FAQ for Food and Nutrition

1. What is a good diet?
A good diet is a balanced one. This includes different kinds of food to get all the nutrients the body needs. Good diet along with exercises helps to lead a healthy lifestyle. These dietary guidelines are for healthy individuals and not for people with disease symptoms or food allergies.

2. Aren’t natural foods better than processed foods?
Everything we eat comes from natural source, but it is processed to preserve it (canned, frozen or chilled foods), make it easier to eat (like bread), and make it safer (pasteurized milk).

3. Is a vegetarian diet better?
Not necessarily. Eating less fat, more fiber, more fresh fruit and vegetables and more starchy foods, may be easier to achieve with a vegetarian diet. However, animal foods provide a concentrated source of protein, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients can also be obtained from a vegetarian diet, but there can be difficulties with protein quality and with some micronutrients, like vitamin B₁₂, calcium, and vitamin B₂ (riboflavin) if milk products are left out of the diet. Nowadays, there are numerous yeast-based spreads and supplements are available that contain vitamin B complex including vitamin B₁₂ for their use, some also with added vitamin B₂.

4. Do we need more vitamins and minerals?
A balanced and varied diet should provide us with enough vitamins and minerals. There may be problems for children, adolescents, the elderly and women during pregnancy and lactation, and for people on slimming diets. These groups are benefited from additional vitamins and minerals from the food they eat or a supplement.

5. What is called junk food?
This is the term used by people to describe the food they disapprove. All fast food, snack foods or any food with high level of sugar and fat comes under this category. These foods are also not accepted as a part of balanced diet. Some of the commonly consumed junk foods are pizza and burgers.

6. Is salt harmful?
Salt is essential to a healthy diet. Many of us consume ten times more than the normal requirement. Too much salt contributes to high blood pressure.