A balanced diet contains the
correct amounts of:
Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats,
Vitamins, Minerals, Fibre and
Water
Carbohydrates, Proteins
and Fats: Release the
energy you need to live
and to build new cells
You need small
amounts of
vitamins and
minerals for
your body to
work healthily
If you don't have a
balanced diet then
you will end up
malnourished
Metabolic rate is the rate
of chemical reactions in
your cells
Things that effect your
metabolic rate is: Age, Gender,
The Amount of Activity You Do,
Genes and The Proportion Of
Muscle to Fat
If you take in more
energy than you use,
the excess is stored as
fat! You do need some
body fat to cushion
your internal organs.
Your fat also acts as
an energy store for
when you don't feel
like eating
If you eat a lot more
food then you need,
this is a form of
malnourishment and
over time, you could
become overweight or
even obese.
You lose mass when the
energy content of your food is
less than the energy you use in
your daily life
There are three main ways you can lose mass
You can reduce the amount
of energy you take in by
cutting back the amount of
food you eat. In particular,
you can cut down on energy
rich foods like biscuits, crisps
and chips
You can increase the
amount of energy you
use by doing more
exercise
But the best way is to do both!!! Reduce your energy intake and exercise more!!
In some parts of the world, many
people are underweight and
malnourished because there
isn't enough food to eat
Civil wars, droughts
and pests can all
destroy local crops
Deficiency diseases, due to
lack of mineral ions and
vitamins, are common in
both children and adults
when they never have
enough food. Deficiency
diseases can also occur if you
don't have a balanced diet
Inherited factors from your
parents affect your appearance,
such as the colour of your eyes.
They also have a big effect on
your health
They affect your metabolic rate (this
affects how easily you lose and gain
mass). Inherited factors affect the
proportion of muscle to fat in your
body. They also affect your risk of
heart disease, partly because they
influence the levels of cholesterol in
your blood
The way your body balances
cholesterol is an example of how
an inherited factor can affect
your health. You need cholesterol
for your cell membranes and to
make vital hormones.
There are two forms of cholesterol carried around your body
in your blood. One form is healthy but the other can cause
health problems. If the balance of your cholesterol levels is
wrong, your risk of heart disease increases.
The way your liver deals with the fat in your diet
and makes the different types of cholesterol is
inherited from your parents. For most people,
eating a balanced diet means your liver can
keep the balance of cholesterol right.
Eating lots of high-fat food means
you are likely to have raised levels
of harmful cholesterol and an
increased risk of heart disease.
But 1 in every 500 people inherit
factors which means they will
have high levels of harmful
cholesterol and an increased risk
of heart disease whatever they
eat.
These are some scientific
explanations why exercise
helps you to keep healthy
You're less likely to be
overweight if you exercise
regularly. This is partly
because you'll be using
more energy.
You will have more muscle
tissue, which will increase your
metabolic rate. If you can control
your weight, you're less likely to
be affected by problems such as
arthritis, diabetes and high
blood pressure
Your cholesterol levels are affected by exercise. Regular exercise lowers your blood cholesterol levels. It
also helps the balance of the different types of cholesterol. When you exercise, your good cholesterol level
goes up and the harmful cholesterol level goes down. This lowers your risk of heart disease and other
health probems.
Infectious diseases are found all over the world, in
every country. Some diseases are fairly mild ones,
such as the common cold and tonsillitis. Other
diseases are known killers, such as tetanus,
influenza and HIV/Aids.
An infectious disease is caused by a
microorganism entering and attacking
your body. People can pass these
microorganisms from one person to
another. This is what we mean by
infectious. Microorganisms which cause
disease are called pathogens. Common
pathogens are bacteria and viruses.
Bacteria are single celled living organisms
that are much smaller than animal and
plant cells. Although some bacteria cause
disease, many are harmless and some are
really useful to us. We use them to make
food like yoghurt and cheese, to treat
sewage and to make medicines
Bacteria simply split in two - they often
produce toxins (poisons) which affect your
body. Sometimes they directly damage your
cells.
Viruses are even smaller
than bacteria. They usually
have regular shapes.
Viruses cause disease in
every type of living
organism from people to
bacteria.
Viruses take over the cells
of your body as they
reproduce, damaging and
destroying the cells. They
very rarely produce toxins.
Common disease symptoms are a high
temperature, headaches and rashes.
These are caused by the damage and
toxins produced by the pathogens.
The symptoms also appear as a result
and toxins produced by the
pathogens. The symptoms also appear
as a result of the way your body
responds to the damage and toxins.
You catch an infectious disease when
you pick up a pathogen from someone
else who is infected with the disease.
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was a doctor in
the mid-1850s. At the time, many women in
hospital died from childbed fever a few days
after giving birth. However, no one knew
what caused it.
Semmelweis noticed that his medical
students went straight from dissecting a
dead body to delivering a baby without
washing their hands. He wondered if they
were carrying the cause of disease from
the corpses to their patients.
Then another doctor cut himself while
working on a body. He died from symptoms
which were identical to childbed fever.
Semmelweis was sure that the fever was
caused by something that could be passed on
- some kind of infectious agent. He insisted
that his medical students wash their hands
before delivering babies and immediately,
fewer mother died from the fever.
Semmelweis thought his evidence
would prove to them that childbed
fever was spread by doctors but his
ideas were mocked
Many doctors thought that childbed
fever was God's punishment to women.
No one has ever seen bacteria or viruses
so it was hard to believe that disease was
caused by something invisible passed
from person to person. Also, doctors
didn't like the idea that they might have
been spreading disease. They were being
told that their actions had killed patients
instead of curing them.
In hospitals today,
bacteria such as MRSA,
which are resistant to
antibiotics, are causing
lots of problems. Getting
doctors, nurses and
visitors to wash their
hands more often is part
of the answer