THE PRINCIPLES OF BALANCED NUTRITION

Everyone knows that food is indispensable to sustain life and health.

What are the functions of food?

It provides human body with energy and, therefore, the principles of balanced nutrition should be based on person’s energy expenditure. The consumed food is supposed to restore the energy, pure and simple. Otherwise the excess will be deposited in the body in the form of fat.

With food, our body receives substances that it later uses to build cells. The most essential ones are the proteins. And then there are minerals, fats and carbohydrates that are important too.

Another nutritional function of food is to supply the body with vitamins that are essential for production of certain enzymes and hormones.

The scientists also came to the conclusion that the immune system depends on nutrition as well. What a person eats, directly affects the body’s defenses and its ability to fight illnesses.

The principles of balanced nutrition must also include knowledge about the quality of food composition. To ensure life-sustaining activity, it is necessary that all the nutrients enter the body in certain proportions. On average, for a healthy person engaged in mental work, the following ratio is recommended: one part proteins, one part fats and four parts of carbohydrates. It is also recommended that a person takes vitamins and minerals with food.

The main purpose of food is to promote growth and proper development of a person, improve health and contribute to prevention of diseases. It should match our energy expenditure and have gender- and age-specific nutrient content. That’s the basics of a balanced nutrition. Every person – if he wants to enjoy his health – should adhere to such nutrition!