DIET AND NUTRITION
The diet is very important for our health. Diet is the food, taken by living
organism; and nutrition is the science which studies the usages of food by our body.
MEANING AND CONCEPT OF DIET
Diet is the total amount of the food taken by individuals or any other organisms for
their survival.
Usually diet is referred as a ‘blend of specific nutritional food’ taken by a person for
good health or weight management.
Food choices and habits play a crucial role in determination of health and durability of
the individuals.
Therefore, proper intake of food is necessary for all living beings.
The food can be anything that we eat to satisfy our hunger.
It comprises solids, semi-solids and liquid. Food also nourishes our body.
The foods we eat should also be safe and rich with all the nutrients that our body needs.
Try to have a wide variety of foods in your diet and eat them on
regular basis.
Without nutritious food, no one can optimise his/he potential to the full
extent, as well as adults will face difficulty in doing their best.
Functions of Food
Food performs the following four important functions:
1. Energy.
2. Growth and Development.
3. Repair.
4. Protection from Diseases.
Energy
For performing any work, energy is a necessity.
Our energy is spent when we are engaged in performing work. That is why, our body get
tired after performing any work
Therefore, food is important to regain lost energy.
If our body does not get proper food in due time, it would become weak.
Growth and Development
The proper and nutritive food helps the growth and development of our body.
Proper nourishment from the food we eat increases the cells counts present in our
body.
Inadequate or wrong choice of food obstructs the healthy growth and development of
our body.
Repair
You know, God created human beings in a self-repair mode.
Lots of wear and tear in our body is happening due to regular work and
movement.
You might have seen if we get a cut or wound, it heals up
automatically after some time.
If our skin is damaged due to burn etc.,
it regains its shape in due time.
For all these functions, our body requires proper food.
Protection from Diseases
Food also helps us to protect ourselves from many diseases.
The food we eat has vitamins, mineral and salts.
Vitamins are essential for protection from disease.
Thus, the foodstuff, we consume, provides us the power to fight with
germs and viruses.
Therefore, we need food and vitamins to protect our body from illness
and keep ourselves healthy.
MEANING AND CONCEPT OF NUTRITION
The foods make us fit and healthy. Whatever we eat, undergoes
through different processes.
The science we study about the food and its usage by our body is
called nutrition.
Nutrition includes food intake, digestion, absorption, assimilation and
excretion of waste.
It helps in the maintenance, growth, reproduction and health of an
individual.
Nutrients
Have learnt that food nourishes our body and it also helps the
proper growth of the body and its functioning.
This growth and nourishment happens due to nutrients available
in the food.
The nutrients are molecular (chemical) substances in the food
required by all living organisms to survive, grow, and reproduce.
Type of Nutrients
(1) Macronutrients - Carbohydrates, fat and proteins
(2) Micronutrients. – Vitamins, Minerals, Water.
Macronutrients
Macronutrients are main source of energy for our body.
They are available inbig amount in the food and are also needed by the
body in larger quantity.
1. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are treated as the body’s major source of energy.
Its unit of measurement is kilo calories. Carbohydrates rich foods
are easily available and consumed by all.
The foods like cereals, wheat, rice, bajra, maize, pulses, rajma,
channa, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugar, jaggery etc.
We need to have about 45 to 65 percent of total calories from
carbohydrates.
2. Fats
Most of the people think that fat is bad for our health, but do you know,
it is actually a key nutrient and very essential component of our
healthy diet.
Fat acts as an insulator for our body and allows us to maintain our
body temperature.
Fat helps us to protect our internal organs by acting as a cushion to
the organs.
The fats are composed of fatty acids and its nature depends on the
type of fatty acids.
There are two types of fatty acids.
One is saturated and the second one is unsaturated.
a) Solid fats comprise saturated fatty acids.
b) Unsaturated fatty acids are found in oil like products.
It is recommended to take 20 to 35 percent of calories through fats.
3. Proteins
Proteins help to build, maintain and repair the muscles and other body
tissues.
Proteins are composed of amino acids which is the smaller units.
This amino acid is classified into “essential amino acids” and “non-
essential amino acids” and their count is altogether 22.
Out of which 8 amino acids, our body cannot yield are known as
essential amino acids and they should be provided through the food
Rest of the 14, our body produces. They are known as non-essential
amino acids.
dairy products, poultry, meat, fish, eggs, pulses, cereals, soybeans,
nuts and oilseeds, groundnuts, etc. are rich source of proteins.
It is suggested to consume 10-15% of total calories.
Calculation of calories measurements
A calorie is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of
1gram (g) of water to 1 degree Celsius (°C). A kilocalorie is the amount
of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000g of water to 1°C.
The energy yielded per gram by Macronutrients is as follows:
1 g Carbohydrate = 4 Calories (kcal)
1 g Fats = 9 Calories (kcal)
1 g Protein = 4 Calories (kcal)
Micronutrients
Other important nutrients which we get from foods comprise
vitamins and minerals. They are called micronutrients.
These micronutrients are needed in very small amount.
if we are not taking these micronutrients in required amounts, it may
cause deficiency leading to several diseases.
1. Vitamins
Vitamins are present in our body in small quantity,
however vitamins play significant roles in different chemical processes
occurring in the body.
Vitamins are responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein
and fat.
There are total 13 vitamins, categorized into two types:
i) Fat-soluble vitamins: Includes vitamins A, D, E, and K.
ii) Water-soluble vitamins: Includes vitamin C and B vitamins.
Vitamin B further includes vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, thiamine,
niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and biotin.
2. Minerals
Minerals are also important for our body like vitamins.
They comprise a small quantity of the total body tissue.
Minerals can be divided into two categories based on the body’s
need.
Our body demands the major minerals such as calcium,
potassium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur and chloride
– in larger quantities.
On the other hand, the trace minerals are - iodine, copper,
fluoride, zinc, iron, chromium, selenium, molybdenum and
manganese are required in smaller quantity.
There are about 19 minerals needed by the body in different
quantities.
3. Water
Water in known for quenching the thirst, but it is something more than
that.
Water is a major nutritional component.
About two-third of our weight is water.
It is available in all the cells.
Water helps to regulate our body temperature and it also lubricates the
joints and protects the organs and tissues from shocks.
Water also helps in digestion, absorption and acts as a carrier to
transport important substances. For example, oxygen in the whole
body.
On a regular basis, we need to have 6 to 8 glasses of water per day.
BALANCED DIET
The appropriate diet structure depends on the individual and one’s activity
level.
In fact, the criterion to determine the proper nutritional blend required by an
individual is based on their age, gender, weight, height, and type of activity
and level.
The nutritional requirement of an adult is different from that of an infant.
An infant needs more protein as compared to an adult.
In the same manner nutritional requirement of a female is different from that
of the male due to their physiological functioning.
Hence, the balanced diet could be the consumption of appropriate variety
and adequate quantity of foods as well as drinks.
Balanced diet provides nutrition and energy for the maintenance of body
organs and it also helps in the normal growth and development of individual.
