Food, Nutrition and Health

Introduction

     All living organisms need food for growth, work, repair and maintaining life processes. Food is made up of several components such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins.

Community Health and Personal Health

     The health of a community depends upon the personal health of the various members of the community. Community health can be defined as “the personal health along with the environmental services for the importance of the health of the community”.

Conditions Essential for Good Health

     Nutrition is the procurement of substances (nutrients) necessary for growth, development, maintenance and activities of a living organism. To maintain a healthy body it is important to consume a balanced diet in the right quantity.

Components of Food

     The components of food are certain organic substances and minerals found in food. They are called nutrients. Nutrients provide the body with energy and enable it to grow, repair and maintain itself. Hence it is important that we understand the exact role of nutrients in our food and recognize the various foods that provide these nutrients.

Classification of food

     Carbohydrates are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. According to their chemical structure they may be simple or complex. Sugar and starch are complex where as glucose is simple.

Classification of Food - Continued

     Fats are also known as lipids. They are long molecules of fatty acids and an alcohol called glycerol. Fats contain the same elements as carbohydrates i.e., carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but the oxygen content is lower.

Classification of Food - Continued

     Roughage is the fibrous material which is indigestible and is eliminated from the body unchanged. It is made up of plant carbohydrate called cellulose. Though not a food, in a stricter sense, it is an important part of a balanced diet and is important for the normal functioning of the digestive system.

Balanced Diet

     Diet is the food on which an individual lives. A balanced diet may be defined as the one which contains all the essential nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins in the correct proportion for the normal growth and development of the body.

Food Adulteration

     The deliberate contamination of food materials with low quality, cheap, non-edible or toxic substances is called food adulteration. The substance which degrades (lowers) the quality of a food is called an adulterant.

Food Standards

     To prevent adulteration and to maintain availability of good quality food stuff, the government has set up certain institutions for standardization.