PKD Pandey Ka Dawa

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The Importance of Food Food

The Importance of Food Food is an essential part of everyone’s lives. It gives us the energy and nutrients to grow and develop, be healthy and active, to move, work, play, think and learn. The body needs a variety of the following 5 nutrients - protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals - from the food we eat to stay healthy and productive. Protein - is needed to build, maintain and repair muscle, blood, skin and bones and other tissues and organs in the body. Foods rich in protein include meat, eggs, dairy and fish. Carbohydrate - provides the body with its main source of energy. Carbohydrates can be classified into two kinds; starches and sugars. Food rich in starches include rice, maize, wheat and potatoes and food rich in sugars include fruit, honey, sweets and chocolate bars. Fat - This is the body's secondary source of energy. Fat actually provides more energy/calories per gram than any other nutrient, but is more difficult to burn. Food rich in fats are oils, butter, lard, milk, cheese and some meat. Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamins and minerals are needed in very small amounts and are sometimes called micronutrients, but are essential for good health. They control many functions and processes in the body, and in the case of minerals also help build body tissue such as bones (calcium) and blood (iron). To learn more about specific vitamins and minerals see the Vitamins and Minerals information sheet below. In addition to the above nutrients Fibre and Water are also essential for a good healthy diet. A Balanced Diet To stay healthy we not only need all of the above 5 nutrients in our diet but we also need them in the correct quantities - this is what we mean by a balanced diet. The consequences of not having a balanced diet are numerous: if you do not eat enough protein, you will not be able to grow properly; if you do not eat enough energy containing foods (eg carbohydrates and fat), you will feel very tired; and if you eat too much energy containing foods you will become overweight. Many people in the developed world eat too much of some types of food, for example a lot of saturated fats, and become overweight. Obesity is becoming a big problem in the developed world. One third of all Americans are obese. Being obese has serious health implications including increasing your chances of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, having a stroke or getting a number of forms of cancer. In the developing world, on the other hand, many people suffer from: Hunger, or under-nutrition, whereby they do not have enough food or Malnutrition, which means ‘badly nourished’ and is as much about what you eat as how much. Malnutrition is characterised by inadequate intake of protein, energy and/or micronutrients and by frequent infection and disease. FoodAid is a great opportunity for you all to learn more about these issues and to help the hungry and malnourished overseas. Vitamins and Minerals Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamins and minerals are needed in very small amounts, hence they are sometimes called micronutrients, but are essential for good health. They control many functions and processes in the body, and in the case of minerals also help build body tissue such as bones (calcium) and blood (iron). The important vitamins are: vitamin A; the B vitamins including thiamine, niacin and folate; vitamin C and vitamin D. Vitamin A helps to prevent infections, is essential to keeping the eyes healthy and helps children grow properly. Food rich in vitamin A include: orange and yellow fruit and vegetables including mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkins; dark green vegetables for example spinach; liver and eggs. B Vitamins including Thiamine, Niacin and folate help the body burn nutrients to release energy and for building and repairing the body’s tissues. Sources of B vitamins include: dark green vegetable; meat, poultry and fish; liver; milk and eggs. Vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron and to use nutrients to build bones and blood vessels. Most fruit, especially citrus fruit and many vegetables including potatoes are good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin D helps the body absorb and use calcium to build healthy bones and teeth. Vitamin D is found in fish oils, eggs, milk, cheese and liver and is also produced by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. The important minerals include iron, calcium, iodine and zinc. Iron is needed to make red blood cells, which are essential for getting oxygen from the lungs to all the other parts of the body and also helps all of the body’s cells working properly. The best sources of iron are meat, fish, liver and other organ meats and dark green leafy vegetables. Calcium is needed for healthy bones and teeth. Milk and other dairy products are the best source of calcium. Iodine is needed for proper growth and development of the brain and nervous system. Iodine comes from the soil, so the amount of iodine in food depends on how much iodine there is in the soil. Soils low in iodine are found mainly in upland, mountainous areas and in places where there are frequent floods. Fish and other foods from the sea (eg. sea salt) are usually rich in iodine, because they get iodine from the seawater.