Define and give one example of a balanced diet.

A balanced diet is the one which has all the nutrients present in it that are required by the body for its proper functioning. Complete answer: To solve the question, we must know what exactly a balance is and all the essential minerals and nutrients that are required by our body. For the proper functioning of the body and to maintain good health, we require certain minerals and nutrients which we get from the food that we eat. Different minerals and nutrients are required by the body in different quantities. We must ensure that these must be present in our diet in the required quantity. An example of a balanced diet is Breakfast – Porridge, cornflakes and any seasonal fruit or an egg. Lunch- Rice and dal or vegetable and paratha, salad, buttermilk or curd Evening snack- Milk, biscuit and seasonal fruit. Dinner- Chapatis and any seasonal vegetables, salad and dal. Apart from this, people with various deficiency diseases should modify their meals accordingly and add or delete the nutrient portions. A balanced diet should definitely consist of proteins (body-building food), carbohydrates (energy-giving food) and protective food like fruits and vegetables. The deficiency of any nutrients in our diet might lead to some deficiency disease. So we must ensure that our diet is well balanced and contains all the essential elements. Note: Apart from a balanced diet we must also drink 7-8 glasses of water every day. The food should also include a sufficiently good amount of roughage.