Food

About Solution

Food.

The foundation for good physical health is good nutritional status.

Nutritional status is directly affected by the foods we eat and their nutrient

content. Good nutritional status depends on eating the right amounts and the

right variety of safe, good quality foods to meet our individual nutritional needs.

Food provides the energy and nutrients needed to support all body

functions, maintain good health and carry out everyday activities.

Food contains many ingredients, called nutrients, which help the body function

well. Foods are complex mixtures of different components, providing varying

amounts of the nutrients the body needs. Most nutrients cannot be produced by

the body and must be taken in adequate amounts from the food we eat in order to

be healthy and prevent disease. No single food contains all the nutrients needed by

the body in the right amounts; one food may be rich in one or two nutrients, but

low in other essential nutrients. It is only by eating adequate amounts of a variety

of foods that we can help ensure that we will take in the right amounts of the

nutrients needed for good health and nutritional status.

Individuals and families must always be able to get the food they

need to be well-nourished. This means that people must be able to grow,

hunt or catch the food they need or earn enough money to buy it. Food must be

sufficient in both amount and variety to meet the needs of all family members.

It must be safe – not contaminated or harmful to health – and of good quality –

fresh, unspoiled and of good nutritional value. Food must also be acceptable to

the culture of that family or household.

Producing more food in the country or community does not

guarantee that people will have the food they need for good

nutritional status. For example, if local shops and markets do not offer a good

variety of foods, if people cannot afford the food that is available, if their diets lack

the variety needed for all of the essential vitamins or minerals, if adequate food is

not available in all seasons and all year long, or if food is spoiled, contaminated or

unsafe to eat, people will not have the food they need for good nutritional status.

Health, living conditions and

health services

Many common infectious diseases and common parasites have a

major effect on health and nutritional status; for example, diarrhoeal

and respiratory diseases, measles, malaria, tuberculosis, roundworms, hookworm

and HIV/AIDS. The infections themselves damage nutritional status: a person

suffering from infection usually has little appetite and tends to eat less. This lack of

food during illness can be a serious threat to the health of a malnourished person,

who has little or no stored reserves of energy and nutrients. Poorly nourished

people are likely to suffer from these diseases more often, more severely and for

longer periods of time than well-nourished people. In addition, infectious diseases

can increase the need for certain nutrients, and especially energy. When people

have diarrhoea, their bodies lose fluids and nutrients instead of absorbing them,

so their supply of nutrients gets used up very quickly. This leads to a continuing

cycle of malnutrition and infection. Infections and other illnesses can worsen the

state of malnutrition, and poor nutrition can worsen an infection and weaken the

body’s ability to fight disease.

Infectious diseases are easily spread through poor living

conditions, lack of sanitation and from person to person. Clean water,

effective sanitation facilities for the removal of human waste and rubbish, keeping

places free from insects, rodents and parasites, and avoiding overcrowding are all

necessary for reducing the risk of spreading disease. Disease is also spread by poor

handling of both raw and cooked foods (called “food-borne illness”). Keeping

the environment as clean as possible, practising good personal hygiene and food

handling habits help decrease the spread of these diseases.

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