From the title it might seem like I am going to speak about some sort of tree hugging philosophy, not really. This article is about what the title means literally. We all know food is nourishment for our body. Good food for good health is very important.

Recently there is a trend for a lot of type of diet. Most famous of these diets is low carbohydrates (Atkins) diet, juice diets, cleanse diets etc. These plans of eating to lose weight or detoxification are not a healthy form of regular eating.

When it comes to diet, like anything in the world, balance is the key. There should be a balance among the three major food groups: carbohydrates, proteins and fibers. Rice, grains and other starchy foods are usually carbohydrates. Meat, fish and animal produce like dairy are proteins and vegetables are mostly fiber.

The basic idea is the body needs a healthy amount of these three types of food to function properly. Losing balance in diet can lead to health problems, which we are not so mindful about sometimes.

Fibers provide a wide variety of nutrients which help to build a strong immune system for the body. Vegetables are definitely the best as they provide the most nutrients with the least amount of waste in the body. This is why our bodies digest them with ease.

Now when it comes to proteins and carbohydrates, it becomes a little tricky. Since everyone is so much on the stay fit, look great bandwagon, it is often a problem for a lot of people to keep in shape and still enjoy food. But knowing what kind of food to eat can give us the key to eat satisfyingly and keep the weight in check.

If someone is working indoor and do not get a lot of movement during the day, a low carbohydrate diet is ideal. For us to function properly we need 2000 calories on an average every day. Roughly 40% of which has to be carbohydrates. This amount can be increased or decreased depending on how the person feels throughout the day. But eating too much of this would result in weight gain or undesirable body shapes. Carbohydrates usually accumulate around the center of the body (belly, thighs etc.) so careful control can give a person slim and fit appearance.

Proteins are equally important as carbohydrates. It helps us to maintain healthy muscles, bones and skin. One could live without proteins altogether but such a diet would make the body extremely fragile.

So deducible is that we need to control how much carbohydrates we take along with a healthy measure of proteins and fibers. Controlling carbohydrates is not as hard as it might sound.

Provided that a person eats a healthy amount of other two food groups, the person will feel content with eating limited amount of carbohydrates.

A wonderful natural system that our body has is the tongue. A person can feel that depending on what he needs in his body, he will find certain types of food tasting really good. One just has to follow the tongue and he/she will be on the right track.

But not when it comes to processed and junk food. This type of food are made with added salt and sugar to make it taste better and are to be avoided at all cost.

Eat healthy, organic and fresh produce as much as possible and you will see that not only are you keeping the weight off but you will also feel great. A healthy body is the key to a healthy mind and most importantly happiness.

The writer is a chef and food enthusiast. E-mail: fthosssain@gmail.com