- Each dish is usually made up of one or more ingredients, which we get from plants or animals.
- These ingredients contain some components that are needed by our body. These components are called nutrients. The major nutrients in our food are named carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. In addition, food contains dietary fibers and water which are also needed by our body.
- There are many types of carbohydrates. The main carbohydrates found in our food are in the form of starch and sugars.
- Carbohydrates mainly provide energy to our body. Fats also give us energy. In fact, fats give much more energy as compared to the same amount of carbohydrates. Foods containing fats and carbohydrates are also called energy giving foods
- Proteins are needed for the growth and repair of our body. Foods containing proteins are often called ‘body building foods
- Vitamins help in protecting our body against diseases. Vitamins also help in keeping our eyes, bones, teeth and gums healthy. Vitamins are of different kinds known by different names. Some of these are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and K. There is also a group of vitamins called Vitamin B-complex. Our body needs all types of vitamins in small quantities. Vitamin A keeps our skin and eyes healthy. Vitamin C helps body to fight against many diseases. Vitamin D helps our body to use calcium for bones and teeth.
- Minerals are needed by our body in small amounts. Each one is essential for proper growth of body and to maintain good health.
- In a given raw material, one particular nutrient may be present in much larger quantity than in others. For example, rice has more carbohydrates than other nutrients. Thus, we say that rice is a carbohydrate rich source of food.
- Besides these nutrients, our body needs dietary fibers and water. Dietary fibers are also known as roughage. Roughage is mainly provided by plant products in our foods. Whole grains and pulses, potatoes, fresh fruits and vegetables are main sources of roughage. Roughage does not provide any nutrient to our body, but is an essential component of our food and adds to its bulk. This helps our body get rid of undigested food.
- Water helps our body to absorb nutrients from food. It also helps in throwing out some wastes from body as urine and sweat. Normally, we get most of the water that our body needs from the liquids we drink such as water, milk and tea.
- The food we normally eat in a day is our diet. For growth and maintenance of good health, our diet should have all the nutrients that our body needs, in right quantities. Not too much of one and not too little of the other. The diet should also contain a good amount of roughage and water. Such a diet is called a balanced diet.
- Pulses, groundnut, soybean, sprouted seeds (moong and Bengal gram), fermented foods (South Indian foods such as idlis), a combination of flours (missi roti, thepla made from cereals and pulses), banana, spinach, sattu, jaggery, available vegetables and other such foods provide many nutrients.
- If the vegetables and fruits are washed after cutting or peeling them, it may result in the loss of some vitamins. The skins of many vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and minerals. Similarly, repeated washing of rice and pulses may remove some vitamins and minerals present in them.
- Cooking improves the taste of food and makes it easier to digest. At the same time, cooking also results in the loss of certain nutrients. Many useful proteins and considerable amounts of minerals are lost if excess water is used during cooking and is then thrown away.
- Deficiency of one or more nutrients can cause diseases or disorders in our body. Diseases that occur due to lack of nutrients over a long period are called deficiency diseases.
- All deficiency diseases can be prevented by taking a balanced diet.
| VITAMIN |
DEFICIENCY DISEASE |
SYMPTOMS |
| Vitamin A |
Loss of vision
| Poor vision, loss of vision in darkness (night), sometimes complete loss of vision |
| Vitamin B1 |
Beri beri |
Weak muscles and very little energy to work |
| Vitamin C |
Scurvy |
Bleeding gums, wounds take longer time to heal |
| Vitamin D |
Rickets |
Bones become soft and bent |
| Calcium |
Bone and tooth decay |
Weak bones, tooth decay |
| Iodine |
Goitre |
Glands in the neck appear swollen, mental disability in children |
| Iron |
Anemia |
Weakness |
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