Balanced Meals of Carbohydrate and Protein is the most Important Nutrition Rule for Good Health

Most diet programmes today are made up of meals or at least one meal in the day which is not properly balanced. Whatever treatment you may be following or if your goal is only weight loss please understand that one rule must never be violated. That is, every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner must consist of a combination of carbohydrate plus protein foods. If this is not followed there will be damage to the body internally.

Carbohydrates are the energizers of our body and are the main energy supply for us to work and play. Carbohydrates are any food containing starch or sugar. There are 3 main food groups that give us these, namely, fruits, vegetables and cereals. These 3 food groups are also good sources of vitamins and minerals but they are poor in proteins. From this group cereals which are the grains that give us atta,maida,broken wheat, rava (sooji),rice,ragi,corn,oats,jowar, etc. are the main component of every meal. Therefore a meal of only fruits, salad, soup, boiled vegetables or even only some protein foods like a glass of milk, boiled eggs or grilled fish or chicken is unhealthy for the body. Today one of the popular theories is to avoid bread,rice,chapathi’s at dinner. Some even avoid this in all the meals throughout the day. Please understand that the body will be seriously damaged in this type of dieting. The body will lose muscle mass, skin will tend to sag and wrinkle and worst of all the metabolic rate of the body will go down. You may lose weight according to the scale but this is not healthy for the body.

Proteins are the building blocks of the body. We build our house with blocks or bricks, we build our bodies with cells. Every cell’s, cell wall is made up of protein so we cannot make a single new cell in our body without supplying protein. Therefore growing children must very consciously consume enough proteins and adults though not growing still need sufficient protein for maintenance of skin, hair, muscles, etc. Everyday we need at least 50-60gms protein distributed in all the three meals. A meal ideally should consist of cereal foods combined with protein foods namely dhal/pulses, milk/curds, egg or non-veg. Therefore meals of only fruits or vegetables will result in protein deficiency. Even meals of only bread and jam,chapathi and pickle, roti and sabji,or only vegetable rice, limerice, etc. are incorrect as the protein is missing.

Fat is the reserve fuel of the body. A small amount, 2-3 teaspoons is essential everyday for certain functions like absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, etc. Any excess consumed above this amount is converted to reserve fuel and stored as fat in fat cells. Most oils are unsaturated and ideal for consumption. Vegetable fats that solidify at room temperature like coconut oil, dalda, etc. and animal fats like butter, ghee and cream are saturated and must be avoided as they are dangerous for the heart.