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Nutrition
We need continual supplies of foods and water to provide energy for body-activities and building materials for growth and repair. Though we may subsist on a wide variety of diets, optimum growth development, and health require a balance of nutrients. A balanced diet must contain not only proteins, carbohydrates and fats, but also vitamins, minerals and water as well as a certain amount of indigestible fibre to keep the intestinal peristalsis" stimulated.
Water
About two-third of the total body weight is water. Besides playing a key role in the body's heating and cooling systems, water acts as a solvent for chemical reactions and a carrier fluid in the body's circulating systems. Water is lost from the body in urine, feces, sweat and exhalation. It must be replaced in the daily food intake. The most obvious source is water and beverages, fruits and vegetables.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates-sugars and starches-make up the largest single component of human diet. It is a necessary constituent, because it is the body's preferred energy source. Any available glucose is metabolized first, before proteins or fats. Without sufficient carbohydrates in the diet, proteins will be metabolized for energy and there may be an actual wasting of body-proteins. Carbohydrates, in the form of starches, predominate greatly in products made from
1. Peristalsis is the name given to the slow automatic wave like movement
along the whole of the alimentary canal propelling the contents onwards.
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