To live one must eat. But, we not only eat to live, what we eat also affects our ability to keep healthy, do work, to be happy and to live well. Knowledge of what to eat and in what quantities is a prerequisite to the healthy and happy life.
Nutrition is the science that deals with all the various factors of which food is composed and the way in which proper nourishment is brought about. The average nutritional requirements of groups of people are fixed and depend on such measurable characteristics such as age, sex, height, weight, degree of activity and rate of growth.
Food is anything solid or liquid that has a chemical composition which enables it, when swallowed to do one or more of the following
1.Provide the body with the material from which it can produce heat, or any form of energy.
2.Provide material to allow growth, maintenance, repair or reproduction to proceed.
3.Supply substances, which normally regulate the production of energy or the process of growth, repair or reproduction.
Good nutrition requires a satisfactory diet, which is capable of supporting the individual consuming it, in a state of good health by providing the desired nutrients in required amounts. It must provide the right amount of fuel to execute normal physical activity. If the total amount of nutrients provided in the diet is insufficient, a state of under nutrition will develop.
The council on Food and Nutrition of the American Medical Association defines nutrition as “The science of foods, the nutrients and the substances therein, their action, interaction and balance in relation to health and diseases. Nutrition science is the area of knowledge regarding the role of food in the maintenance of good health. Thus nutrition is the study of food at work in our body.
Health is defined by the World Health Organization of the United Nations as the “State of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity (or ill- health/illness)”
Nutrition is one key to developing and maintaining a state of health that is optimal for you. In addition, a poor diet coupled with a sedentary lifestyle is known to be risk factors for life- threatening chronic diseases and death: Heart disease, Stroke, Hypertension, Diabetes and some forms of Cancer. Together these diseases account for two- thirds of all deaths in the United States. The major health problems in the United States are largely caused by excessive energy intake and not enough physical activity.
Most of the population in the urban areas all over the world faces the threat of malnutrition. With the trend of eating quick, tasty and junk food, the possibility of getting proper nutrition is diminishing. No junk or deep fried food contains nutrition. Nutrition in otherwise can be synonymous with a balanced diet, which means consuming enough amount of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and clean water. In the day-to-day lives people are consuming more fats and carbohydrates than required and less proteins, vitamins and minerals, this type of eating habit combined with sedentary lifestyle will obviously lead to cardiovascular problems, obesity and other degenerative diseases.
Even though only a very few amount of Proteins, vitamins and minerals are required by the human body, it’s an irony that we don’t receive the required daily.
It is also shocking to hear that even if we would like to consume all the essential nutrients daily, there is no provision to get them from food, forexample, in order to consume the actual per day requirement of vitamin C, we should eat at least 10-12 oranges per day, which is impractical.
A broader outlook at disorders will prove that, almost all the new types of disorders are all caused due to the deficiency of one or the other type of nutrient.
Cancer, Cardiac problems,Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disorder etc. are all caused due to the deficiency of nutrients in our body. In the old days when people used to get sick because of a virus or bacteria, it could be cured by providing the appropriate antibiotic or medicine, the reasons for diseases like Malaria; Cholera etc are due to unhygienic conditions and other external sources such as microorganisms.
But nowadays disorders like diabetes, hypertension, cancer etc are difficult to cure mainly because of the reason that the factor causing such illness is internal, i.e. because of the deficiency of proper nutrients, pollutedfood, fast lifestyle,oxidation etc
Since getting proper nutrition is difficult or rather impossible only from food, it is highly recommended that we intake such nutrients from supplementation. With adequate intake of supplements we can prevent such disorders and also upto a stage cure some chronic degenerative disorders.
