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Mother, Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Malnutrition |
Healthy Nutrition |
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About Healthy Nutrition
The Elements of a Healthy Diet
Nutritious food gives our body the energy and substances to ...
Food is made up of specific nutrients - proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water - all of which are necessary for life, growth, body function and tissue repair.
Any one food may contain several of these essential nutrients, together with the substances needed to assist their absorption. These essential nutrients can be broken into
two main groups
- Macronutrients, which include fats, carbohydrates and protein. They produce energy and are required in quantities easily measurable by a common scale.
- Micronutrients, which include vitamins and minerals.
They are essential for helping our bodies work properly and strengthening our immune system so that we can resist infections. They are only required in very small or "microscopic" amounts.
To get the most nutrition from your food, you should remember:
- Eat fresh foods with the minimum of processing.
- Eat raw fruits and vegetables whenever possible. If you do cook them, use as little water as possible because many nutrients are destroyed by heat or boiled out of the food into the water.
- Eat fruits and vegetables with skins (apart from carrots, which can absorb toxins from the soil). Wash them carefully first.
- Don't cut, wash or soak fruits and vegetables until you are ready to eat them.
View Energy Content per 100 grams of edible portions, selected foods
View Energy Values of foods comprehensive list of energy values of
common foods in developing countries.
 5 pages 49kb
Source: Measuring Mortality, Nutritional Status, and Food Security in Crisis Situations: SMART Methodology - Standardized Monitoring & Assessment of Relief & Transitions
02 January, 2009
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