A Healthy Diet
A healthy balanced diet should contain the following things
| carbohydrates | These are purely for energy. | potatoes, pasta, bread, bananas, sugar and rice |
| protein | These provide energy and are important for growth and repair | meat, fish, eggs and cheese |
| fats / oils | These provide energy and are needed to make cell membranes. Fats also insulate our bodies. | cheese, butter, margarine and oils |
| vitamins Nutrients which are important to stay healthy. Without certain vitamins we can become very ill. |
vitamin A - good for eyesight vitamin B2 - good for skin, hair, growth vitamin C - good for immune system vitamin D - strong teeth and bones |
If you eat at least 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables every day then you should get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy. |
| minerals Small amounts of certain minerals are needed to stay healthy |
Calcium - strong teeth and bones Zinc - good for immune system Iron - good for healthy blood |
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| fibre | Fibre is not digested but it allows the muscles in our intestines to push food through | wholemeal bread, fruit, vegetables and pulses |
| water | Most of are bodies are water. Without enough water we would become very ill very quickly. |
If a persons diet is not balanced then they will be malnourished.
If certain things are not present or there is not enough then this is called a deficiency and can cause disease
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| This boy does not have a balanced diet. He eats far too many fats and carbohydrates which his body does not need. | Many countries in the world are very poor. This child has not had enough protein so is suffering from Kwashiorkor disease. | A lack of magnesium can lead to a disease called depression | Scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C |