In most respects, being “out of balance” is not a good thing. It commonly is said that you should consume a “balanced diet.” This is a rather vague term for most of us, but we often have used it like we expect everyone to know what it means regarding diet, nutrition and health.

A brief internet search of terms like “balanced diet” and “nutritional balance” brings up tens of millions of hits and a great deal of confusion. Many of the hits link to websites that refer to the calorie balance to achieve a desired body weight or amount of body fat. Other sites address things like achieving a biochemical balance that removes toxins from the diet and decreases negative health conditions like inflammation, fatigue, headaches and insomnia. Still other sites discuss nutritional balance as a way of healing at a deep level.

While we agree that all of these concepts are related to nutritional balance achieved from a so-called balanced diet, none tells the whole story.

QUESTION: What do the terms “balanced diet” or “nutritional balance” really mean?

ANSWER: A balanced diet is a way of eating that creates nutritional balance. That might sound like a circular definition, but nutritional balance means keeping a constant internal environment with the right supply of the chemicals we call nutrients. The body’s cells are constantly losing and acquiring essential nutrients. All cells function at their best when the nutrient loss is balanced by an adequate supply to maintain cellular equilibrium, also called homeostasis. Both inadequate and excess supply can cause problems.

Of course, cells don’t last forever. When you look in the mirror, you can’t tell that cells are constantly being lost and replaced, but they are. For example, red blood cells live about four months and are replaced by new ones. The cells lining the intestinal tract last only about three days, so new replacement cells take their place.

All of this cellular death and replacement requires an adequate supply of essential nutrients and calories (energy). So, at its foundation, nutritional balance requires an adequate and steady supply of over 40 essential nutrients. The amounts of these essential nutrients needed to maintain homeostasis vary greatly from nutrient to nutrient. These needs also vary somewhat from person to person and are especially affected by rapid growth, level of activity and state of health.

Q: How important is being in nutritional balance?

A: One of the most basic drives of any animal, including humans, is the drive to obtain adequate amounts of all essential nutrients. Consequently, when we are functioning right, we have appetites that drive us to consume a wide variety of food that provides all the essential nutrients and calories needed.

If the variety and amount of food does not keep up with these needs, cell function and replacement are compromised. This negative balance gradually leads to increasingly severe nutrient deficiency symptoms that vary with the specific nutrient or nutrients in short supply.

Q: How does a person achieve nutritional balance?

A: Eating only foods on the “healthy” list won’t do the job unless a wide variety of food from all food groups is consumed in adequate amounts. If this is not done, dietary supplements could be needed to fill the gaps.

Upcoming “Health Options” columns will focus on the various organ systems in the body and linking them with key foods and nutrients that have major impacts on their function.

Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.