Learn Hardcore German: Ausgewogene Ernährung hilft mir, gesund zu bleiben.

In German, all nouns are capitalized no matter where they appear in a sentence. Since Ernährung (nutrition) is a noun, it gets an uppercase E.

How is the adjective ausgewogene declined here, and why does it end in ‑e?

Because there's no article before Ernährung, the adjective takes strong declension. For a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, the correct strong ending is ‑e (so ausgewogene).

Why is there no indefinite article (e.g., eine) before ausgewogene Ernährung?

When making general statements in German, articles are often omitted to express the concept in a broad sense. Saying Ausgewogene Ernährung hilft mir… talks about a balanced diet in general, not one specific diet.

Why is mir used instead of mich after hilft?

The verb helfen always requires the dative case in German. mir is the first‑person singular dative pronoun (while mich is accusative, which would be incorrect here).

What function does gesund zu bleiben serve in this sentence?

It's an infinitive clause (with zu + infinitive) that works as a complement to hilft. It explains what the balanced diet helps you do: stay healthy.

Why is there a comma before gesund zu bleiben?

German punctuation rules require a comma before dependent infinitive clauses introduced by zu when they depend on an earlier verb (here hilft). This comma marks the start of the infinitive clause.

Why does the verb bleiben appear at the end of the clause?

In German infinitive clauses with zu, the zu + infinitive typically comes at the end of that clause. This is the standard word order for such constructions.

Could I say Eine ausgewogene Ernährung hilft mir, gesund zu bleiben instead?

Yes. With the indefinite article eine, you switch to weak adjective declension, so it becomes eine ausgewogene Ernährung (still feminine nominative). The rest of the sentence (dative mir, comma, infinitive clause) stays the same.