Diet plans
Diet Plan includes selection of food items for meals, calculation of their quantities and preparation of special recipes. This ensures intake of required food in appropriate quantity.
Our meals consist of various food items-carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats. A balanced diet has all these ingredients in required proportions. The proportions differ according to age, profession and health condition. Thus there are various diet plans.
TYPES OF DIET PLANS:
"To be on diet" generally means to be on weight loss diet-plan. But this is a very narrow meaning. Broadly speaking, there are so many types of diet-plans. Following are some examples.
Diet Plan for:-
Decreasing Weight.
Weight Gain.
Recovery.
Pregnancy Preparation.
Sports Persons.
Aged.
Children.
Infants.
Diet planning is based on the nutrition needs of body. The diet plans differ person to person. Some require fatty diet, whereas others require low-fat diet. In the above list, the first plan is meant for decreasing weight. It has meals with low fat content.
DIET PLAN FOR CHILDREN:
Growing infants require supplementary food in addition to mother's milk. After age of 6 months, cereals are provided in the form of powder. This powdered food is a readymade diet plan for a baby. The diet plan includes list of cereals and their quantities. The term "cereal" is applicable to group of various grains viz wheat, rice, rye, oats, maize, buckwheat, millet.
There are different diet plans for the children belonging to following age groups: 0 to 5, 6 to 12, and 13 to 15. Children require more nutrients as compared to adults. Nutrients' requirement is more because their bodies are growing.
Junk food is avoided in the diet plan for children. On the contrary, healthy nutritious recipes are selected for the growing children.
VEGETARIAN DIET PLAN:
It important to know the veggie counterparts of meat and fish. The counterparts are selected on the basis of nutrients present in the non-vegetarian item. Eggs provide us proteins. Their counterparts are the pulses because they also give us the proteins. This is just one example, in which proteins are considered for comparison. In the same way other nutrients (vitamins, fats) are searched in the veggie items. Then comparison is done for vegetarian diet planning.
PATIENTS AND PREGNANTS:
Patients require additional nutrients for recovery of loss. They require proteins and vitamins. Pregnant women also require supplementary nutrition. They require iron and folic acid along with other nutrients.
DIET PLAN FOR PETS:
Some pets share same food with their masters. Whatever cooked in kitchen is offered to the pets. But the nutrition needs of pet animals are different from those of human beings. To make up these needs, special pet-foods are used. In other words, there are separate diet plans for the pets. Dogs are basically flesh eaters. Fishes eat small fishes or worms. Accordingly diet plans are made and commercially sold as dog-food and fish-food.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
The study of diet plans helps in becoming a professional dietitian. A dietitian suggests diet plans to his clients.
SUMMARY:
Nutrition needs differ according to age and profession. Diet planning is done on the basis of nutrition needs. Vegetarian diet planning is done by searching the required nutrients in vegetarian food materials. Diet plan for pet is made on the basis of pet's natural food.
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