Healthy Diet

A balanced diet for All

Builders

Dal,Milk,Meat,Fish,Poultry,Egg

Dal,Nuts,Milk,Milk Products,meat,fish,poultry,and eggs share one predominant nutrient----Proteins.

Dal(also known as pulses),

Dal is a dried pulse which has been split. It is called bele in Kannada and pappu,paruppu in Telugu and Tamil.

Nuts

A Nut is a fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, which is generally edible. In botany, there is an additional requirement that the shell does not open to release the seed.

Milk,Milk Products

Milk or mammal milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals.It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals.

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans are Omnivorous, and have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times.

Fish

A Fish is any member of a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic craniate animals that lack limbs with digits.

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the eggs they produce, their meat, their feathers, or sometimes as pets.

Egg

Eggs are laid by female animals of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have been eaten by humans for thousands of years.

Proteins

What does protein do?

                           








 Protein is the main building block of our bodies. All our cells |tissues are made of protein. Right from the growth of a fingernails to healing a wound,It's the protein in our bodies that makes it all happen. Also an energy provider,the body uses protein energy only after it has exhausted the energy provided by carbohydrates.



Like carbohydrates,1g of protein provides 4 kcals of energy.

  

Protein is made up of very small units called amino acids.There are basically 20 amino acids that link together forming chains in many different combinations to create thousands of proteins. Some amino acids can be manufactured by our bodies.However,some cannot | therefore must be obtained through the food we eat.
These protein units are appropriately called essential amino acids. Needless to say,we have to ensure that we eat the right combination of protein-rich foods to fulfil our daily requirement of essential amino acids.
We get protein through vegetable and animal sources. However, the amount|quality of the protein in both vary considerably:

• First class protein is found in meat,fish,eggs,poultry,milk and milk products.It contains most of the essential amino acids| is therefore of very high quality.

• Second class protein is found in dal,nuts and vegetables(peas,beans etc.). It does not contain all the essential amino acids and is hence referred to as second class protein.

"Our bodies can mix|match to build first class protein.So,vegetarians too can get their protein requirements with the right combination of vegetarian food sources."




Milk| Milk Products contain very good quality protein.That's not surprising considering only source of protein for an infant is milk.

Milk , in the form of curd, is even better because the process of fermentation breaks down the protein into its simplest form making digestion easier.

Beside Protein, milk contains vitamins|minerals like riboflavin | calcium, both essential for good health across all age groups. Milk is a must in everyone's daily diet.


"Did you know the whey of curd(the liquid that separates from it) is rich in protein?
So,never throw it away.Knead it into your chapatti dough or add to curries?"



Meat,Fish|Poultry are good sources of  first class protein |Vitamin B12. But the downside to meat | poultry is Fat. In additional,meats are traditionally cooked in extra oil.So not only does the fat content increases, but the risk of many health problems like Heart diseases, etc.

Meat must therefore be eaten in moderation using methods of cooking that require very little or virtually no oil at all.


"Did you know nutritionists recommend fish as the healthier non-vegetarian option because its   fat is known to protect the heart?"


Egg is an excellent source of protein.In fact,egg white contains all the amino acids,making it a perfect source of protein.So much so, the study of nutrition uses the quality of protein found in egg as a standard to compare other sources of protein.



"Protein is found in both egg white | yolk,while fat is mainly concentrated in the yolk"



How much is enough?

Nutritionists recommend that 15-20% of our daily calorie requirement be fulfilled with foods rich in protein from either vegetables or animal sources i.e, appr 2-4 servings of milk and 1-2 serving of dal.

For How much is 1 serving? additional information is also available in Food Composition Tables | Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances for Indians.

Related blog

http://www.avestagoodearthfoods.com/h&w_2.htm