Nutrients are the essential elements in food required for development and growth and provide energy for our body functions. The nutrients further are divided into two:
Macronutrients, which include fats, proteins, and carbohydrates
Micronutrients include calcium, iron, vitamins, iron, minerals, and vitamin C
Good nutrition is an adequate amount, and a well-balanced diet, combined with regular physical activity, is essential for our body. This can help protect against malnutrition in all its forms and non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Furthermore, a proper nutrient-rich diet can help battle against stress as well. When you're stressed, people skip their meals due to a lack of hunger, which impacts their energy level in the body. As a result, the affected individual might eat more than usual due to starvation. Dr Sherly Ganesh, HOD Nutrition and Diabetics, Manipal Hospital Hebbal, explains that stress tends to kill appetite; hence having a small portion of food at a short interval during the day will be helpful. The following three things must be kept in mind.
Healthy dietary practices must be followed from infancy. For example, breastfeeding helps healthy growth, improves cognitive development, and has longer-term health benefits.
A healthy diet includes free sugars to be less than 10% of total energy intake. The health experts suggest reducing less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits.
All member states of WHO have agreed to reduce the global population's salt intake by 30% by 2025. The reduced salt intake can curb the rise in cases of diabetes and obesity in adults, adolescents, and children by 2025.
Takeaway Tips
Adopting a healthy diet with sufficient nutrients helps you live a healthy life. However, the current fast-paced life and excess consumption of processed food have hampered the eating habits of the present generation. In addition, people are now consuming junk foods at untimely intervals high in energy, fats, free sugars, and salt/sodium. As a result, the consumption of healthier foods such as fruit, vegetables, and other dietary fibre, such as whole grains, has drastically decreased.
According to health experts, energy intake (calories) should balance energy expenditure. Total fat should not increase more than 30% of total energy intake to avoid excessive weight gain. This balance can be maintained only by avoiding processed and packaged food.
The nutrition requirement varies from person to person and can't be the same for all. At times, the body collects excess nutrients, which can be harmful. For them, dietitians suggest a therapeutic diet plan which controls the intake of nutrients in meals. Based on the diagnosis of the patient, the diet can be planned. The meal plan for weight loss or weight gain can't be similar; the diet plan depends on the outcome. The diet plan is based on age, gender, ethnicity, lifestyle, availability of foods, food preferences, choices, and cultural context.
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