Balanced Diet

There is a saying "You are what you eat" and this is very true. Food supplies your body with the chemicals it needs for growth, repair and energy. If it doesn't get these in the right amounts, things start to go wrong. A balanced diet contains the correct proportions of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals in the right amounts to meet your body's needs. Water and fiber are also important.

Carbohydrates provide your body with energy, proteins are digested to provide your body with the amino acids it needs for growing new cells and repairing damage. Fats are needed to enable your body to absorb vitamins A, D and E as well as being digested to provide fatty acids that cannot be made by your body. Any unused fats and carbohydrates are stored as body fat. Convenience foods and fast foods usually contain far too many carbohydrates and fats to be regarded as 'balanced' which is why people who eat mainly these types of food end up being overweight. Vitamins and minerals are only needed in very small quantities but a lack of these can cause diseases like scurvy and rickets. Water is essential in many ways, most of the chemical reactions that power you need water. Finally, you need fiber to keep your intestnes healthy and to bulk up the waste material so that it can be expelled on a regular basis.

The required daily amounts of each of these nutrients is different for different people. Children require proportionally more protein than adults because they are growing but growth in adults has stopped, so they need protein only to repair cells and to replace dead cells such as skin and nails. Older people require less energy than younger people and so they need to eat less than when they were younger. A balanced diet for you as a child and as a teenager is different to the balanced diet you need as an adult. Paying attention to what you eat could lead to a long and healthy life!

See how much you know about balanced diets by trying this quiz!