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Adolescents should consume sufficient rich nutritious foods to grow & mature normally. A well-balanced diet provides all of the energy you need to keep active throughout the day, nutrients that your body demands to repair and maintain critical functions and keeps you strong while preventing diet-related diseases such as chronic noncommunicable diseases, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. You should additionally enjoy a wide variety of foods from these five food groups everyday are:

Grains ave. 2500KJ or 4-6 serves

Dairy ave. 1375KJ or 2-3 serves

Fruit ave. 700KJ or 2 serves

Vegetables ave. 1750KJ or 2-5 serves

Lean Meats and poultry, tofu, eggs, nuts, fish and seeds ave. 1500KJ or 2-3 serves

Whole grains provide:

Vitamin A

Vitamin B-1, also called thiamin.

Vitamin B-2, also called riboflavin.

Vitamin B-3, also called niacin.

Vitamin B-6, also called pyridoxine.

Vitamin B-9, also called folate.

Vitamin E.

Iron.

Magnesium.

Phosphorus.

Selenium.

Whole-grain foods help control of cholesterol levels, weight and blood pressure. These foods also help lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. Examples of whole grains and whole-grain foods include: wheat, barley, rye, maize, rice and etc.

Main sources of dairy are: soy drink, cheese, milk, yoghurt. Dairy foods are rich in many essential vitamins and minerals, especially calcium. Dairy foods are an important part of a balanced diet. It helps to grow strong bones and can additionally help reduce blood pressure. Dairy foods can also lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

Fruits and Vegetables are low in sugar, carbohydrates and fats, but in-rich with fibres and minerals. They are a great source of dietary fibre, keeping you healthy and feeling full for hours while preventing overconsumption of foods. As part of a well-balanced, healthy diet and an active lifestyle, a high intake of fruit and vegetables can help you to:

Reduce obesity and maintain a healthy weight

Lower your cholesterol

Lower your blood pressure.

Examples of Fruits and vegetables are:

Mango, apple, pineapple, papaya, kiwi, banana, watermelon, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, capsicum, mushroom, potato, cucumber, eggplant, brussels sprout, pumpkin

Meat and poultry are especially a supplement of protein, letting your body grow and develop functionally. They additionally provide your body with iodine, zinc, iron, vitamins and fatty-acid.

Examples of Lean Meats and poultry, etc. are:

Seafoods, eggs, chickpeas, chicken, mixed nuts

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Importance of macronutrients

Each type of macronutrient performs an important role in keeping the body healthy. For optimum health, people typically require a balance of macronutrients.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for multiple body tissues, and an important primary source for our brain to function critically. Our body breaks down carbohydrates to glucose which can then be transferred via our blood streams all over our body. Carbohydrates are important for muscle contraction during intense exercise. Even at rest, carbohydrates enable the body to perform vital functions such as maintaining body temperature, keeping the heart beating, and digesting food.

eg. food sources: Wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and dried beans.

Proteins

Proteins consisted of long chains of complex amino acids, used to develop, repair, and maintain body tissues. Proteins appear in every cell in our body, an adequate intake of proteins is important for keeping bones, muscles and body tissues functional. Proteins furthermore support vital roles in our body such as aiding the immune system, biochemical reactions, and providing structure and support for cells.

eg. of food sources: Chicken breast, eggs, salmon, lentils, tofu, Greek yogurt, almonds

Fats

Fat is vital for the body as an energy reserve, for insulation and the protection of your organs, and for the absorption and transport of fat-soluble vitamins. Fats is an essential source of fatty acids (CH₃(CH₂)nCOOH) which the body can not make be itself. Fatty acid helps our body absorb vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E.

eg. of food sources: Dark chocolate, nuts, fatty fishes, cheese, avocodos.

The recommended intake for each macronutrients for a table tennis athlete are:

Carbohydrate intake of 6-10g/kg/day for energy

Moderate to high protein intake of 1.4-2.0g/kg/day for muscle repair

Moderate healthy fat intake 20-35% of total daily calorie) for overall health.

An example of a dish that consist of all 3 types of macronutrients are: Grilled chicken breast (protein), brown rice (carb), mixed greens (veggies), and olive oil dressing (fat).

Vitamin A (retinol) is the most important Vitamin for us humans. Vitamin A is important because it: makes the immune system work effectively to protect us from nasty diseases. keeps our skin healthy. supports reproduction and growth. Your body gets Vitamin A from leafy green vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, tomato products, fruits, and some vegetable oils.

Calcium is a mineral found in many foods. Most of the calcium found in our body is stored in bones and teeth to help make and keep them strong. Your body needs calcium to help muscles and blood vessels contract and expand. Calcium is mainly in dairy products such as: Yoghurt, milk, cheese, etc.

Water is the most important component of our body. 50-75% of our body is made up of water, water keeps us hydrated, forms the basis of blood, digestive juices, urine and perspiration, and is contained in lean muscle, fat and bones. By drinking fresh/tap water everyday, you will always keep your body rehydrated and healthy.

Sodium is a vital electrolyte, electrolytes carry on electric charges when dissolved in the body fluid. Most of the body’s sodium is located in the blood streams and fluids around cells. Sodium helps our body keep fluids in a normal balance, and plays a key role in nerve transmission. Some examples of foods containing Sodium are: Soups, gravies, soy sauce, etc. Too low in Sodium in our body can cause catastrophic consequences like kidney failure, heart failure, cirrhosis. At first sight, people become sluggish and confused, if hyponatremia worsens, they may have muscle twitches and life or death situations. Too much sodium can pose many challenges to our body. For example, dehydration, diarrhoea, kidney dysfunction. All common symptoms of Hypernatremia. Our body needs about 100g of sodium/40 kg of weight to stay healthy.

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A food pyramid is a representation of the optimal number of servings to be eaten each day from each of the basic food groups. The first Food Pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974. WHO published guidelines that can be effectively represented in a food pyramid relating to objectives in order to prevent obesity, improper nutrition, chronic diseases and dental caries based on meta-analysis.

How is food classified in the food pyramid?

To suggest that a person should eat more foods from the bottom of the pyramid and fewer foods and beverages from the top of the pyramid. The Food Guide Pyramid displayed proportionality and variety in each of five groups of foods and beverages, which ascended in horizontal layers starting from the base and moving upward toward the tip: breads, cereals, pasta and rice; fruits and vegetables; dairy products; eggs, fish, legumes, meat and poultry; plus alcohol, fats and sugars. The downward the food group is, the food group will be the fountain for a healthy diet.

The benefits of a food pyramid:

The benefits of using a food pyramid as a guide. The food pyramid is an excellent guide to healthy diet, it especially furthermore ensures that different food groups are included in our diet and that all the nutrients the body needs to be healthy are ingested, keeping you healthy throughout the day. A further benefit of the food pyramid is it promotes healthy eating habits. Using it as a model, it is a good way to break away from unhealthy diets and create positive food relationships. It is worth noticing that following the guide will drastically reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and the most important of all, obesity.

The limitation of a food pyramid:

One large limitation of grouping foods into broad categories is not all foods within a food group are created equally. The U.S. Food Guide Pyramid has been criticised for promoting 6 - 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice or pasta per day, without advice touching on the differentiating between whole grain foods and refined products. For example, in the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid, a slice of white toast is comparably equal to ½ cup of brown rice. Nutritionally, this is not true. A slice of white toast has insufficient or completely contains any fibres and is not nearly enriched in phytochemicals as brown rice or whole wheat/grain bread.