Essential Nutrition to maintain health

The essential nutrition to maintain will be food and water. We already discussed about water now we see about food. The basic components of food are proteins, carbohydrates and fats. These are known as the proximate principles of food. Richness or otherwise of the various foods, is dependent on the proportion and the quality of these principles present in the foods. Recommended daily allowance for proteins is tabulated below


Children - grams/kg body weight
Up to 5 years - 3.5
5-7 years - 3.0
7-12 years - 2.5
Adolescents
12-15 years - 2.5
15-21 - 2.0
Adults
Man(55kg) - 82
Woman(45kg) - 67
Pregnancy - 101
Lactation - 112
1. Proteins: These are very complex nitrogen containing substances. These are formed by different combinations of about 20 amino-acids. The essential functions of proteins are Repair and growth of body tissues, Body defence.
Deficiency Symptoms: Weak muscles, Poor body tone, Retarded mental reactions, Lower resistance to disease.
Rich Sources: Milk, Legumes, Nuts, Pulses, Beans- Soya bean, Cheese, ”khawa”, Outer layers of cereals, Meat, Fish, Eggs.