Balanced Diet

Editor's Notes

1. You often hear people talk about a “balanced diet” or a “mixed diet”. But what exactly are they talking about?
2. There are two kinds of “mix” in mixed diets: - Variety of foods, the daily diversity - The mix of food groups – ALL food groups
3. You could also say there are two kinds of balance: All the food groups in the right proportion Every day and through the whole year.
4. How should we put it together? The ingredients of a good diet are A starchy staple food (rice, bread, cassava, potatoes) two or three times a day A little high-protein food every day (meat, fish, an egg, milk, beans, groundnuts) A lot of fruits and vegetables every day (4-5 per day) A little oil or fat Flavourings to make the food appetizing and interesting.
5. And with all of these, diversity: more than one staple different kinds of protein a variety of fruits and vegetables different dishes different flavours.
6. You surely know some examples of an “unbalanced” diet: THE SNACK FOOD DIET Large amounts of fatty foods, carbohydrates and sugar THE POOR MAN’S DIET Staple foods, always the same, with a few vegetables THE URBAN WORKER’S DIET Meat and potatoes, chicken and chips, pizza and noodles.   Sometimes due to necessity, sometimes to bad habits and sometimes to ignorance, sometimes to all three.    
7. Sometimes due to necessity, sometimes to bad habits and sometimes to ignorance, sometimes to all three.    
8. Effects – These are just some effects. Match them up with the unbalanced diets. THE SNACK-FOOD DIET: Too much fat, sugar and carbohydrate, with too little exercise, leads to obesity and heart disease. Too much sugar affects the teeth. THE POOR MAN’S DIET Poor general health results from lack of fruit and vegetables. A monotonous unvaried diet, with little high-protein food, fruit and vegetables, will result in fatigue, poor resistance to diseases and (in children) poor mental and physical growth and development. There are many specific diseases due to lacks of specific micronutrients. THE URBAN WORKER’S DIET: The high level of fat and carbohydrate (plus sedentary lifestyle) may lead to obesity and heart disease; the lack of fruit and vegetables will undermine health generally and increase vulnerability to infection.