Food and Nutrition: Nutrients, Balanced Diet and Meal Planning
What this domain tests
This domain tests knowledge of nutrients and their functions, the meaning of a balanced diet, and the ability to plan meals for a real family using cost, season and age as constraints.
Nutrients and their roles
- Macronutrients - carbohydrates (energy, ~4 kcal/g), proteins (growth and repair, ~4 kcal/g), fats (concentrated energy, ~9 kcal/g, carry fat-soluble vitamins).
- Micronutrients - vitamins and minerals; needed in small amounts, no energy.
- Water and dietary fibre - regulation, digestion, prevention of constipation.
Balanced diet
A balanced diet supplies energy, protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre in correct proportion for age, sex and activity. Cereals should not dominate; pulses, milk, vegetables, fruits and some fat are essential. ICMR dietary guidelines recommend plenty of vegetables and fruits, restricted fat, sugar and salt.
Meal planning steps
Consider family composition and RDA, budget, seasonal and local availability, food habits and religion, cooking time and equipment. Distribute energy as breakfast ~25%, lunch ~35–40%, dinner ~30%.
Worked example
Breakfast for a 14-year-old girl: poha with vegetables (carbohydrate + fibre), a bowl of curd (protein + calcium), one banana (vitamin and mineral), a few roasted groundnuts (fat and protein). Reason: it gives energy for school, protein and calcium for growth and iron-supporting foods. Plain tea and biscuits alone would fail - mostly sugar and refined flour, little protein or micronutrient.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling a diet balanced simply because it is filling or expensive.
- Mixing up energy foods (cereals, fats) with body-building foods (pulses, milk, egg).
- Overcooking and discarding vegetable water - vitamin C and B-group vitamins are lost.
- Ignoring season and budget when planning meals.