B1 Keeping Healthy: Diet and Exercise

Balanced Diets:

A balanced diet provides a person with:

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Fibre 
• Water

Carbs, proteins and fats are the 3 main food groups.

Carbohydrates:

e.g bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar and bananas.

We need it as a source of energy for life processes.

Proteins:

e.g meat, fish, egg and cheese

We need it for growth and repair - building cells

Fats

e.g cheese, butter, margarine and oils

We need it as a source of energy for life processes, and also to make cell membranes and insulate our bodies.

If a person's diet is not balanced, it can cause them to become malnourished.

If a person does not take in enough vitamins or minerals, this can cause a   deficiency disease.

One example of a deficiency disease is scurvy. This is when the body doesn't take in enough Vitamin C (found in oranges). Scurvy causes blood loss from the gums, ears and mouth, and also internal bleeding, which can kill.

How much energy you need in your diet depends on a number of different factors, including:

• Age
• Gender
• Level of activity (how much exercise you do)
• The environmental temperature 
• Your metabolic rate (the rate at which the chemical reactions of your body take place in your cells)

Ideally, your energy input should equal your energy output.

(Basically, the amount of food you eat should equal the amount of activity and exercise you do).

If your energy input is greater than your energy output, you will gain weight.

Likewise, if your energy input is less than your energy output, you will lose weight.

Doctors use BMI (body/mass index) to…