Food is essential
for human existence just like air or water. A living organism is the product of
nutrition. Food is the raw material from which our body is made. Intake of the
right kind and amount of food can ensure good health, which can be reflected in
our appearance, efficiency and emotional well-being. The food we use daily is
made up of a number of chemical components called nutrients. Everyone knows
that good diet is needed to maintain good health. A good or adequate diet is known
as balanced diet. We can say that the food that supplies all the necessary
substances needed by the body is known as a balanced diet. In fact, the
nutrients in the proper amount and proportion required by the body according to
age, s@x, physical activities, for the proper growth, development and health
comprise our balanced diet. Every individual needs a specific amount of
calories from the balanced diet, as their activities differ from each other.
Besides this, age, s@x, occupation, physical and mental work also affect the
requirements of the balanced diet. Lack of nutrients and the absence of the
balanced diet for a longer time affect the physical and mental health of a
person which may cause various health problems and diseases.
Methods of Selecting
the Balanced Diet
In order to make up for the loss
sometimes and also to help the body provide us with necessary strength, we need
food. The foods we eat daily have become a part of us. These foods are
classified into the following three categories according their function and
chemical composition:
1. Energy producing nutrients (i) Carbohydrates
(ii) Fat.
2. Body building nutrients (i) Protein,
(ii) Minerals and salts.
3. Nutrients necessary for regulating the body (i) Vitamins,
Process. (ii) water.
(a)
Energy
producing nutrients: Any type of food that we eat has one of these
substances mentioned above. As discussed above, among the energy producing
nutrients carbohydrates from the largest component of diet of most of the
people and furnish most of the required energy. It is most easily available and
most economical sources of energy for human. The best sources of carbohydrates
are cereals like rice, wheat, millets, maize, potato, sweet potato, sugar,
honey, etc. Banana, apple and drilled fruit are also good sources of
carbohydrates. Fat is the concentrated source of energy and it is important due
to its highest calorie density. The chief dietary sources of fat are ghee,
butter, cream, oil, milk, fat from meat and vegetables oils, like- groundnut,
mustard, sunflower, soyabean.
(b)
Body
building nutrients: The second important group of nutrients consists of
protein and minerals and salt. Protein are present in all living tissues of
plants and animals. Protein is a tissue builder, and important for the growth.
Wear and tear of the tissue is repaired by the protein. The dietary sources of
protein are egg, milk, milk products, meat, fish, liver, pulses, cereals, nuts,
beans, gram, green leafy vegetables, etc. whereas, minerals and salts are
essential for the maintenance and growth of the body. The dietary sources of
minerals and salts are fresh and dried fish, dark green vegetables, dried
beans, dried fruits, milk, milk products, potatoes, almonds, cheese, liver,
kidney, yolk of egg, onion, common salt, carrot, radish, spinach, cabbage,
cauliflower, red gram.
(c)
Nutrients
necessary for regulating the body process: The third important group of
foods is nutrients necessary for regulating the body process and protection.
This group consists of vitamins and water. Vitamins are essential in our daily
life in order to maintain life, normal growth and optimum health development.
The dietary sources of vitamins are:
liver, yolk of egg, milk, fish, cod liver oil, butter, ghee, sunlight, cereal
embryos, peanut, green leaves of plants, wheat germ oil, cabbage, carrot, tomato,
pork, curds, lemon, pineapple, papaya, mango, orange, amla, etc. water forms
the major part of blood, the intra-cellular and body fluid. Water is injected
through food and drinking.
Food is essential but must be safe and
balanced. We may select our food items
according to our needs, choice, economic status, and on the basis of
availability. It is not necessary that we select costly and imported food
items. We may balance our food from selection of locally available food
products.
