Nutrition is a staple food substance needed for growth and health of the body. Balanced nutrition is a daily food composition that contains nutrients in the type and amount according to the needs of the body, namely gender, age and health status. A diet that is not nutritionally balanced has the risk of causing malnutrition such as anemia and underweight, excess nutrition (obesity) can also occur which can lead to degenerative diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus.
In nutrition, there are five kinds of nutrients, namely carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins. In general, the functions of nutrients are:
- Source of energy or power. If this function is disturbed, people become less mobile or less active and feel tired quickly.
- Support the growth of the body, namely the addition of new cells to existing cells.
- Maintaining body tissues, replacing those that are damaged or worn out, such as replacing cells that are clearly visible in body wounds, namely the formation of wound covering tissue.
- Regulate metabolism and various balances in body fluids (water, acid-base and mineral balance)
- Plays a role in the body's defense mechanism against various diseases as an antioxidant and other antibodies.
If the body doesn't get enough nutrients, then those functions will suffer disturbances and obstacles, starting from function number one, and moving down the line.
The Principles of Balanced Nutrition consist of 4 (four) Pillars which are basically a series of efforts to balance the outgoing nutrients and incoming nutrients by monitoring body weight regularly.
The 4 (four) pillars of balanced nutrition include:
- Consuming a variety of foods with balanced proportions of food (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins)
- Getting used to clean living behavior
- Do regular physical activity
- Monitor body weight (BB) regularly to maintain normal body weight
By paying attention to the principles of food diversity, physical activity, clean living behavior and maintaining normal body weight will be able to prevent nutritional problems.
To achieve a balanced nutritional input, it is impossible to be fulfilled by only one type of food, but must consist of a variety of food ingredients.
In choosing food intake (especially children) not only seen from the fun factor, but also need to choose healthy foods.
In choosing healthy food, what needs to be observed is (especially parents for children)
- Choose a balanced diet according to your needs, balanced nutrition and nutritional value. An unbalanced diet will lead to an unhealthy body.
- The body must get a complete, balanced diet starting from carbohydrates obtained from rice and flour, protein from side dishes such as meat and fish, vegetables which contain lots of fiber, and fruits which are rich in vitamins.
- Serve food in a form that suits the needs and condition of the body (healthy/sick).
- Prepare food according to the food pyramid that is good and healthy. The foods at the bottom of the pyramid are the foods that should be consumed in the greatest quantity, while those on the top are the foods that are consumed in the least amount.
- Cook food and choose food outside that does not contain artificial flavors, colorings and preservatives and is harmful to the body.
- It is advisable to eat more vegetables and fruits.
- Foods that contain sugar, salt and fat are recommended to be reduced because they can increase the risk of several diseases.
- Drinking adequate amounts of water has been included as a component of a balanced diet because of its importance in metabolic processes and in preventing dehydration.
Consumption of sugar that exceeds the need will have an impact on increasing body weight (obesity), even if done for a long time it will directly increase blood sugar levels and have an impact on the occurrence of diabetes, even indirectly contributing to diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.
In old age, especially those over 60 years old, various changes occur in the body, namely the decline in the function of various organs and tissues of the body. These changes include sensory organs including the olfactory function so that they can reduce appetite, weakening of the digestive organ system so that the digestive tract becomes more sensitive to certain foods and experiences constipation, disorders of the teeth so that it interferes with the function of chewing; weakening of the heart muscle, in women entering menopause with various consequences, and others.
This makes the elderly more vulnerable to nutritional disorders and various diseases, including being too fat, too thin, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, etc. Therefore, the nutritional needs and patterns of food consumption in the elderly group are somewhat different from those in the adult group, for example limiting consumption of sugar, salt and oil, as well as high purines. Instead, consume more vegetables and fruits in sufficient quantities.
Children will experience a period of rapid growth and development, thus requiring sufficient food consumption to achieve balanced nutrition.
Therefore, a guide is needed for supervisors and extension workers or doctors so that they can provide understanding in the context of disseminating information and education to the public, so that they can choose food according to their needs and diseases in order to get balanced nutrition.
This article was written by dr. Sentot Handoko, Sp.GK , Clinical Nutrition Specialist at EMC Sentul Hospital. If you want a consultation regarding nutrition, Dr. Sentot Handoko's practice schedule is every Monday - Saturday at 08.00 - 15.00 WIB.
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