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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