Healthy Eating Guidelines: A Balanced Diet

Reviewed: 2024 March 19

As the result of media reportage, it is understandable that many believe that increased consumption of specific foods (i.e., “superfoods”) is the key to a healthy diet.

In fact, the three “healthy eating” practices for which there is the most scientific support are:

  1. The value of increasing consumption of vegetables and fruit.
  2. Managing glycemic load (i.e., limiting consumption of foods that “spike” blood-sugar levels).
  3. Maintaining  a healthy body-weight.

These three practices are goals can be achieved, simply, by consistent consumption of a balanced diet.

A healthy, well-balanced diet, combined with regular exercise and avoidance of tobacco-use can reduce rates of heart disease by 80%, and prevent the majority of cancers.

Poor eating choices increase your probability of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, digestive conditions, age-related vision loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

Considered in this light, the relationship between the standard North American diet (i.e., over-size portions; high in red meats, refined grains and “junk” foods) and chronic disease becomes clear.

It is possible to eat a healthy, balanced diet (including the recommended 5 to 13 servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruit), consistent with what the Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating describes in their research-based “Healthy Eating Plate”, by following a few simple guidelines at each of your three daily major meals.

Comparison to the Standard American Diet

Eating according to the Harvard Medical School’s “Healthy Eating Plate” is superior to the Standard American Diet in every important dietary consideration. It results in diet having fewer:

  • Calories
  • Saturated fat
  • Refined carbohydrates

And increased (intake of):

  • Fiber
  • Vitamins
  • Minerals
  • Antioxidants
  • Phytochemicals (e.g., immune system stimulating chemicals)
  • Blood-sugar control
  • Satiety (i.e., decreased sensation of hunger, and impulsive eating)

Balancing Your Diet

Consuming a well balanced diet is as simple as ensuring that your dietary intake consists of:

  • 25 percent protein-rich foods
  • 25 percent (and not more) “starchy” foods
  • 50 percent “non-starchy” vegetables and fruit

Protein-rich foods:

Protein–rich foods include:

  • Fish and seafood
  • Poultry
  • Land animal meats (e.g., beef, pork, game meats)
  • Eggs
  • Dairy products
  • Beans
  • Nuts and seeds

“Preferred” sources are:

  • Cold-water fish (e.g., salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, tuna)
  • Game meats (e.g., elk)
  • Grass-fed beef
  • Poultry

Sources to limit are:

  • Dairy (limit to 1 serving daily)
  • Highly processed meats (e.g., bacon, hot dog weiners, luncheon meats)

Examples of a single serving:

  • Meat – “palm-sized” (75 g, 2.5 oz)
  • Milk – 1 cup (250 mL)
  • Beans – 0.75 cup (175 mL)
  • Nuts and seeds –  0.25 cup (60 mL)

“Starchy” foods:

“Starchy” foods include:

  • Grains and products made from grains (e.g., cooked rice, bread, pasta)
  • “Starchy” vegetables (i.e., potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, squash, turnips, parsnips, beets)

“Preferred” sources are:

  • Nutrient-rich vegetables (e.g., sweet potatoes, beets)
  • Protein-rich grains (e.g., gamut, quinoa)

Sources to limit are:

  • Refined grains (e.g., “white” bread)

Examples of a single serving:

  • Bread – “palm-sized” (1 slice)
  • Rice – “half-fist” (0.5 cup, 125 mL)
  • Pasta – “half-fist” (0.5 cup, 125 mL)

“Non-starchy” vegetables and fruit:

“Non-starchy” vegetables and fuit include:

  • Vegetables (except “starchy” vegetables)
  • Fruit

“Preferred” sources are:

  • Multiple colours of vegetables and fruit at each meal

Sources to limit are:

  • Fruit juices (limit to 1 serving daily)

Examples of a single serving:

  • Whole vegetable or fruit – “fist-sized” (1 whole fruit)
  • Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables – “half-fist” (0.5 cup, 125 mL)
  • Leafy vegetables – “fist-sized” (1 cup, 250 mL)
  • Fruit juice – 0.5 cup (125 mL)

References

The Nutrition Source [Internet]. Harvard School of Public Health. Vegetables and fruit: get plenty every day. [cited 2013 July 10]. Available from: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vegetables-full-story/.

The Nutrition Source [Internet]. Harvard School of Public Health. Healthy eating plate. [cited 2013 July 10]. Available from:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/.

Willet WC. Eat, drink and be healthy: the Harvard Medical School guide to healthy eating. Toronto: Free Press; 2001.

Burford-Mason A. Nutrition for Docs 2008; 2008 Oct 4-5; Toronto, ON: Ontario Society of Physicians for Complementary Medicine and The Complementary Medicine Section, Ontario Medical Association; 2008.

Handy Guide to Serving Sizes [pamphlet]. Dieticians of Canada.

List of High Protein Grains {Internet}. USDA Nutrition Data; 2024 [cited 2024 Mar 19]. Available from: https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/grains-high-in-protein.php.

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