Eduardo Cesar / Pesquisa FAPESPAt the market, remember to choose a wide variety of vegetablesEduardo Cesar / Pesquisa FAPESP
Is your diet adequate, balanced, moderate, and diverse? These are the principles of a healthy diet recommended in a joint statement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). A diet is adequate if it provides specific nutrients for a person’s age, body mass, level of physical activity, and possible diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension; balanced if it contains the recommended proportions of proteins, carbohydrates (sugars), and fats (saturated fats, found in meat, milk, and dairy products, should not exceed 10% of the total calories consumed per day); moderate if nothing is consumed in excess; and diverse if it contains a variety of items from each of the three food groups. The WHO recommends that carbohydrates should come primarily from whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and pulses such as beans. Adults should eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day. The statement emphasizes that diets can only be considered healthy if the foods and drinks do not cause adverse health effects when consumed (FAO and WHO, October).
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