Many ways to define nutritious food. Firstly, healthy food consists of all the essential nutrients that your body needs like proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, calcium, vitamins etc. Secondly, it is hygienic & doesn't contain any germs that can harm your body. Thirdly, it should include all sorts of eatables like veggies, fruits, meat, dairy, sweets etc in right proportion. In a nutshell, healthy food keeps your body fit & at its top.Less junk & more home-made stuff...
Nutrition ,also called nourishment is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet.
In a nutshell, I would say anything that is healthy. Food in general; anything that nourishes the body and/or the mind
Nutrition (redirected from Food and Nutrition)
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.Nutrition DefinitionGood nutrition can help prevent disease and promote health. There are six categories of nutrients that the body needs to acquire from food: protein,carbohydrates, fat, fibers, vitamins and minerals, and water.
ProteinsProtein supplies amino acids to build and maintain healthy body tissue. There are 20 amino acids considered essential because the body must haveall of them in the right amounts to function properly. Twelve of these are manufactured in the body but the other eight amino acids must be provided bythe diet. Foods from animal sources such as milk or eggs often contain all these essential amino acids while a variety of plant products must be takentogether to provide all these necessary protein components.
FatFat supplies energy and transports nutrients. There are two families of fatty acids considered essential for the body: the omega-3 and omega-6 fattyacids. Essential fatty acids are required by the body to function normally. They can be obtained from canola oil, flaxseed oil, cold-water fish, or fish oil,all of which contain omega-3 fatty acids, and primrose or black currant seed oil, which contains omega-6 fatty acids. The American diet often containsan excess of omega-6 fatty acids and insufficient amounts of omega-3 fats. Increased consumption of omega-3 oils is recommended to help reducerisk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer and alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, dermatitis, and inflammatorybowel disease.
CarbohydratesCarbohydrates are the body's main source of energy and should be the major part of total daily intake. There are two types of carbohydrates: simplecarbohydrates (such as sugar or honey) or complex carbohydrates (such as grains, beans, peas, or potatoes). Complex carbohydrates are preferredbecause these foods are more nutritious yet have fewer calories per gram compared to fat and cause fewer problems with overeating than fat or sugar.Complex carbohydrates also are preferred over simple carbohydrates by diabetics because they allow better blood glucose control.
FiberFiber is the material that gives plants texture and support. Although it is primarily made up of carbohydrates, it does not have a lot of calories and isusually not broken down by the body for energy. Dietary fiber is found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fiber, as the name implies, does not dissolve in water because it contains high amount ofcellulose. Insoluble fiber can be found in the bran of grains, the pulp of fruit and the skin of vegetables. Soluble fiber is the type of fiber that dissolvesin water. It can be found in a variety of fruits and vegetables such as apples, oatmeal and oat bran, rye flour, and dried beans.
Although they share some common characteristics such as being partially digested in the stomach and intestines and have few calories, each type offiber has its own specific health benefits. Insoluble fiber speeds up the transit of foods through the digestive system and adds bulk to the stools,therefore, it is the type of fiber that helps treat constipation or diarrhea and prevents colon cancer. On the other hand, only soluble fiber can lowerblood cholesterol levels. This type of fiber works by attaching itself to the cholesterol so that it can be eliminated from the body. This preventscholesterol from recirculating and being reabsorbed into the bloodstream. In 2003, the World Health Organization released a new report specificallyoutlining the link of a healthy diet rich in high-fiber plant foods to preventing cancer.
Vitamins and mineralsVitamins are organic substances present in food and required by the body in a small amount for regulation of metabolism and maintenance of normalgrowth and functioning. The most commonly known vitamins are A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7(biotin), B9 (folic acid), B12 (cobalamin), C (ascorbic acid), D, E, and K. The B and C vitamins are watersoluble, excess amounts of which are excretedin the urine. The A, D, E, and K vitamins are fat-soluble and will be stored in the body fat.
Minerals are vital to our existence because they are the building blocks that make up muscles, tissues, and bones. They also are importantcomponents of many life-supporting systems, such as hormones, oxygen transport, and enzyme systems.
There are two kinds of minerals: the major (or macro) minerals and the trace minerals. Major minerals are the minerals that the body needs in largeamounts. The following minerals are classified as major: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, and chloride. They are neededto build muscles, blood, nerve cells, teeth, and bones. They also are essential electrolytes that the body requires to regulate blood volume and acid-base balance.
Unlike the major minerals, trace minerals are needed only in tiny amounts. Even though they can be found in the body in exceedingly small amounts,they are also very important to the human body. These minerals participate in most chemical reactions in the body. They also are needed tomanufacture important hormones. The following are classified as trace minerals: iron, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, fluoride, chromium, selenium,molybdenum, and boron.
Many vitamins (such as vitamins A, C, and E) and minerals (such as zinc, copper, selenium, or manganese) act as antioxidants. They protect thebody against the damaging effects of free radicals. They scavenge or mop up these highly reactive radicals and change them into inactive, lessharmful compounds. In so doing, these essential nutrients help prevent cancer and many other degenerative diseases, such as premature aging, heartdisease, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes mellitus.
WaterWater helps to regulate body temperature, transports nutrients to cells, and rids the body of waste materials.
OriginsUnlike plants, human beings cannot manufacture most of the nutrients that they need to function. They must eat plants and/or other animals. Althoughnutritional therapy came to the forefront of the public's awareness in the late twentieth century, the notion that food affects health is not new. JohnHarvey Kellogg was an early health-food pioneer and an advocate of a high-fiber diet. An avowed vegetarian, he believed that meat products wereparticularly detrimental to the colon. In the 1870s, Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where he developed a diet based on nut and vegetableproducts.
PurposeGood nutrition helps individuals achieve general health and well-being. In addition, dietary modifications might be prescribed for a variety of complaintsincluding allergies, anemia, arthritis, colds, depressions, fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, high or low blood pressure, insomnia, headaches,obesity, pregnancy, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), respiratory conditions, and stress.
Nutritional therapy may also be involved as a complement to the allopathic treatments of cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease. Other specificdietary measures include the elimination of food additives for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), gluten-free diets for schizophrenia, anddairy-free for chronic respiratory diseases.
A high-fiber diet helps prevent or treat the following health conditions:
- High cholesterol levels. Fiber effectively lowers blood cholesterol levels. It appears that soluble fiber binds to cholesterol and moves it down thedigestive tract so that it can be excreted from the body. This prevents the cholesterol from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
- Constipation. A high-fiber diet is the preferred nondrug treatment for constipation. Fiber in the diet adds more bulk to the stools, making them softerand shortening the time foods stay in the digestive tract.
- Hemorrhoids. Fiber in the diet adds more bulk and softens the stool, thus, reducing painful hemorrhoidal symptoms.
- Diabetes. Soluble fiber in the diet slows down the rise of blood sugar levels following a meal and helps control diabetes.
- Obesity. Dietary fiber makes a person feel full faster.
- Cancer. Insoluble fiber in the diet speeds up the movement of the stools through the gastrointestinal tract. The faster food travels through thedigestive tract, the less time there is for potential cancer-causing substances to work. Therefore, diets high in insoluble fiber help prevent theaccumulation of toxic substances that cause cancer of the colon. Because fiber reduces fat absorption in the digestive tract, it also may preventbreast cancer.
A diet low in fat also promotes good health and prevents many diseases. Low-fat diets can help treat or control the following conditions:
- Obesity. High fat consumption often leads to excess caloric and fat intake, which increases body fat.
- Coronary artery disease. High consumption of saturated fats is associated with coronary artery disease.
- Diabetes. People who are overweight tend to develop or worsen existing diabetic conditions due to decreased insulin sensitivity.
- Breast cancer. A high dietary consumption of fat is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.