What is a healthy diet?

This is a great question and one that is surprisingly hard to answer. I would describe a healthy diet as a diet that:

• Enjoyable for the person eating it (as in a healthy diet isn’t a diet that someone has to suffer through)
• Is sustainable for the person it (as in it includes foods that people can afford, have the time to prepare and fits in with their daily routine)
• Is socially inclusive (as in the foods included in the diet easily allow people to eat with others and doesn’t prevent people from eating with friends or family members)
• Includes lots of whole, unprocessed foods that come from a plant (such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans) and sources of healthy fats, such as olive oil, canola oil or salmon
• Allows people to meet/reach their health goals by providing the right amount of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals for them

But why are each of these components an important part of a healthy diet? Keep reading to find out!