Components of Food – Nutrients and Balanced Diet
* Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals are various nutrients needed by our body.
* Carbohydrates provide energy to the body to perform various activities.
* Wheat, rice, potato, sugarcane, mango, melon and banana are some sources of Carbohydrates.
* Fats provide energy and warmth to the body.
Sources of fats include:
* Sunflower oil, groundnut oil, coconut oil, soybean oil and mustard oil
* Almonds and cashew nuts
* Milk and milk products such as butter and cheese
* Eggs, fish and meat
* Proteins are the building material needed by our body.
* Proteins are used for building tissues and muscles.
Sources rich in proteins include:
* Soybeans
* peas
* Grams
* Beans
* Green Beans
* Milk
* Eggs
* Meat
* Fish
* Iodine, calcium, phosphorus and iron are various minerals required by the body.
* Iodine is needed for mental and physical development.
Sources rich in iodine include:
* Sea foods such as prawns, crab
* Iodised salts
* Calcium and phosphorus are needed for healthy bones and teeth.
Sources rich in calcium include:
* Milk
* Eggs
Sources rich in phosphorus include:
* Milk
* Eggs
* Banana
* Cereals such as wheat and rice
* Iron is used by the body to produce hemoglobin.
Sources of iron include:
* Liver
* Apples
* Beetroots
* Raisins
* Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K are the Vitamin required by the body.
* Vitamin A is needed for healthy skin and eyes.
Sources of Vitamin A include:
* Milk
* mangoes
* Pumpkin
* Carrots
* Vitamin B complex is needed for healthy brain, nerves and muscles.
Sources of Vitamin B complex include:
* Wheat
* Rice
* Liver
* Our body uses Vitamin C to fight diseases like the common cold.
Sources of Vitamin C include:
* Oranges
* Tomatoes
* Lemons
* Guavas
* Vitamin D helps the body to use calcium to build bones and teeth.
Sources of Vitamin D include:
* Eggs
* Fish
* Milk
* Butter
* Vitamin K is needed for proper clotting of blood.
* Green leafy vegetables like cabbage and spinach are rich in vitamin K.
* Vitamin E is needed for the normal functioning of the reproductive system.
* Food also supplies us with water and roughage.
Water helps the body to:
* Rid of toxic wastes through urine and sweat.
* Absorb the nutrients present in food
* Roughage is also known as dietary fibre.
* Roughage helps the body to get rid of waste and undigested food.
* The food that we normally eat is known as diet.
* A balanced diet is a diet that provides the nutrients required by the body in the correct quantities.
Vitamin, Proteins and Mineral Deficiency Diseases
* When food lacks one or more nutrients, the body finds it difficult to maintain healthy tissues, hones and muscles. This condition is known as malnutrition.
* Malnutrition is classified into three types – vitamin malnutrition, protein malnutrition and mineral malnutrition.
* Carrot, whole grain, leafy vegetables, oranges fatty fish and meat are foods rich in vitamins.
* A lack of vitamin A causes xeropthalmia and night blindness.
* Vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency causes beriberi.
* A lack of protein leads to diseases like kwashiorkor and marasmus.
* Almonds, green leafy vegetables, eggs, whole grain cereals, brown rice and milk contain essential minerals.
* A diet deficient in iron causes anaemia.
* Iodine deficiency reduces the hormone thyroxin, leading to goiter.