Food Vs Deficiency

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A group of nourishing edibles which when consumed provides our body energy, growth and prolong our quality of life; is termed as food.

There are five main groups-

Protein, Calcium, Minerals, Vitamins, and Carbohydrates.

Protein which promotes growth to our body. Calcium which is essential for bones. Minerals provide energy to the body. Vitamins help in the functioning. Carbohydrates provide energy.

All the five food groups make a balanced diet. A balanced or healthy diet is one which provides essential nutrients for the proper functioning of the body.If any of the food group missing ,it gives deficiencies or malnutrition. There can also be under-nutrition. Under-nutrition is a condition where there is insufficient food to meet energy needs; which causes weight loss and inadequate growth or development in children.

When a child is growing, we observe hand and mouth coordination; which means a child puts every new object in the mouth to explore taste or shape. But when they outgrow that phase, we sometimes witness a child putting non- food items in the mouth. Some like the taste of mud or chewing paper. Nail biting is very common or picking nose.

Children are inquisitive about their surroundings, but sometimes it is toxic and fatal. Eating non- food items is a disorder, the curiosity leads to compulsive indigestion. In scientific term, it is called “PICA”. It’s a Latin word for a bird. The bird Magpie knew for its indiscriminate and unusual eating behavior. This syndrome has very common causes; maybe a child likes the taste of particular no – food. Sometimes it can be an attention seeker or can be parental negligence.

A parental negligence can be the most dangerous cause. Parents ignore little weird acts of their children which is absolutely wrong. This leads to major problems. Communicating with a child and explaining the difference between food and no -food items can help a child in improving.

Nutrient value of food groups should be explained and the toxicity of non-edible items also. Patiently the situation can be controlled without stressing a child and the mental growth. A parent should always be with the child, physical and emotional so that a child can confide in them without any hesitation. The way becomes easier for a child to cross any hurdle in life, both physical and psychological.