Q.1 The energy requirements are different for different people. Why?

Answer:
Calorie Requirements for Different Age Groups
Units of calories vary within the same age groups. Calories consumed from healthy eating are
the best of its kind. 70 percent of the calories we consume daily to maintain essential body
processes – like breathing, pumping blood, keeping the body‘s organs working, walking, and
eating. Even while sleeping, we consume calories.

Healthy Eating For Kids

A one-year-old baby needs approximately 1,150 calories a day. These come mainly from
breast milk or formula milk, and some solids, in the first year.
It is best to avoid salt and sugar for babies, salt posing a danger to the baby‘s kidneys and
sugar encouraging a taste for sweet things.
There are foods that must be included to ensure healthy eating for kids. While low calorie
versions of milk are good for adults and children need full fat milk. Babies should not be fed
semi-skimmed before they are two, or skimmed milk before they are five.
As they grow older, children need more calories.
Healthy eating for kids means:
 four to six-year-olds require an average of 1,630 calories per day
 seven to ten-year-olds need 1,855 calories per day
 11 to 14-year-olds need 2,030 calories per day
There is a slight increase in these figures for boys and a slight decrease for girls. Because
they grow rapidly, healthy eating for kids is essential and they need proportionately more
nutrients than adults. As they approach their teens, another growth spurt will signal a need for
even more nutrients. Some of the best of these are available in low calorie recipes.

Calorie Requirement for Young People in Their Mid to Late Teens

Among 15-18-year-olds, the average is 2,755 for boys and 2,110 for girls.
Low calorie recipes will deliver balanced, filling, and nutritious meals are needed to meet
these raised calorie requirements. Healthy eating for kids is very important at this time,
especially since teenagers often develop a taste for fast food or even try experimenting with
different food regimes. It is wise for parents to keep an eye on girls, in particular, if they feel
too much attention is being paid to calories, or if they notice meals are being missed.
Adult Figures for Healthy Eating
Adult requirements vary according to age as well as height, weight, activity, and gender. An
average 1,940 calories daily should be consumed by women and 2,550 by men. An adult
male who takes little or no exercise and sits at a desk all day will obviously require many
fewer calories than a man whose job keeps him highly active or someone who works out at
the gym.

Pregnant Women
In the case of a pregnant woman, there is no need to “eat for two”. A mother-to-be can
increase her daily average, however, to 2,400 calories. This will allow an extra serving or two
of energy foods, such as, bread and cereals and extra glasses of milk, or their equivalent in
yogurt or cheese, to make sure she is getting enough protein and calcium. Low calorie
versions of other foods in her diet will still deliver enough nutrition.
Diet and Nutrition
In Old Age, Calorie Needs Decrease
It is natural for weight loss to occur as people grow older and appetites decrease. Though less
active, older people need more nourishing foods than ever before in order to maintain
optimum health through healthy eating.
The Best Kind of Calories
Probably just as important as knowing about calories is to know where the calories are
coming from. The aim should be to consume as few calories as possible in the form of fats
and sugary foods, which is why low calorie choices are the best option. Ideally, adults should
get no more than 27-30% of their calories as fats, and, of those, no more than 8 percent from
saturated fats. Individual requirements for nutrients vary considerably, depending upon
factors, such as, age and sex as you saw above. Other relevant factors are size, metabolic rate
(see below) and occupation. The situation is further complicated as interactions between
components of the diet may alter the efficiency of absorption or utilization of a particular
nutrient. The body also has stores of certain nutrients (fat-soluble
vitamins, for example) so that variations in daily intake of such nutrients can be
accommodated. The average energy intake in the UK is 2,050 Kcal for men and 1,680 Kcal
for women. The energy in diet is provided by carbohydrate, protein and fat. The amount of
energy made available to the body by each of these varies. A gram of carbohydrate (starch or
sugar) provides 4 Kcal, protein provides 4 Kcal per gram, and fat provides 9 Kcal per gram.
Q.2 What is BMI? And how can it be calculated?
Answer:
BMI is a measure that can allow us to check if we are a healthy weight for our height. It
allows for natural variations in body shape, giving a healthy weight range for a particular
height. Although useful for most people, BMI doesn't work for everyone. It‘s not suitable for
young children or older people. It‘s also not very useful if we have a high muscle bulk. The
heavier muscles will push up the BMI measurement. For instance, heavily muscled rugby
players have 'obese' BMIs, even though they are not carrying excess body fat. To calculate
BMI weight (in kg) is divided by height (in metres) squared.

To calculate BMI, take the weight (kg) and divide it by height (m). Then, divide that number
once again by height (m).
An example of calculating BMI using the Body Mass Index formula:
Height = 165 cm (1.65 m)
Weight = 68 kg
BMI Calculation: 68 ÷ (1.65)2 = 24.98
A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered under weight, a BMI between 18.5 and 25 is
considered healthy. A
BMI of over 25 is considered as overweight. A BMI of over 30 is defined as obese.
 Underweight = <18.5
 Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
 Overweight = 25-29.9
 Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Q. 3 Define whole foods‖ and also describe their importance in our diet.
Answer:
Whole foods are the edible parts of foods that are as close to their natural state as possible
and are prepared in a way that retains enough nutritional value to be supportive of health.
Using this definition, it is clear that a carrot, a cucumber and a bunch of leafy greens are
whole foods, because they can be picked up and eaten in their natural form.
We know that the edible part of the apple is most of the apple itself, but apple juice is not the
whole food. To make juice we need many apples which are processed through a juicer. The
juice is extracted and the fibre is thrown away. The juice though rich in vitamins, will also be
high in sugar because the natural fibre which would have slowed down the digestion of this
sugar is gone. High amounts of sugar are not good for health. Therefore, a glass of apple juice
is not a healthy choice compared to a whole apple. This does not mean that the whole food
diet should always contain foods which are in raw form. Certainly, there are many foods that
can be eaten raw, such as the apple but potato soup would be a
whole food meal we started with potatoes in their natural form before we cooked and blended
them. They may have lost a few nutrients through cooking, but still they contain most of their
nutrient value enough to be supportive for health. Even though they have been cooked and
blended they are still the whole food.
Certain nutrients present in foods are actually enhanced after cooking; the phytonutrient
lycopene found in tomatoes is found in greater amounts in cooked tomatoes than in raw
tomatoes. Tomatoes are also a good source of vitamin C and this vitamin is vulnerable to
heat. So tomatoes are whole foods which retain enough nutritional value both in their raw and
cooked forms.
Q.4 What are refined foods? Are they nutritious? If not why?
Answer:
Refined foods are those which have been processed so that most of their nutrients have been
stripped away from them. So for example, white rice is refined, while brown rice is whole
food. Refined foods are actually nutrient thieves because in addition to not only providing
nutrients they actually rob the body of its stored nutrients in order to make the energy it takes
to digest them.

Refined Foods are not nutritious. Below are some examples to elaborate it.

1. High in sugar
Processed foods are usually loaded with added sugar… or its evil twin, High Fructose
Corn Syrup. It is well known that sugar, when consumed in excess, is seriously harmful.
As we all know, sugar is “empty” calories – it has no essential nutrients, but a large
amount of energy. But empty calories are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes
to the harmful effects of sugar. Many studies show that sugar can have devastating
effects on metabolism that go way beyond its calorie content. It can lead to insulin
resistance, high triglycerides, increased levels of the harmful cholesterol and increased
 fat accumulation in the liver and abdominal cavity. Not surprisingly, sugar consumption
is strongly associated with some of the world’s leading killers… including heart
disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer . Most people aren’t putting massive amounts of
sugar in their coffee or on top of their cereal, they’re getting it from processed foods and
sugar-sweetened beverages.

2. Engineered for overconsumption

We all want to eat good food. That’s just human nature. Evolution provided us with taste
buds that are supposed to help us navigate the natural food environment. Our appetite
gravitates towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we know such foods
contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival. Obviously, if a food manufacturer
wants to succeed and get people to buy their product, it has to taste good. But today, the
competition is fierce. There are many different food manufacturers, all competing with
each other. For this reason, massive resources are spent on making foods as desirable as
possible. Many processed foods have been engineered to be so incredibly “rewarding” to
the brain, that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature. We have
complicated mechanisms in our bodies and brains that are supposed to regulate energy
balance (how much we eat and how much we burn) which, until very recently in
evolutionary history, worked to keep us at a healthy weight. There is quite a lot of
evidence that the reward value of foods can bypass the innate defense mechanism and
make us start eating much more than we need, so much that it starts to compromise our
health. This is also known as the “food reward hypothesis of obesity.” The truth is,
processed foods are so incredibly rewarding to our brains that they affect our thoughts
and behavior, making us eat more and more until eventually we become sick. Good food
is good, but foods that are engineered to be hyper rewarding, effectively short circuiting
our innate brakes against overconsumption, are NOT good.

3. Contain artificial ingredients

If you look at the ingredients label for a processed, packaged food, chances are that you
won’t have a clue what some of the ingredients are. That’s because many of the
ingredients in there aren’t actual food… they are artificial chemicals that are added for
various purposes. This is an example of a processed food, an Atkins Advantage bar,
which is actually marketed as a low-carb friendly health food.
Highly processed foods often contain:
  Preservatives: Chemicals that prevent the food from rotting.

 Colorants: Chemicals that are used to give the food a specific color.

 Flavor: Chemicals that give the food a particular flavor.

 Texturants: Chemicals that give a particular texture.

Keep in mind that processed foods can contain dozens of additional chemicals that aren’t
even listed on the label. For example, “artificial flavor” is a proprietary blend.
Manufacturers don’t have to disclose exactly what it means and it is usually a
combination of chemicals. For this reason, if you see “artificial flavor” on an ingredients
list, it could mean that there are 10 or more additional chemicals that are blended in to
give a specific flavor. Of course, most of these chemicals have allegedly been tested for
safety. But given that the regulatory authorities still think that sugar and vegetable oils are
safe, I personally take their “stamp of approval” with a grain of salt.

4. People can become addicted to junk food

The “hyper-rewarding” nature of processed foods can have serious consequences for
some people. Some people can literally become addicted to this stuff and completely lose
control over their consumption. Although food addiction is something that most people
don’t know about, I am personally convinced that it is a huge problem in society today. It
is the main reason why some people just can’t stop eating these foods, no matter how
hard they try. They’ve had their brain biochemistry hijacked by the intense dopamine
release that occurs in the brain when they eat these foods. This is actually supported by
many studies. Sugar and highly rewarding junk foods activate the same areas in the brain
as drugs of abuse like cocaine.

5. Often high in refined carbohydrates

There is a lot of controversy regarding carbohydrates in the diet. Some people think that
the majority of our energy intake should be from carbs, while others think they should be
avoided like the plague. But one thing that almost everyone agrees on, is that
carbohydrates from whole foods are much better than refined carbohydrates. Processed
foods are often high in carbs, but it is usually the refined variety. One of the main
 problems is that refined, “simple” carbohydrates are quickly broken down in the
digestive tract, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. This can lead to
carb cravings a few hours later when blood sugar levels go down again. This
phenomenon is also called the “blood sugar roller coaster,” which many people who have
been on a high-carb diet can relate to. Not surprisingly, eating a lot of refined
carbohydrates is associated with negative health effects and many chronic diseases. Do
NOT be fooled by labels like “whole grains” that are often plastered on processed food
packages, including breakfast cereals. These are usually whole grains that have been
pulverized into very fine flour and are just as harmful as their refined counterparts. If
you’re going to eat carbs, get them from whole, single ingredient foods, not processed
junk foods.

6. Low in nutrients
Processed foods are extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed
foods. In some cases, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the foods to
compensate for what was lost during processing. However, synthetic nutrients are NOT a
good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods. Also, let’s not forget that real
foods contain much more than just the standard vitamins and minerals that we’re all
familiar with. Real foods… like plants and animals, contain thousands of other trace
nutrients that science is just beginning to grasp. Maybe one day we will invent a
chemical blend that can replace all these nutrients, but until that happens… the only way
to get them in your diet is to eat whole, unprocessed foods. The more you eat of
processed foods, the less you will get of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and various
trace nutrients.

7. Low in fiber

Fiber, especially soluble, fermentable fiber, has various benefits. Share on

PinterestProcessed foods may have less fiber than unprocessed fruits, oats, and bran. One
of the main ones is that it functions as a prebiotic, feeding the friendly bacteria in the
intestine. There is also evidence that fiber can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates
and help us feel more satisfied with fewer calories. Soluble fiber can also help treat many
cases of constipation, which is a very common problem today. The fiber that is found
 naturally in foods is often lost during processing, or intentionally removed. Therefore,
most processed foods are very low in fiber.

8. Require less time and energy to digest

Food manufacturers want their processed food products to have a long shelf life. They
also want each batch of the product to have a similar consistency and they want their
foods to be easily consumed. Given the way foods are processed, they are often very
easy to chew and swallow. Sometimes, it’s almost as if they melt in your mouth. Most of
the fiber has been taken out and the ingredients are refined, isolated nutrients that don’t
resemble the whole foods they came from. One consequence of this is that it takes less
energy to eat and digest processed foods. We can eat more of them in a shorter amount of
time (more calories in) and we also burn less energy (fewer calories out) digesting them
than we would if they were unprocessed, whole foods. One study in 17 healthy men and
women compared the difference in energy expenditure after consuming a processed vs a
whole foods-based meal. They ate a sandwich, either with multi-grain bread and cheddar
cheese (whole foods) or with white bread and processed cheese (processed foods). It
turned out that they burned twice as many calories digesting the unprocessed meal. The
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is a measure of how much different foods stimulate
energy expenditure after eating. It totals about 10% of total energy expenditure
(metabolic rate) in the average person. According to this study, people who eat processed
food will cut their TEF in half, effectively reducing the amount of calories they burn
throughout the day.

9. Often high in trans fats

Processed foods are often high in unhealthy fats. They usually contain cheap fats, refined
seed- and vegetable oils (like soybean oil) that are often hydrogenated… which turns
them into trans fats. Vegetable oils are extremely unhealthy and most people are eating
way too much of them already. These fats contain excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty
acids, which can drive oxidation and inflammation in the body. Several studies show that
when people eat more of these oils, they have a significantly increased risk of heart
disease, which is the most common cause of death in Western countries today . If the fats
are hydrogenated, that makes them even worse. Hydrogenated (trans) fats are among the
 nastiest, unhealthiest substances you can put into your body . The best way to avoid seed
oils and trans fats is to avoid processed foods. Eat real fats like coconut oil and olive oil
instead.

Q.5 What are micro-nutrients? And why our body needs them?
Answer:
Micronutrients: Micronutrients are required daily in small quantities—in milligrams (one
thousandth of a gram) to micrograms (one millionth of a gram). They include vitamins and
certain minerals that enable the body to use macronutrients. These minerals are called trace
minerals because the body needs only very small amounts.

Five micronutrients—vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc—play roles in

maintaining immune function, and supplements containing them are often sold as immune
boosters in doses that greatly exceed the recommended daily allowance.

Nearly 30 vitamins and minerals that your body cannot manufacture in sufficient amounts on
its own are called "essential micronutrients." British sailors learned centuries ago that living
for months without fresh fruits or vegetables—the main sources of vitamin C—caused the
bleeding gums and listlessness of scurvy, a disease that often proved fatal. Even today in
many low-income countries, people frequently suffer from a variety of nutrient-deficiency
diseases.

True vitamin and mineral deficiencies—in which the lack of a single nutrient leads directly to
a specific ailment—are rare in the United States because our extensive supply of inexpensive
food, and the fortification of many common foods with some key nutrients. However, eating
less than optimal amounts of important vitamins, minerals, and other compounds can still
contribute to a number of major illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and
osteoporosis. Hence, concern about "insufficiency"—a controversial topic—is a major driver
of both the U.S. dietary guidelines and the mass marketing of over-the-counter supplements.

Choosing foods to boost your immune system

Five micronutrients—vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc—play roles in

maintaining immune function, and supplements containing them are often sold as immune
boosters in doses that greatly exceed the recommended daily allowance. However, there is no
evidence that such supplements have more benefits than merely following a healthy diet.
Rather than popping pills to get these micronutrients, you're wiser to use various foods to
boost your immune system.

Foods to boost your immune system

Micronutrient Food sources

Vitamin B6 Chicken, cereals, bananas, pork loin,

potatoes with skin

Vitamin C Tomatoes, citrus fruit, sweet peppers,

broccoli, kiwi fruit

Vitamin E Sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, safflower

oil, peanut butter

Magnesium Whole wheat, legumes, nuts, seeds

Zinc Oysters, beef shank, Alaskan king crab,

turkey (dark meat)