The term 'food' brings to our mind countless images. We think of items not
only that we eat and drink but also how we eat them and the places and
people with whom we eat and drink. Food plays an important role in our
lives and is closely associated with our existence. It is probably one of the
most important needs of our lives.
The food that we eat is composed of small units that provide nourishment to
the body. These are required in varying amounts in different parts of the
body for performing specific functions. This means that good nutrition is
essential for good health. However, if our diet provides the important units
in incorrect amounts, either very less or in excess of what is required, it
results in an imbalance of nutrients in your body. The condition is responsible for various deficiency diseases and slow or no growth of the body.
In this lesson you will learn about why food is essential, its functions and
components. You will also be introduced to the terms like ‘nutrition’ and
‘nutrients’. After learning the meaning of these terms, you will then learn
the sources and functions of the nutrients and the amounts required by different individuals.
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Abiy Tamerat Assefa
Healthy diet
Key facts
Overview
Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life-course helps to prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and many people do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and other dietary fibre such as whole grains.
The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced and healthy diet will vary depending on individual characteristics (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle and degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally available foods and dietary customs. However, the basic principles of what constitutes a healthy diet remain the same.
For adults
A healthy diet includes the following:
Source:-https://www.who.int/
Abiy Tamerat Assefa
The Need to Diversify Food Systems
“How to feed the planet” is an increasingly urgent concern for people the world over, brought into relief against a backdrop of mounting social and environmental challenges. Current population and consumption trends are increasing the pressure on Earth’s finite natural resources.
At the same time, climate change, and declining access to oil, water, land, and nutrients, will interact in unpredictable ways, potentially undermining agriculture as we know it.
Ironically, existing agriculture – large-scale, industrial, and monoculture – is already undermining itself, and much else besides, by eroding soils, polluting waterways, creating oceanic dead zones, destroying biodiverse habitats, and contributing to global warming.
It is often stated that the global demand for food will double by 2050, fueling concerns about how we will “feed the world”. This calculation assumes that current trends in population, consumption (i.e the demand for meat and luxury products), and food waste will continue unabated into the future.
However, it is also now better understood that hunger and malnutrition are problems of access, distribution, power, and poverty. These problems cannot be solved by focusing solely on expanding food production, but must instead focus on the root causes of poverty and hunger. Thus, these challenges require greater insight into the large-scale patterns and processes of food production, distribution, and consumption (“food systems”), and the political and economic contexts in which these activities occur. In turn, these challenges require the search for viable alternatives.
–how can food systems that are ecologically and socially diverse contribute to overcome hunger and poverty?
Source:https://food.berkeley.edu/-