Unit 9 Impact of Diet on Health

Diet variations at different lifestages

(P1, M1 & D1)

All human beings require certain essential nutrients in order to survive. The concept of a healthy, balanced diet is to eat a wide variety of foods because all foods contain different nutrients therefore the wider the variety eaten, the more nutrients provided.

A balanced diet consists of seven main groups of food which are described below.

Components of a healthy diet:

Protein
Carbohydrates
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals
Fibre
Water

|Nutrient |Where found |Purpose |
|proteins |Meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, nuts, cereals, |Proteins promote growth and they are also essential for the |
| |tofu and beans |replacement and renewal of body cells. They are essential for |
| | |everyone and must be eaten everyday |
|Carbohydrates |Sugar, potatoes, bread, rice, flour, cereals, |Carbohydrates, also known as starches, are used by the body to |
| |pasta, some root vegetables such as yams and |provide energy and heat. They are essential to provide and |
| |sweet potatoes |energy source, but if they are eaten to excess they will be |
| | |stored as fat |
|Fats |Butter, margarine, cooking oil, dripping, meat |Fats are a very concentrated source of heat and energy, but if |
| |fat, cream, soured cream, milk, cheese, egg yolks|they are eaten to excess they will be stored by the body in the|
| |

References: Moonie, Neil., 2003, second edition, BTEC FIRST Caring, Heinemann Education Publishers, Oxford -----------------------