Healthy eating is one of the most important things you can do for your body. A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons in the fight against heart disease. Use our recommendations to make smart choices and eat healthy, in order to benefit your heart and your overall health. A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons in the fight against heart disease. Use our guidelines to make smart choices to benefit your heart and your overall health. In the fight against cardiovascular disease involves making the right choices when it comes to food and exercise. Develop and maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle with steps towards living healthier. The key to healthy living is making healthy choices. Learn some simple steps that can make a big difference in a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet is one that helps to maintain or improve overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, adequate essential amino acids from protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and adequate calories. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods. A healthy diet supports energy needs and provides for human nutrition without exposure to toxicity or excessive weight gain from consuming excessive amounts. Where lack of calories is not an issue, a properly balanced diet (in addition to exercise) is also thought to be important for lowering health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Food can be divided into energy content and nutrients. The breakdown of fats, proteins and carbohydrates will determine how much energy the body can derive from a given amount of food. Fats and carbohydrates are mainly used for energy, while protein is broken down into amino acids to be used in building and repairing cells and tissues. The nutrients of a food include all the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to stay healthy against sickness. Food is essential for our bodies to: • develop, replace and repair cells and tissues; • produce energy to keep warm, move and work; • carry out chemical processes such as the digestion of food; • protect against, resist and fight infection and recover from sickness. Food is made up of nutrients. Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals are needed only in small amounts. Macronutrients such as carbohydrates, protein and fat are needed in larger amounts. The body cannot function properly if one or more nutrients are missing. A healthy and balanced diet provides foods in the right amounts and combinations that are safe and free from disease and harmful substances. Prevention is better than cure. The earlier a person starts to eat a healthy and balanced diet, the more he or she will stay healthy. Once weight has been lost it may be difficult to regain it because of tiredness and lack of appetite.