We eat a variety of food according to our taste and availability of food material. This constitutes of our food habits. Now the globalization concept of consumerism insists more on us to change our food habits from diverse food culture to mono food culture. Some eat only roti or breads, while others prefer rice. In costal regions, people eat a lot of fresh and dried fish and in mountain regions, fruits and meat. Unwanted change of food habits i.e. more caloric value with sugar and fat leads to number of diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer etc.
Obesity : obesity means fatness. This is due to intake of more amount of high caloric value food. Over eating lead to overweight. Insufficient exercises, hormonal imbalance, hereditary are also the general causes of obesity. Regulated food, proper exercise and routine medical help can check this disease.
Cancer: cancer is abnormal cell growth. 30-35% or cancer link with diet practice. Adulteration in food, over heating and use of reheated oil, use of synthetic chemical dye for artificial coloring, and some food preservatives are the major cause for cancer in normal man.
Protein Deficiency Disease: The deficiency of proteins severely affect the children in our-country in age group of 1-5 years. Major type of diseases Kwashiorkar and Maramus.
Kawashiorkar: This disease develops from the replacement of mother’s milk by high caloric and low protein diets in a child more than one year
Symptoms: Thinning of limbs, stunted growth retarded mental abilities. The abdomen, feet and legs are swollen in nature.
Marasmus: This disease develops when the mother’s mil is replaced too early by other foods, which are poor in both proteins and energy food.
Symptoms: Head of child is large, limbs look like stick, loss of body weight, impaired growth and brain development.
|
Deficiency Diseases |
Deficient Nutrients |
Symptoms of Disease |
| Night Blindness | Vitamin-A | No vision in dim light |
| Xeropthalmia | Vitamin-A | Dryness of comea-Blindness |
| Rickets (In Children) | Vitamin-D & Calcium | Weak, soft, thin, bones, swelling on wrist, elbow and knee |
| Osteomalacia (In adult) | Vitamin-D & Calcium | Weak bones of vertebral columns |
| Bleeding Disease | Vitamin-K | Delayed blood clotting, so profuse bleeding |
| Beriberi | Vitamin-B1 | Numbness, weakness, fluid accumulation in tissues |
| Permicious anemia | Vitamin-B12 | Immature red cells without hemoglobin, very fatal. |
| Scurvy | Vitamin-C | Bleeding of gums, falling teeth |
| Goitre | Iodine | Enlargement of thyroid gland, impaired metabolism |
| Anemia | Iron | Number and size of red blood cells & hemoglobin content reduced |
