Unit 21: Nutrition
Concepts of health eating and diet
The key to a healthy balanced diet is to consume the right amount of food from all food groups. It is important that a good diet must include most food groups as one single group cannot provide everything human’s needs for good health. A good diet and eating healthy is a nutritional lifestyle that helps to promote good health. Eating healthy helps to maintain a healthy body weight, good wellbeing and reduces the risk of various diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
5 a day
It is important that we have at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day as they are a part of a healthy balanced diet and can help us maintain good health. It is recommended by a worldwide health organisation that we should consume 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamin c and dietary fibre, which helps to maintain a healthy gut and lower the risk of bowel cancer and constipation.
Food
Food is a nutritious substance that people eat in order to maintain life and growth. Food is needed by the human body for energy, to repair and build muscles and to prevent sickness and help recover from it. Food can be divided into energy content and nutrients. The breakdown of fats, proteins and carbohydrates will determine how much energy the body can derive from a given amount of food. Fats and carbohydrates are mainly used for energy, while protein is broken down into amino acids to be used in building and repairing cells and tissues. The nutrients of a food include all the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to stay healthy against sickness.
Meals & snacks
A meal is an eating occasion that is regularly and takes place at certain times during the day for example, breakfast in the