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Balanced diet

Introduction

According to (Bazzano & Ogden, 93-99), the human body was made in a very unique way in that it responds to various stimuli in varying ways, however, the phenomena that are the way lack of a particular product result into some medical condition is much more complex. The body is created in such a ways that it must get all the nutrient in the right proportions failure to which the body begins to show some characteristic and symptoms that shows deficiency to symbolise lack or inadequacy of some diets . Some of the causes of the resent medical condition include the fast paced life in which the only food people depend on is the fast foods. Fast foods have high cholesterol level because of the fat content, these contents have negative impact on the health of human beings, some of the effects include, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases caused by poor eating habits and lifestyles

A diet is considered balanced if and only if it has the required nutrient in the required proportion. These nutrients include carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, mineral salts and fibre, however, it should be noted that there are other trace elements that may be negligible in this list. The following are the core nutrients and their functions:

Carbohydrates:

These are responsible for providing the body with energy through a set of complex mechanism.

Proteins:

Proteins are important to the body as they fuel; the body with resources importance for growth of new tissues and repair of the worn out tissues.

Fats:

Not only are fats perfect sources of energy to the body, it also contains vitamins which are soluble in fats, these fats are like a reservoir to the body energy sources and once the body energy is depleted, they are burnt to provide energy.

Vitamins:

These are the organic compounds that the body requires for proper development; the body requires this compound in very small quantities. The human body is only in need of 13 vitamins, such as A, C, D, E, K  B vitamins(thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and foliate) each of these vitamins have their respective function in the body (Bazzano & Ogden, 93-99).

Mineral Salts: the body requires minerals salts to regulate the rate of metabolism in the body, for example the body need, sodium to help in the maintenance of the right osmotic pressure in the body fluid, calcium is required for the development of the bone and the bone structure these are required for healthy teeth, bones, muscles etc..

Fibre:

The body cannot digest fibres, it is therefore an important materials that help in the maintenance of the function of the intestines, for example when one has loose stool, the consumption of fibres makes loose bowels strong (Bazzano & Ogden, 93-99)

Salts

This is a seasoning used in food to make add taste, however, too much salt is harmful to health. Therefore it is recommended that people would limit the amount of salt they take. This can be achieved by flavouring food with herbs, spices or lemon juice, consuming tinned vegetables that have no salt, avoiding the use of sauces, and using stock cubes with low salt content or making home stock

Balanced Diets:

We must have the above items in the correct proportions. Lack of these nutrients in the body might lead to a number of medical condition which ranges depending on the particular nutrient that the body lacks, these deficiencies are explained in the table below below:

Some of the probable manifestation of the lack of the nutrients above includes:

Nutrient sources Deficiency symptoms

protein Legumes and beans

Soy, mycoprotein and tofu products, Nuts and

Sprouted seeds etc Difficulty sleeping, headache, Nausea and stomach pain, Fainting, Oedema, Weight loss, Thinning hair, or hair loss

Vitamins The sun, fruits etc Leg Cramps- calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12, Neurological Symptoms such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and Peripheral neuropathy, B-complex, vitamin E or omega fatty acids. Anaemia- vitamin B12 or folic acid. Frequent Minor Illnesses such as ,colds, flu or general aches and pains,

carbohydrates Grains, wheat germ, wholemeal bread, brown rice, potatoes, all forms of pasta but especially wholemeal pasta, barley, oats, lentils, Kwashiorkor, ketosis, swollen abdomen, cracking and scaly skin, and reddish hair. Though kwashiorkor is one of the leading manifestations of lack of adequate carbohydrates, mild cases of Marasmus may also be seen in such people.

Mineral salts Milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables and almonds. Muscle crumps, muscle paralysis ,oedema etc

According to Mann & McAuley, (17), water is a very important p[art of the diet, water performs a number of function in the body, for example, it flushed out toxins from the system living organism an. Lack of water in the body is called dehydration, when one is dehydrated, the body may not be able to perform properly, for example a dehydrated person is lily to fall sick, is always tired and has will experience content headaches, that is the reason dieticians advise that one should take six glasses of water per day.

Apart from the nutrients stated above, one also need to exercise, through exercise the body get an opportunity burn extra fats and lipids thereby keeping the body fit. While these body requirement are easy to get in the form of pills, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages of getting the vitamins from food and not from the commercially manufactured vitamins, the fit between the vitamin received from food is much superior than from pills, by use of pills one only get particular type of vitamin, however, if oboe ate food rich in vitamins, it is much likely toffer more than one type of vitamin.

There are a number of tips for healthy eating , this includes Limiting the daily intake of both sugar and salt, Adding calcium in your diet for for strong bones, Putting protein in perspective, Enjoying healthy fats and avoiding unhealthy fat, Eating more healthy carbohydrates and whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and Moderating the ratios of the food intakes.

Conclusion

There are alot of benefits if one takes a balanced diet. For example, those who fail to balanced diet are likely to fall sick due to symptoms and diseases caused b the deficiencies if one or more of the nutrient. It is therefore imperative to consider the food intakes, the proportions and the frequency of eating. While these entire nutrients are good, excessive usage of these proteins is likely to affect the general mechanism under which the body functions. It is therefore important to ensure that the right proportion of all the nutrients.

Works cited

Bazzano L, &, Ogden L. Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in US adults: the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Am J Clin Nutr. (2002);76(1):93-99.

Mann J,& McAuley K. Carbohydrates: is the advice to eat less justified for diabetes and cardiovascular health? Curr Opin Lipidol. 18(1):9-12. (2007);