Chapter 5: Food for Health

1. Balanced Diet:
A balanced diet is a meal plan that contains all essential nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, roughage, and water) in the right quantities required for growth, tissue repair, disease defense, and daily physical activity.

2. Three Functional Food Groups:
• Energy-Giving Foods (Carbohydrates & Fats): Supply instant and stored energy. Sources: Rice, wheat, potatoes, bananas, butter, ghee, nuts.
• Body-Building Foods (Proteins): Build muscles, repair worn-out cells, and promote height growth. Sources: Pulses, milk, paneer, eggs, fish, soybean.
• Protective Foods (Vitamins & Minerals): Boost immunity, protect against infections, and keep eyes, skin, and bones healthy. Sources: Green leafy vegetables (spinach), citrus fruits, carrots, papaya.

1. Reasons for Cooking Food:
• Kills harmful disease-causing bacteria and parasites present in raw ingredients.
• Breaks down complex starches and tough plant fibers, making food soft, palatable, and easily digestible.
• Enhances taste, aroma, texture, and visual appeal.

2. Steaming vs. Deep Frying:
• Steaming cooks food gently using water vapour without submerging it in oil. It retains delicate water-soluble vitamins (like Vitamin C and B-complex) and natural flavours without adding unhealthy cholesterol.
• Deep frying exposes food to extreme heat, destroying vitamins and loading the food with excess trans-fats and calories that cause obesity and digestive sluggishness.

Three Traditional Preservation Methods:
1. Sun-Drying (Dehydration): Removing all moisture content from foods by spreading them in strong sunlight. Without moisture, bacteria and fungi cannot grow. Examples: Raw mango slices (amchur), red chillies, papads.
2. Pickling in Salt & Mustard Oil: High salt draws out water from microbial cells (osmosis), and an oil layer on top blocks contact with airborne oxygen, preventing bacterial multiplication. Examples: Mango, lemon, and amla pickles.
3. Sugar Syrupping: Storing boiled fruits in thick, concentrated sugar syrup where microbes cannot survive due to high osmotic pressure. Examples: Murabba, fruit jams.

Precautions for Safe Drinking Water:
1. Boiling: Boiling water vigorously for at least 10–15 minutes kills all bacteria, viruses, and amoebic cysts.
2. Covered Storage: Always store drinking water in clean, covered vessels or earthen pots fitted with a tap.
3. No Hand Dipping: Never dip unwashed fingers or glasses directly into storage pots; always use a clean, long-handled ladle or tap.

Balanced Diet & Food Groups:
A diet containing all essential nutrients in proper proportions for healthy growth.
1. Energy-Giving Foods: Carbohydrates and fats (e.g., Rice, Wheat, Potatoes, Ghee).
2. Body-Building Foods: Proteins for muscle repair and growth (e.g., Pulses, Milk, Paneer, Eggs).
3. Protective Foods: Vitamins and minerals to fight diseases (e.g., Fresh green leafy vegetables, Citrus fruits).

Food Preservation Methods:
1. Pickling in Oil & Salt: High salt and oil prevent microbial and bacterial growth in mangoes and lemons.
2. Sun-Drying (Dehydration): Removing moisture under hot sunlight prevents fungus on papads, potato chips, and red chillies.
3. Boiling: High temperature kills harmful germs in milk and drinking water.

Preparing Sprouts:
• Soak whole moong or chana in water overnight. Next morning, drain the water, wrap seeds in a wet cotton cloth, and keep in a warm place for 24 hours until tiny white shoots sprout out.
• Nutrition: Sprouting multiplies vitamins (especially Vitamin C), digestive enzymes, and makes protein easier to digest.

Benefits of Seasonal Produce:
1. Freshly harvested local produce retains maximum vitamins, natural crunch, and aroma without preservatives.
2. Seasonal fruits provide specific nutrients suited for that weather (e.g., watermelons for summer hydration, citrus for winter immunity).
3. It reduces carbon footprint and supports regional farmers.

Preventing Food Wastage:
1. Serve smaller portions onto your plate first; take a second helping only if still hungry.
2. Donate excess untouched food from weddings and parties to verified food-rescue NGOs or community fridges.

Roughage:
The indigestible fibrous part of plant foods found in whole grains, oats, apples, carrots, and cucumber salads. It adds bulk to stools, keeps bowel movements regular, and prevents constipation.

Importance of Water:
1. Regulates body temperature through sweat and respiration.
2. Helps dissolve and transport nutrients to cells and flushes out metabolic toxins through urine.

Harm of Junk Food:
Junk foods contain excessive refined sugar, saturated oils, trans fats, and artificial additives. Overeating them causes childhood obesity, tooth decay, lethargy, and raises future diabetes risks.

Checking Labels:
• The FSSAI mark guarantees that the food meets national safety standards.
• The Expiry Date warns consumers when chemical degradation or microbial contamination can cause food poisoning.

Diverse Indian Breads:
1. Makki ki Roti: Made of maize flour in Punjab (eaten with Sarson ka Saag).
2. Bajra Roti: Made of pearl millet in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
3. Jowar Bhakri: Made of sorghum in Maharashtra and Karnataka.