Balanced Diet for a human being Notes | Study Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT

Components of Food

• The components of food are: Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, Minerals, Vitamins, Water and Roughage.
• If all the components are present in optimum proportions and quantity for maintaining the body in perfect state of health, activity and development than the food is called balanced diet.

Balanced Diet

Carbohydrates

• Constitutes 3 elements: Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen.
• Daily requirement is 500 gms. 1 gm gives 17 KJ of energy.
• The carbohydrates of the food eaten, after being processed in the alimentary canal and liver, are supplied to the tissues mainly as glucose, often called blood sugar.
• Sources: 3 main cereals (wheat, rice and maize), sugar cane, milk, fruits, honey, beet, etc.
• They are 3 types: Cellulose, Starch and sugar.
• Structrually, carbohydrates are of 3 types: Monosaccharides, Disaccharides and Polysaccharides.
• Excess carbohydrate is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen.

Sources of Carbohydrates 

Fats

• Provides twice the energy of carbohydrates (1 gm provides 37 KJ of energy).
• Acts as the reserve food material because excess fat is stored in the liver and as adipose tissue.
• An enzyme called Lipase digests fats. It breaks down into fatty acids and glycerol.
• Daily requirement: 50 gms.

Sources of Fats

Proteins

• Made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen.
• Important for growth and repair of the body.
• Made up of amino acids.
• Kwashiorkar and Marasmus are the diseases which occur due to deficiency of protein.

Sources of Proteins 

Minerals

• The salt of Ca required by our body is Ca₃ (PO₄)₂

Vitamins

• Necessary for normal growth, good health, good vision, proper digestion, etc. They do not provide energy to our body.
• Vitamins can be divided into two categories.
• Water-soluble: Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin C.
• Fat-soluble: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K.

Sources of Vitamins and Minerals

Types of Vitamins

Water

• Important in digestion, transportation, excretion and to regulate body temperature (body contains 65% water).

Roughage

• Fibrous material present in the cell wall of plants.
• Mainly contains cellulose.
• It doesn’t provide energy but only helps in retaining water in the body.
• One of the common source is Daliya, Which we eat in our homes.