Balanced Diet
The official guidelines for balanced healthy eating are issued by the United States Department of Agriculture and are illustrated in the popular Food Guide Pyramid.

What is A Balanced Diet?
Eating a healthy balanced diet involves consuming a variety of foods that are high in nutrients. A well balanced diet advises that use select foods from all the basic food groups. You should limit foods that contain saturated or trans fats, sugars, cholesterol, alcohol, and salt.

Dietary Fat Recommendations
You should consume less that ten percent of your total calories from saturated fat. Polysaturated and monosaturated fats should make up between 25 and 30 percent of your calories. In addition, you should consume less than 300mg a day of cholesterol and try to avoid trans fats as much as possible.

Carbohydrate Recommendations
Carbohydrates are essential components of a balanced diet. You should eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains that are full of fiber as often as possible. In addition try to avoid drinks with added sugar or sweeteners.

Dietary Protein Recommendations
While the Dietary Guidelines do not specifically address protein, it is recommended that your balanced diet consists of lean meats and poultry. You should prepare the food by baking, broiling, or grilling it.

Dietary Sodium and Potassium
The best balanced diet consists of less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. This is equivalent to a teaspoon of salt. To eat a balanced diet you should select low sodium and potassium rich foods.

Other Recommendations
You should try to two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables everyday. In addition you should choose your fruits and vegetables from all of the sub groups. You should also consume 3 or more ounces of whole grain foods per day. Also, try to drink three cups a day of fat free or low fat milk. If you are lactose intolerant, try calcium containing alternatives.

Conclusion
The benefits of a balanced diet are indisputable. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise can reduce your risk of disease, obesity, as well as psychological issues.

Keep in mind that the definition of a balanced diet may vary slightly depending on the individual. For example, there are vegetarian balanced diets or wiggles + balanced diets available.