B6.1: Diet

Diet

A balanced diet consists of a meal with a healthy proportion and amount of nutrients that are needed in the human body

Nutrients

Carbohydrates

Fats

Proteins

Nutrients that build up your body, repairing your cells and are important in growth
Found in meat, fish, eggs, pea, beans, and more

Vitamin C

Nutrient needed in a small quantity which helps recovery for wounds and also keeps the connective tissue (the tissue that supports and keeps the structure of other tissues and organs in your body) in your body healthy
Found in citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit, orange), some vegetables like broccoli and sprouts, and more
When you don't have enough vitamin C, you get scurvy, a disease causing loss of teeth, your gums to swell, bleeding, joint pain, and muscle aches

Vitamin D

Calcium

A mineral salt needed in small quantities for health
Makes the bones and teeth strong, allows your blood to clot normally, and helps maintain controlled muscle contractions
Found in dairy, eggs, vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, and more

Iron

Used to produce haemoglobin (a protein used to carry and transport oxygen) in red blood cells
Found in livers of mammals, red meat, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and more
Not enough iron causes anaemia (who do not transport as much oxygen with their blood) become tired and weak

Dietary Fibre

Cannot be digested
Found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and more
As fibre cannot be digested, it helps push the walls and muscles of the intestine to allow food and faeces to move further down the gut and push out waste
Not enough dietary fibre causes constipation

Water

Factors on Dietary needs of humans

The amount of nutrients and energy needed depends on the individual, and mainly on the following factors

Age: Energy needed tends to increase from childhood to adulthood, and fall when adults get older
Activity Levels: Those who tend to do more or vigorous physical activity require more energy than those who do not move around as much
Pregnancy: Women need more energy when they are pregnant because they carry more mass and need energy for the fetus to develop. Breastfeeding woman also need more water

Harms of malnutrition

With not enough nutrients, your body may suffer because of malnutrition. Here are some symptoms of nutrient deficiencies

Starvation

You starve when you spend more energy than you gain for some time
Fat and muscle is broken down as they store energy, causing you to lose a lot of weight
This later damages your heart and immune system, making you vulnerable to several diseases

Constipation

Caused by a diet without enough dietary fibre
Food and faeces cannot be easily pushed down the gut as it does not have dietary fibre which pushes the walls making path for food and excess material
Risk of diseases such as bowel cancer increase

Coronary Heart Disease

Caused by a diet with too much saturated fat and cholestrol
The excessive fat accumulates in the arteries and causes less blood to flow to the heart
Muscle cells will lack oxygen and not function properly
Could lead to heart attacks or even death

Obesity

Scurvy

Causes and effects of protein-energy malnutrition

Protein energy malnutrition is often caused by a lack of protein in diets. This is often a problem in developing countries
The two most common types of protein-energy malnutrition are...

Caused by a lack of protein
Children under 2 in developing countries often suffer from this
As high protein foods cannot be afforded in developing countries, this malnutrition often causes the poor to suffer
Those with this malnutrition often are underweight and have swollen tummies because diets affecting the poor tend to have a lot of carbohydrates

Caused by a lack of both protein and energy
The most severe form of protein-energy malnutrition
People who suffer from this appear to be very thin and weak and have very low body weights