Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 271
| Question: | AH sorts of people are telling us what to eat. Some say no meat, some say no milk, some say there are too many poisons on vegetables. Eggs have cholesterol, but lots of vitamins. What should a good diet contain? |
| Answer: | Humans are omnivores. They are designed to eat and utilise a wide range of foods. A well-balanced diet should contain cereals, vegetables, fruits, red and white meat, dairy products, oils and a small amount of sugar. They are listed in order from large quantities required to small, but individual preference will determine actual amounts.
All foods break down into carbohydrates, fats and protein. Virtually all foods contain a mixture of these three basic components, but some foods contain far more of one component than the others.
Fibre is the fourth main constituent of foodstuffs, but this is not absorbed and passes out of the body in the faeces.
Vitamins and minerals are trace chemicals and elements found in varying proportions in different foodstuffs.
Numerous pamphlets and books can give details of the actual content of all foodstuffs. The best advice I can give is not to eat one type of food to the exclusion of others, but to eat sensibly a wide range of foodstuffs that you enjoy.
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