Food and Health
Lucy gets easily tired after playing for a little while. She often suffers from cold and lacks energy which makes her feel weak. However, her friend Sarah plays for hours, doesn’t get tired easily and also doesn’t fall ill as frequently as Lucy does.
Can you tell why Sarah is more energetic and healthier than Lucy?
Sarah is healthier than Lucy as she has healthy and nutritious eating habits.
Food helps to keep us healthy, provides us energy for our daily activities and protects our body from diseases. To remain healthy, our body requires the right amount of nutrition. Nutrient is a component in food that provides the nourishment necessary for energy and growth. A balanced diet has the right amount of nutrients in the food that we eat as per our age and lifestyle.
The five main nutrients are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. We also need roughage and water in our diet.
Carbohydrates:
Carbohydrates are energy giving food. They are also known as starch food. They provide our body with heat and energy; they form a major part of our diet. Rice, wheat, potato, and sugar are a good source of carbohydrates.
Fats:
Fats provide us more energy than carbohydrates. They also help our body to keep warm. They are stored in our body as reserves. Consuming too much of fat is not good for our health as it gets stored under our skin, which may cause health hazard. Butter, ghee, cheese and cooking oil are rich sources of fat.
Test to confirm the presence of fat
Take a small quantity of ground nuts.
Wrap the nuts in a small piece of paper.
Crush the nuts wrapped in the paper.
Straighten the paper.
Dry the paper by keeping it in sunlight for a while.
Observe the paper.
An oily patch on the paper indicates the presence of fat in nuts.
Proteins:
Proteins are known as the body building food of our body. They are needed for growth and repair of our body. They also help in building muscles. Children need more protein in their diet as they are in their growing phase. Food items such as meat, egg, milk, soya beans, pulses and fish are rich in proteins.
Vitamins and Minerals:
These are called protective foods. They increase our body’s immunity and help us fight against diseases.
Our body needs vitamins and minerals in small quantity.
However, their deficiency may cause diseases.
Our body needs vitamin A, B, C, D, E and K. Minerals like calcium, iron etc help in the growth and development of the body.
Fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables and milk are a good source of vitamins and minerals.
Water:
Almost two thirds of our body is made up of water. Water helps in regulating the temperature of our body and helps in the proper functioning of our organs. We lose water while breathing, sweating and through urine. We should have a least 8 glasses of water everyday and eat foods that contain a lot of water like watermelon, muskmelons etc to rehydrate our body.
Roughage:
Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of fibre or roughage. It helps us to get rid of waste from our body. A diet low in fibre will cause constipation which causes stomach ache.
Balanced Diet
Food that contains the right amount of nutrients, water and roughage in a meal according to age and lifestyle is called a balanced diet. To stay healthy it is important to have a balanced diet, regularly.
Balanced diet is important because:
1. Carbohydrates and fats give us energy for doing work.
2. Proteins help us to grow and repair our damaged cells.
3. Vitamins and minerals protect our body from diseases.
4. Water and roughage help us to remove waste from our body.
Deficiency Diseases
A disease is a condition in which a body or any part of the body is not able to function properly. Deficiency diseases occur when a person’s diet lacks in required essential nutrients. Our parents and elders advise us to eat sufficient amount of green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits as having these substances helps keep our diet balanced.
Not having adequate amount of essential food on a regular basis may result in the following diseases:
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a condition that develops in a body, when it does not get adequate amount of nutrients in the diet. Children, who do not have a balanced diet over a period of time, suffer from malnutrition. Their diet lacks either in proteins or vitamins and minerals. They do not get enough nourishment. Malnourishment in children occurs at the age of 1 to 5.
A child suffering from malnutrition will show some or all the symptoms:
1. Develop a big stomach as if it is filled with air.
2. Has thin upper arms.
3. Gets tired easily
4. Shows slow growth
5. Swollen and bleeding gums
6. Dizziness
A malnourished child can get better only by having a balanced diet and by giving him/ her extra supplements of proteins or vitamins and minerals.
Night Blindness
A person suffering from night blindness finds it difficult to see in dim light. The eyes become dull, triangular patches appear on the white portion of the eyes and the skin becomes dull and scaly. This disease is caused due to lack of Vitamin A in our diet. A diet rich in carrots, papaya, mango, green leafy vegetables, milk will help to prevent this disease.
Beriberi
Beriberi disease is caused due to lack of Vitamin B in our diet. The symptoms are numbness in hand and feet. There is loss of appetite and weight; it affects the nerves and muscles of the body. Diet rich in vitamin B cures beriberi, which is present in cereals, meat, fish, nuts and green leafy vegetables.
Scurvy
Lack of Vitamin C causes scurvy. Scurvy causes bleeding and swelling of gums. The gums get easily infected. Oranges, lemon, amla, tomatoes, and sprouted grains are rich in vitamin C.
Rickets
Lack of Vitamin D causes rickets. In rickets, the bones become very soft and break easily. In children, the legs become bow shaped. Vitamin D is also called sunshine vitamin as when we are exposed to sunlight the skin produces vitamin D. Vitamin D, along with minerals like calcium and phosphorus, makes bones and teeth strong.
Milk and its products contain calcium which is also good for bones. That is why when children are small they are asked to have lots of milk to make their bones and teeth strong.
Anaemia
Lack of iron in food causes anaemia. It decreases the level of haemoglobin in our body.
Haemoglobin is a substance present in blood that carries oxygen.
An anaemic person gets tired easily, has dark circles under the eyes, looks pale and also suffers from loss of appetite.
A diet rich in green leafy vegetables, dates, beet root, spinach, fruits like apple, pomegranate, guava and eggs should be taken regularly to prevent anaemia.
Goitre
Lack of mineral called iodine in our diet causes goitre.
A person suffering from goitre will have swelling in his/her neck.
The best way to prevent it is by taking iodine salt in our food.
Obesity
Obesity is a condition where a person accumulates too much of fat, which starts having a negative effect on the body.
It is caused due to overeating. Many children suffer from it because they prefer having junk food over healthy food. The only way to cure it is to have a balanced diet and do a lot of exercise.
Healthy eating Habit
Besides eating a well-balanced diet, we should also take care while cooking food.
The food should not be overcooked as it loses it nutrition value.
Wash the vegetables before cutting them as some of the nutrients get washed away.
We should wash our hands before and after each meal.
Food should be preserved properly as spoiled food contains germs. Like milk can be preserved by pasteurization, cooked food can be preserved by refrigerating it.
One must do regular exercise which improves the blood flow in our body, it is also necessary to take proper rest, which will prepare us for a better tomorrow.