Your Food And Its Utilisation (Set of 5 Books)

About the Book

Book 1: How to Meet The Nutritional Needs of Body?

Book 2: Assimilation of Food and Its Effects on Growth & Activity

Book 3: Nutrition of Mother and Child

Book 4: Nutrition from School Age to Old Age

Book 5: Nutritional Status, Food Habits and Food Misconceptions

Book 1: How to Meet The Nutritional Needs of Body?

The three units of this block have been prepared to let you learn more about food, nutrients and nutrition in the context of the physiological needs of the body and the recommended dietary intake for Indians. We derive the meaning of food from our experiences in the choice and use of it to. satisfy our hunger and appetite. More often than not we select foods based on considerations other than the nutrient needs of the body, such as traditional beliefs, the cost and prestige value given to foods; Our concern is that we should be more aware of our nutritional needs and that we should make a wise choice from a variety of foods available to us.

In this block the focus is on guidelines to meet our nutritional needs. The use of the daily food guide in the planning of our meals and in the evaluation of our meals is discussed at length. The practical experiments in this unit give you the opportunity to evaluate your own food intake in a day with regard to the type and quality of foods recommended in the daily food guide. Our intention is that you should

monitor your food intake regularly and maintain your health.

Book 2: Assimilation of Food and Its Effects on Growth & Activity

Food is a complex substance which requires breaking up into smaller units before it is utilized in the body. The process of digestion helps you to bring about this change in food. In Unit 4 of this block we help you to learn about digestion of food, absorption and utilization of nutrients. The importance of these processes in nutrition is emphasized. In Unit 5 the concepts of growth and development are described to enable you to relate the physiology of growth to nutrient requirements. The concepts of normal nutrition, under nutrition and over nutrition are explained to you in Unit 6 of this block, highlighting the effect of poor nutrition on the health of an individual. You will become aware of the diseases related to under nutrition and over nutrition. In Unit 7 the role of food in supporting our activities is discussed in the context of the energy needs of the body and the energy supply. We claim that body weight can be maintained-through reaching a balance between energy intake and energy needs among people who follow a sedentary, active and very active way of life.

Book 3: Nutrition of Mother and Child

Food is a requirement throughout our life from the time of conception till death. Therefore we need to be aware of the nutritional needs at different stages of life and try to nourish the body through a judicious combination of foods. In Unit 8 we begin our discussion on "Nutrition through the life cycle", with the foetal stage during pregnancy. The nutritional needs and risk factors for malnutrition in pregnancy are explained to you to help you take care of both the mother and the baby to be, during pregnancy. We continue our discussion on " Nutrition through the life cycle" focusing first of infancy and then on the preschool age in Units 9 and 10, respectively. These stages of life are described as very critical stages of growth and also as vulnerable to infection and disease. The importance of breast feeding, supplementary feeding and hygienic practices in feeding is brought to you. Our concern is to promote good food habits and good nutrition from the foundation stage of life so that the health and efficiency are ensured for the future adults.

Book 4: Nutrition from School Age to Old Age

The child continues to grow during the school years but not as rapidly as in infancy and preschool age. In Unit H the nutritional needs and meal patterns of the school age child are discussed while in Unit 12, the discussion is on the adolescent's nutrition. The special problems of adolescents and their effect on nutritional status are highlighted to enable you to advice or guide the adolescents to better nutritional practices. From the adolescent way of life we move on to adulthood and then to old age in Units 13 and 14 of this block. The importance of maintaining body functions in the adult, through nutritional support, is stressed in the context of differing socio-economic levels. The influence of sex and occupation on nutritional needs is explained to you so that you could make a suitable

choice of foods and plan your meals for the family based on the number and sex composition of the family.

The effect of ageing varies from one person to another. Apart from this, the nutritional needs of the aged have to be met keeping in view their lowered capacity to utilise nutrients, their psychological state related to retirement and lowered income, their physical problems like loss of teeth and decreased activity and other needs. In Unit 14 this awareness is brought to you so that you can pay extra attention to the nutrition of the elderly and bring happiness to them in the evening of their life.

Book 5: Nutritional Status, Food Habits and Food Misconceptions

In Unit 15, we attempt to explain one of the important components of the environment, i.e. the interaction between heredity and nutrition, in deciding the nutritional status of an individual. Body dimensions can be taken as indicators of nutritional status. The various methods that we can use to measure body dimensions are described in detail so that you can learn to assess the nutritional status of different age groups and offer diet advice to those who need it. 111 addition, dietary assessment is explained to you to enable you to decide what changes need to be made in the diet to improve the nutritional status. Food habits and food misconceptions have a significant impact on our dietary intake and nutritional status. Therefore in Unit 16, we discuss good and poor food habits, their formation, the need to lay a strong foundation in childhood with respect to good food habits and the need to constantly monitor our food habits to reach the goal of health at all stages of life. In Unit 17, we advise you to be vigilant about misconceptions and misinformation regarding food that come to us from various sources like friends, relatives and the media. If we wish to follow the path of health it is up to us to be better informed, to be more vigilant and to develop good food habits not only in ourselves but also in others with whom we associate.

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