
What is Nutrition?
Like a car needs the right type of petrol to go, our bodies need the right kind of ‘fuel’.
Our bodies are hard at work 24 hours a day and need nutrients or ‘fuel’ to function normally, grow and heal. Our body creates energy from nutrients from foods and drinks we consume every day.
The major types of nutrients that we need to function normally are:
- Carbohydrates
- Fats
- Fibre
- Minerals
- Proteins
- Vitamins
- Water.
All of these nutrients are found in different amounts in each type of food. Some of these types of food are important to eat, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and some should be less often, like foods high in fats, sugar and salt.
The exact makeup of a healthy diet depends on a person’s individual needs but generally contains:
- Mostly vegetables, fruits and legumes (e.g., lentils, beans)
- Healthy whole grains and carbohydrates (e.g., bread, lentils, damper, wheat, scones, oats, brown rice)
- A variety of different proteins (e.g., meat and non-meat options like milk, cheese or yogurt)
- A small amount of healthy fats including unsaturated fats from avocados/nuts/canola and olive oils are healthier for you than saturated fats from butter/fatty meat/cream
- Lots of water.