Detail Classes of Food Required for a Balanced Diet

People have being told by the mass media, experts on health and dieticians about the need of balanced diet for humans in lots of versions. Everyone probably has seen the 'food pyramid' that tells which and how much foods they should eat. Instead of looking at the simple food pyramid, people should have a clearer idea to know what nutrition they are taken from food and how nutrients can help them maintain a healthy life. Therefore, this article will mainly talk about the importance of having a balanced diet, reasons for humans to take different food, and the six detail classes of essential nutrients.

A balanced diet contains sufficient amounts of all the necessary nutrients required for healthy growth and activity. The most important thing of balanced diet for humans is that it keeps the mind sharp and promotes a feeling of well-being. It also helps keep the body strong and resistant to illness. Eating the right foods also helps people function better at work and at home. When they do not feel well due to their poor diet, the whole family will suffer too.

A human body can be imagined as a machine that releases energy present from foods that it digests, in other words, foods are the energy source of humans. Unlike other engines, the human body is constantly breaking down (catabolizing) and building up (anabolizing) its component parts. Foods supply vital nutrients to produce new substance and provide energy needed for the chemical reaction involved. It is important to remember that there is no one food that provides all of the nutrients that human bodies need. People must make sure that our diet contains products from different sources and food groups.

A combination of energy-supplying nutrients is provided by most foods, such as vitamins, minerals, water, and other materials that carbohydrate, fat, and proteins are as sources of energy. Hence, there is a need to know more about how these nutrients work to help humans. If a nutrient is considered as ‘essential', it means that nutrient has to be taken in from outside the body—in most cases, from food. Carbohydrates, lipids (mostly fats and oils), proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water are the six essential nutrients found in foods.

Carbohydrates, which are consisted of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, are the major supplier of energy to the body. They are divided into four major groups—monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides – which is the most common. Most monosaccharides, or simple sugars, can be found in grapes, other fruits, and honey. A disaccharide or double sugar is formed by linking with two molecules of a simple sugar together. Oligosaccharides, which contain three to six monosaccharides, are rather irregularly found in natural sources. Polysaccharides (the term means many sugars) represent most of the structural and energy-reserve carbohydrates found in