Prof (Dr) R.D. Gupta
Nutrition is the science of food and its relationship to health of the human beings (Women, men, Young ones and children). According to World Health Organization, the concept of health is the state of complete physical, social and mental well being and not only absence of any infirmity or disease. It is remarkable to note that nutrition and health are never synonymous, but without good and adequate nutrition, the health can not be at its best status. Nutrition, thus, deals with the nature and distribution of various nutrients present in the food, their metabolic effects and consequences resulted in due to intake of inadequate and imbalanced food.
Nutrients and Balanced Diet
Nutrients are the chemical compounds which are absorbed in the body and act to promote health. Some of these nutrients are essential as they can not be synthesized in the bodies and must be derived from the foods or diets. Generally, nutrients have been classified into two groups viz; macro-nutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients constitute the bulk of the food and suppy energy as well as nutrients required for the maintenance of body’s growth and its activity. Such nutrients consist of carbohydrates and fats/lipids and proteins. The formers provide the energy and the latter provide the growth of the body tissues. Contrary to this, macronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Adequate supply of these nutrients along with macronutrients is the fundamental basic requirement for positive health functional efficiency and productivity. Thus, a food or diet which fulfills the requirement of both macro and micronutrients or components necessary for a hale and healthy life is known as Balanced Diet.
Balanced Nutritious Diet
A wide variety of well balanced and nutritious foods like green leafy veggies, fresh fruits and legumes etc, are required to be taken up daily. One must be encouraged to eat plenty of cereals, but prefer to inculcate the habit of eating whole grain food or diet. Milk and milk products are a must, especially for the children for their growth. They serve a fabulous sources of calcium that ensures children’s healthy bones and teeth. Going in for low fat skimmed milk is not prescribed for the children under the age, but young children and adolescents can opt for low fat milk varieties.
The health of the Indian women is among the worst in the world. A recent World Bank Report has put the figure of anaemic and under nourished girls in India at about 200 millions and women at nearly 30 millions. In another report, over 60 per cent of Indian women including girls, irrespective of class, are anaemic (Chinai, 2012). In 50 per cent of the 2.1 million annual deaths of children under five years of age, the underlying cause is mal nutrition. This is attributed to poverty and poor infant feeding practices, neglect of balanced nutritious diet and social customs like eating after the men and the boys have been fed, leaving the females unnourished. Such girls and women must be given vegetarian diets. It is because such kinds of diets are not only rich sources of dietary fibres (Carbohydrates) but also provide sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E vis-à-vis riboflavin, thiamin and folic acid are in good amount. Several minerals confined to the vegetarian diets are iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and iodine. They are also good sources of antioxidants for fighting against free radicles amenable to yield varies kinds of cancer. Moreover, most of the food stuffs from plant origin (except oil seeds) do not possess high content of fat, and which ever fat present is, to a greater extent is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids are rather essential for maintaining good health and some of them are, therefore, called essential fatty acids. Vegetarian food stuffs do not have cholesterol.
Recent studies have indicated that apart from iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium, certain other minerals present in vegetables/fruits like manganese, boron, silicon and zinc also play a pivotal role in the maintenance of human bodies. Manganese is necessary for the syntheses of connective tissue in cartilage bone. Boron is such a nutrient which increases magnesium concentration and decreases that of phosphorus. Silicon is important for strengthening the connective tissue matrix and, thereby, strengthening the bone. Zinc is generally essential for normal functioning of vitamin D.
In the light of the above that both women and men must include in their diet consumption of whole grains food as well as fruits (apple, pears, grapes) and vegetables including greens (fenugreek, spinach, coriander etc) and legumes (peas and beans) to meet out the body requirements of manganese and boron minerals in particular.
There is no doubt that a purely vegetarian diet is low in protein content, But it can be enriched by including milk and its products as well as pulses and nuts. Hence, to ensure an adequate intake of protein in the diet one must consume at least 2-3 servings of whole pulses and few nuts (almonds, peanuts). Sprouting of whole pulses, incorporating cereal pulse combinations and fermentation of cereals and pulses can assist in ameliorating the bio-availability of proteins and, therefore, help in balancing the diet.
In the end, it is emerges that access to nutritious food ensures across the board health and prevention of a range of diseases. If there is no simultaneous access to nourishing or nutritious food, no amount of medicines or vaccines can work on the malnourished ones. To fulfill the demand for vegetables and fruits, India is required to reconsider its agriculture policies that promote cash crops and their development models.
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