderate and make incremental improvements. Soon, you'll be eating a healthier diet and living a happier life. You might not see the change immediately, but it shouldn't take too long. Usually, within a month at the most, people start to feel a noticeable change. It will take some effort and a little bit of patience, but the results will be more than worth it.
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