Inter-Relationship Between Diet And Health

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Discuss the inter-relationship between diet and health/ill health Health is shaped by eating a balanced diet with the right combination and quantity of nutrients. Achieving optimum nutrition through a varied healthy balanced diet leads to health, wellbeing and normal development, but under- nutrition and over- nutrition can lead to serious health problems (Gibney, 2009, p. 4). Calories, macronutrients (in the form of carbohydrate, protein and fat) and micronutrients (in the form of vitamins and minerals) as well as fibre and water are essential components for a balanced diet. Nutrients are categorised into basic foodstuffs: bread, cereal rice and pasta: fruit and vegetables: dairy products: meat, fish and other sources of protein. A healthy balanced diet consists of sufficient quantities of each of these food groups in the correct proportions. Complex carbohydrates and fruit and vegetables should account for the majority of energy intake, and the Department of Health (DH) (1997) recommend five portions of fruit and vegetables a day to maintain health. Table 1 shows the Dietary Reference Values (DRV) for macronutrients and figure 1, the Eatwell plate (DH, 2003) gives a visual aid of the recommended proportion of each food group Table 1 Figure 1; The Eatwell plate |Nutrients |Dietary Reference Values (DRV) – | | |percentage of daily energy intake| |Carbohydrate (4 calories per 1g)|45-65% | |Fat (9 calories per 1g) |20-35% | |Protein (4 calories per 1g) |10-35% | [pic] Figures taken from Brown (2010, p. 6.4). DH (2003) Fat is a necessary component of a healthy diet and is consumed through dairy, meat, fish and

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