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 About Our Diet
Eat a Balanced Diet For A
Healthy Life
You can eat almost any food as part of a
healthy diet provided you maintain the correct balance between the different
types of food. The correct proportions of these are shown in the Healthy Eating
pyramid where bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes - the complex
carbohydrates - form the basic foundation of a healthy diet. Fruit, vegetables,
meat, fish, eggs, pulses, dairy products, fats and sugars are shown in the
recommended proportions
The Worlds Foodstore
The world is full of cycles where something is
changed from one form into another, for example, carbon from the air goes into
the make up of plants, the plants are eaten by animals and the carbon is
released back into the air through breathing.
Here is a food chain showing how cheese is
produced. All food chains start with plants.
GRASS > COW > MILK > CHEESE
The energy we derive from foods is measured in
units called calories. The calories in 100g of foods vary from food to food and
can be found in the nutritional panel on food labels.
All over the world cereal grains of one type or
another provide the staple food and the basis of various food chains. In some
food chains several grain calories are required to produce one calorie of
another food.
Understanding Nutritional
Information
Typical values per 100g are given on most food
labels.
| Energy
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Food is the fuel to keep our bodies going. The amount of fuel or energy in a
food is calculated from the protein, carbohydrate, fat and alcohol content. It
is measured in kilocalories (Kcal) and kilojoules (Kj).
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| Protein
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Made up from 20 amino acids, protein is essential for general health, growth
and tissue maintenance.
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| Carbohydrates |
A compound of carbon hydrogen and oxygen, this is a measure of the available
carbohydrate derived from the sugars and starches in a food.
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| of which
sugars
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Free monosaccharides and disaccharides comprise the sugar fraction.
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| Total fat
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Glycerol and fatty acids are the measurable fat content in food.
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| of which
saturated fat |
Part of the fatty acid group which many people wish to avoid.
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| Dietary Fibre |
Contributing little in a way of energy fibre provides the essential bulk in
food.
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| Sodium
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Common salt is sodium chloride. Measuring the sodium in a food is useful for
those trying to avoid salt.
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