Eating a well-balanced healthy diet not only helps to maintain health, but can also improve health. Healthy diets offer the benefits of reducing the risks of several chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. Healthy diets include the correct amounts of all the essential nutrients that the body requires to function properly as well as proper amounts of water consumption. Although healthy diets do not have to be specifically planned, they need to contain the proper amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates as well as micronutrients, which can be obtained by consuming a wide variety of healthy foods. When these nutrients are consumed in proper amounts without over or under consumption, the results are extremely beneficial to the body.

The Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are highly beneficial to the body as they contain essential vitamins, minerals and important compounds. These are the foods that the body was meant to receive. They contain folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, C and E, dietary fiber and contain no cholesterol or high amounts of fat or calories. These important nutrients are essential for proper red blood cell production, preventing high blood pressure, reducing cholesterol levels, which reduce the risk of heart disease and maintaining proper bowel habits. They also help the body ward off infections, keep the skin and eyes healthy, help iron to be absorbed, keeps teeth healthy and prevents gum disease. They can help the body to heal faster from wounds and play a vital role in protecting essential fatty acids and vitamin A from cellular oxidation. By eating proper amounts of fruits and vegetables, individuals can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, coronary artery disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes and kidney stones.

The Health Benefits of Whole Grains
Consuming foods that contain whole grains offer several different health benefits. Grains contain important minerals, vitamin B and dietary fiber. The health benefits of consuming grains include lowered risk of heart disease, healthy blood cell formation, and proper metabolism for energy, strong bones and lower cholesterol levels. Chronic diseases can help be prevented by the essential nutrients found in grains. They also can help maintain proper weight, prevent constipation and can reduce the risk of developing coronary artery disease.

The old saying of "We are what we eat" is true. Choosing to eat healthy not only benefits the physical body, but also helps keep the mind and emotional health stable, and when people eat healthy, they naturally feel better about themselves. The best thing about eating healthy and benefiting from it is that anyone can start implementing it immediately. By cutting out foods that are high in fats and sugar and replacing them with healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains, results will be noticed quickly and the benefits that will be reaped will appear as more energy, proper body weight and an improved over-all feeling of well-being.