We achieve food balance by varying our diet to provide our body with the nutrients and energy necessary for its proper functioning. It is considered that the food balance is reached when the daily energy intake is provided at a rate of about 15% by proteins, 30% by lipids and 50% by carbohydrates. Overview of the fundamentals of food balance.

A balanced diet: the key points of the National Health Nutrition Program

The National Health Nutrition Program (PNNS) offers nutritional recommendations to prevent the onset of certain diseases and promote public health.

To get a concrete idea, the program offers the following key points of reference:

• Fruits and vegetables : at least 5 portions of 80 to 100 g per day (raw, cooked, fresh, frozen or canned).
• Nuts : a small handful per day (except allergy). To be consumed without added salt.
• legumes : at least twice a week.
• Cereals products : every day, favoring complete or unrefined products.
• Dairy products : 2 portions per day (one portion corresponds to 150 ml of milk, 125 g of yogurt or 30 g of cheese).
• Meat : 500 g maximum per week. Favor poultry and limit the consumption of red meat.
• Fish and seafood : 2 servings per week, including one of oily fish. Vary the species and supply locations to limit exposure to contaminants.
• Delicatessen : limit to 150 g per week maximum.
• Added fat : to limit. Favor vegetable fats, in particular rapeseed, walnut and olive oils. Vegetable margarines can also be of interest.
• Sweet products : to limit, in particular the products at the same time sweet and fatty.
• Drinks : favor water and limit sugary or sweetened drinks, as well as alcohol. Tea, coffee, and herbal teas can help with water intake if they are not sweetened.
• Salt : To reduce.

Calorie intake

What is a calorie?

The calorie is a unit of measurement of the energy provided by food, energy that our body needs to function. Calories are one of our most basic needs, they are the fuel that runs our body. We consume it every day through our diet and spend it through our physical activity.

What are our calorie needs?

The amount of calories needed depends on many factors such as age, gender, height, weight and level of physical activity.

On average, an adult male needs an energy intake of 2400-2900 calories per day (depending on the level of physical activity). An adult woman needs 1800 to 2200 calories.

The most caloric foods

Among the foods with the highest calories, we will find oils, fried foods, butter, margarine, oilseeds (nuts), cold meats, milk chocolate … Please note, not all are equal: for example, oilseeds have a high caloric intake, but provide interesting nutrients, while cold meats provide bad fats and few interesting nutrients. Moreover, it will be more often in plant food that we find the most essential nutrients and therefore beneficial effects on health compared to animal feed, that is to say focused mainly on meat consumption.

The lowest calorie foods

In the camp of the least caloric foods, there are of course fruits and vegetables, such as green beans, spinach, lemon, leek, but also tofu.

Nutrient intake

In general, it is recommended to favor water, cereals and derivatives, fruits and vegetables and, to a lesser extent, dairy products, meat, fish and eggs, unsaturated fats (“good fats”) , and limit the consumption of saturated fats (“bad fats”) and processed sugar.  

If the energy our body needs to function is quantified in calories, it is provided by the nutrients found in the food we eat.

The nutrient supply of a food varies according to its freshness or its cooking method.

The three groups of nutrients

Nutrients are generally classified into three groups:

• Macronutrients : proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.

Together with water, they make up about 98% of the diet. They provide the calories, therefore the energy.

The protein are necessary for the manufacture and repair of bones, skin, cell membranes, antibodies, hormones… They are found in meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, cereals and legumes.

The lipids are all fat. They are essential for the functioning of the circulatory, hormonal, immune and nervous systems. We distinguish between unsaturated fats (“good fats”) and saturated fats (“bad fats”).  

The carbohydrates, also called carbohydrates, provide energy (calories) and fiber. Among the lipids, there are “complex sugars”, composed of starch (potatoes, legumes, etc.) and “simple sugars”, composed of fructose, glucose, lactose or sucrose (fruits, vegetables, milk, etc.). honey…). Carbohydrates are classified according to their “glycemic index”, that is to say according to their hyperglycemic effects. For example, pasta or lentils have a low GI, while bread or fries have a high GI.

We monitor lipids and carbohydrates when we have cholesterol and carbohydrates in diabetes.

• Micronutrients: vitamins and minerals. They do not provide energy (they do not contain calories) and are present in tiny amounts, but are essential for the functioning of cells.

• Fibers : strictly speaking, they are not nutrients because the body does not absorb them, but they play a crucial role in the functions of digestion.

Essential nutrients

Among all the nutrients, about fifty are considered “essential” in the sense that the body cannot synthesize them itself in sufficient quantities and a deficiency, even slight, can cause health problems.

In other words, it is imperative that we find them in our diet, hence the importance of a varied diet.

The main essential nutrients:

• Vitamins: A (retinol), B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 ​​(pyridoxine), B8 (biotin), B9 (folic acid), B12 (cyanocobalamin), C, D , E, K.
• The minerals : calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium, fluorine, iodine, molybdenum, chlorine.
• Unsaturated fatty acids: linoleic acid, alpha linolenic acid.
• Amino acids: leucine, lysine, isoleucine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, valine, phenylalanine, histidine.

Recommended nutritional intake (ANC)

Nutritional balance is achieved when food optimally covers all of the body’s nutritional needs. The ANCs are recommendations for each type of nutrient, for a day. They are calculated on the basis of the average nutritional needs of a group of individuals representative of the population.

In France, ANCs are published and revised by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES). They should not be confused with the RDI (Recommended Daily Allowance), which serve as a reference value on food labels.

The recommended nutritional intakes for an adult (practicing moderate physical activity) are as follows:

• 45 to 60% of calories ingested each day should be derived from carbohydrates (250 g including 50 g of sucrose).
• 11 to 15% of the calories ingested must come from protein (45 g for a 55 kg person or 60 g for a 75 kg person).
• 35 to 40% calories must be provided by lipids (70 g of which 50 g of unsaturated fat and 20 g of saturated fat).
• 25 to 30 g de fibers (half of which comes from cereals and the other half from fruits and vegetables).
• At least a liter and a half of water.

Generally :

• 25% of the food ingested must come from the family of thestarch.
• 25% of the food ingested must come from the family of fruits and vegetables.
• The 50% remainder are shared equally between the foods of the family of meat, fish and eggs, the dairy products, the lipids and sweet products.