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Introduction into Nutrition

Introduction

Contrary to popular beliefs, nutrition is not just about getting enough food to fill your belly. It is about getting in the right quantity and quality of food and water at appropriate intervals to allow for your body to function at its best. This is the so-called "Balanced Diet".

Nutritional requirements vary with gender, age, daily activities, pregnancy/lactation and state of health of an individual. A 60 year old retired male who spends his days tending to his flowerbeds has a much lower nutrition requirement than a 16 year old lactating woman who works at a sand harvesting quarry.

When food is broken down, it releases energy and provides essential body building and protective -materials. Energy is measured in kilocalories or kilojoules. Different foods yield various amounts of energy (kilocalories) per gram consumed. This energy provides the body with heat and is used to allow body cells to work.

Different individuals have different daily energy requirements:

Circumstance	Healthy Adult Female	Healthy Adult Male
At Rest	1600 kilocalories	2000 kilocalories
Light Work	2000 kilocalories	2700 kilocalories
Heavy Work	2250 kliocalories	3500 kilocalories

(Source: Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine, 19th Edition)

The following are the major food groups which we must ingest daily in order to maintain a happy healthy body.

Hide: Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the so-called primary energy giving foods. They are more easily and quickly digested and utilised than fats. Each gram of carbohydrates yields 4 kilocalories.

Sometimes carbohydrates are found in their simple form as sugars like glucose as found in sugarcane and its products or fructose as found in honey and fruits or lactose as found in milk.

Sometimes, they are in their complex forms as starches such as potatoes, maize, wheat, rice, oats, cassava, arrow roots, sweet potatoes.

Taro

Varieties of maize

Sweet Potato

Hide: Fats

Fats

Fats are a secondary source of energy. They are the way our body best likes to store energy. Each gram of fat ingested gives 9 kilocalories of energy. There are different types of fat. Those that are saturated (usually solid at room temperature) and unsaturated (liquid at room temperature).
Saturated fats tend to be from animal sources whilst unsaturated fats are usually plant in origin except for palm oil which has a high amount of saturated fats.

Monosaturated Fats

Hide: Proteins

Proteins

Proteins are mainly for body building and repair. They also give some energy. Each gram of protein gives 4 kilocalories of energy.

Animal proteins: Beef, Mutton, Goat meat, Pork, Fish, Camel meat, Chicken and Eggs

Chicken

Beef

Plant proteins: Beans, Peas,Nuts, Mushrooms

Beans

Hide: Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are organic substances which are essential for maintaining normal function of the body. The body cannot manufacture them for itself. These are normally denominated by letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E and K. Fruits are particularly rich in vitamins especially vitamin C.

Orange

Carrot

Pineapple

Vegetables are rich in both vitamins and minerals. They also contain lots of anti-oxidants which keep the cells of our body healthy.

Minerals are inorganic substances also needed to maintain normal body function. The body cannot manufacture them and must out - source them. These include Calcium and Phosphorous in milk for strong bones and teeth, Iron for blood formation and Iodine added to table salt for normal thyroid function.

Milk

Salt

Hide: Roughage

Roughage

Roughage is the fibrous indigestible portion (insoluble fibre) of our diet essential to health of the digestive system. This includes bran, some whole grain cereals (opt for brown as opposed to refined white flour and rice), some fruit and vegetable seeds.

Hide: Water

Water

About 60% of an adult's body is water . On average, one must take in about 1-2 litres of water a day to keep a healthy balance.

NOTE: The grouping of these foods is based on their major component. Most food stuffs contain multiple things. For example, beans not only have protein, they also have carbohydrate, can be used for oil production, are rich in vitamin B and have inorganic elements such as iron.

Hide: Food pyramids of a healthy balanced diet

Food pyramids of a healthy balanced diet

Nutrition pyrmid

Dairy

Fruit

Vegetables

Proteins

Starches

Dairy

Cereal/Grain

Fruit

Meat

Nuts

Vegetables

Sample diet plan for a week

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Porridge (oats enriched with sugar, milk and margarine)	Bread (2slices), 1 egg, milky tea	Sweet potato with glass of milk	Porridge (millet enriched with sugar, milk and margarine)	Arrowroot with glass of milk	Cassava with a glass of milk	Yam with milky tea
Mid-morning snack	Yoghurt (plain)	Vegetable snack of choice	Banana	Sour milk (1 glass)	Vegetable snack of choice	Bran and fruit snack	1 Egg
Lunch	Rice, beans and cabbages	Maizemeal, kales and soya	Chapati (unleaven bread), beef, spinach	Maize and beans with carrots	Mashed potato, peas and beef	Maizemeal, fish and amaranth leaves	Stewed bananas, cauliflower, chicken
Mid-afternoon snack	Water melon (slice)	Orange	Mango	Papaya	Plums	Apple	Avocado
Supper	Roasted potatoes, peas and carrots	Maize and beans and managu	Mashed bananas, beans and kales	Rice, beef and amaranth leaves	Boiled maize, beans and carrots	Rice, spinach and beans	Chapati, beans and carrot

This plan is both economical and uses locally available material. Do not forget lots of water (about 6-8 glasses per day)!

Hide: Information Source Links

Information Source Links

Willett,W. C. M.D. & Skerrett, P. J.; (2005). The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, and Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2007). USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, www.ars.usda.gov