Achieving Wellness: Nutrition, Health, and Public Health Strategies

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 in Medicine & Health

Nutrition Fundamentals

Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological processes by which an organism uses food to support life.

Understanding Health and Well-being

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease.

Types of Health

  • Physical Health
  • Social Health
  • Spiritual Health
  • Emotional Health

Physical Health: Optimal Body Function

It is defined as the state in which every cell and every organ is functioning at optimum capacity and in perfect harmony with the rest of the body. Physical health indicates that all body organs are structurally and functionally in a normal state, including their respective organ systems.

Mental Health: Balance and Harmony

It is defined as a state of balance between the individual and the surrounding world and environment, and a state of harmony between oneself and others.

Types of Mental Health Conditions
  • Neurosis
  • Depression
  • Schizophrenia

Social Health

Spiritual Health: Purpose and Community

It is defined as the quality of one’s inner personality and the extent of involvement with the community. It is concerned with the spiritual soul, which directs a person toward righteous actions and away from bad habits. Spiritual Health refers to the part of an individual that seeks purpose in life.

Macronutrients: Essential for Energy

Macronutrients are essential nutrients the body needs in large quantities to remain healthy. Macronutrients provide the body with energy, help prevent disease, and allow the body to function correctly. There are 3 main types of macronutrients:

  1. Protein
  2. Fats
  3. Carbohydrates

Protein: Building Blocks of Life

It consists of long chains of amino acids. They help in the growth, development, repair, and maintenance of body tissues.

  • Requirement: 10 – 35%
  • Source: Meat, chicken, fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, eggs, dairy, and soy.

Fats: Energy and Vital Functions

They are an important part of the diet that can also provide the body with energy.

  • Requirement: 20 – 35%
  • Source: Oily fish, olive oil, nuts, meat, butter, and cheese.

Carbohydrates: Primary Energy Source

Carbohydrates are a preferred source of energy for several body tissues and the primary energy source for the brain.

  • Requirement: 45 – 65%
  • Source: Rice, potatoes, corn, honey, dairy, beans, sugars, etc.

Micronutrients: Vitamins and Minerals

Micronutrients are one of the major groups of nutrients your body needs. They include vitamins and minerals. The content of each food is different, so it’s best to eat a variety of foods to get enough vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients are critical for several important functions in your body and must be consumed from food.

The Vital Role of Water

  1. Help in digestion: Initially, when we consume food, watery saliva helps in the lubrication and breakdown of food into smaller particles.
  2. In circulation: Nutrients are absorbed by the blood and lymph vessels from the stomach and intestines, transporting them to different parts of the body. This is possible due to the watery nature of blood and lymph.
  3. Organ functioning: Each and every organ requires water for proper functioning and metabolism. Examples: brain, heart, lungs, kidney, liver, etc.
  4. Regulation in body temperature: Water plays an important role in thermoregulation.

Food Fortification: Enhancing Nutritional Value

Fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing the content of one or more micronutrients like vitamins and minerals in a food or condiment to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal health risk. Through food fortification and genetic engineering, we can better maintain and meet our population’s nutritional needs and requirements.

Benefits of Food Fortification

  • Fortification helps in the prevention, reduction, and control of micronutrient deficiencies.
  • It can be used to correct a demonstrated micronutrient deficiency in the general population, such as children, pregnant women, and beneficiaries of social protection programs.

Examples of Fortified Foods

  • Fortified milk (rich in Vitamins A & D)
  • Fortified Grains (vitamin-rich wheat, pulses, rice, etc.)
  • Fortified salts (Iodine + Iron)
  • Fortified oil and ghee.

The Importance of Dietary Fiber

Fiber is an essential substance needed for digestion, excretion, and proper body function. Generally, fibers are made up of cellulose or lignin from plant parts. Cellulose is not digested in the body, so based on digestibility, fibers are divided into two categories:

Soluble Fiber

In soluble fiber, cellulosic components are less, and it is easily digested by the body’s proteolytic enzymes, converting into a gel form. It slows down the digestion process. Examples: Seeds, beans, apples, nuts, and some citrus fruits.

Insoluble Fiber

In insoluble fiber, cellulosic components are more, and it is not digested by proteolytic enzymes. It passes relatively unchanged through the stomach and aids the digestion process. Examples: Grains, papaya, banana, and some vegetables.

Key Functions of Dietary Fiber

  1. Help in digestion: Fiber plays an important role in digestion by providing support to the food material. In the intestine, food material combines with fibrous material and passes out easily through the anal/rectal region.
  2. Maintain cholesterol level: In our body, cholesterol does not easily pass out, but due to the involvement of fiber, unwanted cholesterol binds with the fiber and is easily excreted from the body.
  3. Maintain blood sugar level: By aiding the digestion process, fiber allows for the absorption and removal of essential substances, thus regulating blood sugar levels.
  4. Prevention of GIT infections: Sometimes indigestion, constipation, and disturbed digestion can cause infections in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). For the treatment of these conditions, doctors recommend consuming more fiber-rich fruits or vegetables. Fiber also helps prevent severe problems like hemorrhoids (piles).

Calorific Value and Physiological Value

  • Calorific value is defined as the “amount of energy produced by the complete combustion of 1gm of food material or substances in the calorimeter.”
  • It is calculated by a laboratory method, and the value is known as the experimental value.

Physiological Value (Nutritive Value)

Physiological value is defined as the “amount of energy produced by the complete combustion of 1gm of food material or substances in the respiratory mechanism within the human body.”

Comparison of Calorific and Nutritive Values

Comparison between calorific and nutritive value of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

Introduction to Food

  • Food is necessary for all living beings.
  • Food consists of nutrients used by an organism to sustain growth, vital processes, and to furnish energy.

Food Classification by Function

The dietary constituents of food are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are called macronutrients as they form the bulk of food. Vitamins and minerals are known as micronutrients due to their requirement in small amounts.

Energy-Producing Foods

These foods are rich in carbohydrates and fats. They supply heat and energy to the body. Examples: sugar, honey, jellies.

Bodybuilding Foods

These are foods rich in proteins. They are required for bodybuilding and are anabolic foods. Examples: Meat, fish, pulses, oils, seeds, eggs, nuts, milk, etc.

Protective Foods

  • These are foods rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water.
  • They provide material for repair in the body as wear and tear goes on constantly, and are required for the maintenance and regulation of tissue functions. Examples: Milk, eggs, liver, green leafy vegetables, fruits.

Food Safety and Hygiene

Food safety and hygiene refer to the routines in the preparation, handling, and storage of food meant to prevent foodborne illness and injury. Food safety is important as it ensures that the food you handle and produce is safe for consumption.

WHO Food Safety Guidelines

  1. Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.
  2. Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.

Food Adulteration: Risks and Examples

It is defined as the process of adulterating food or contaminating food materials by adding substances, collectively called adulterants. The process of contaminating food by adding components is a common phenomenon in developing countries. Example: Milk can be diluted by adding water to increase its quantity.

Artificial Ripening of Fruits

Effects of Artificial Ripening

Artificial ripening is the process where harvested fruits are subjected to treatment without considering their maturity status, or the quantity of ripening agent required, to induce ripening for better cosmetic quality and appearance.

Impacts of Artificial Ripening

  1. Artificial ripening of fruits: While the appearance of artificially ripened fruits may improve, properties like taste, smell, and touch are often found to be weak. Artificial ripening agents like ethylene and acetylene promote the ripening process and cause color changes in fruits.
  2. Natural ripening of fruits: Natural ripening of fruits is a physiological process that makes them edible, tasty, and nutritious. This process makes fruits soft, increases sweetness, decreases bitterness, and brings about changes in color and appearance.
  3. Adverse health effects of artificial ripening: The symptoms of arsenic or phosphorus poisoning include diarrhea, weakness, vomiting, and a burning sensation in the chest and abdomen.

Pesticides: Uses and Health Concerns

  • Pesticides are used to protect crops against insects, weeds, fungi, and other pests.
  • Pesticides are potentially toxic to humans and can have both acute and chronic health effects, depending on the quantity and ways a person is exposed.
  • Pesticides play a significant role in food production.
  • They protect crops and can increase the number of times per year a crop can be grown on the same land.

Applications of Pesticides

  • They are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect infestation, and disease.
  • Sales of genetically modified seeds often lead to increased use of pesticides.
  • Large agricultural companies market stronger, more harmful pesticides to combat superweeds.
  • They control organisms that harm human activities and structures.

Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs)

They are derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally. Example: The introduction of a gene from a different organism.

Scientists take the gene for a desired trait in one plant or animal and insert that gene into a cell of another plant or animal.

Benefits of Genetically Modified Foods

  • Tastier food
  • Less use of pesticides
  • Faster growing plants and animals
  • Medicinal foods that could be used as vaccines.

Dietary and Food Supplements

  • Food supplements and dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs, and many other products.
  • They are available in pills, capsules, powders, and energy bars.
  • They help you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients if you don’t eat a nutritious variety of foods.

Nutraceuticals: Health Beyond Nutrition

  • They are defined as a substance that has physiological benefits or provides protection against chronic disease.
  • Nutraceuticals are products which, other than nutrition, are also used as medicine.
  • They are used to improve health, prevent chronic disease, and increase life expectancy.
  • The products are isolated from herbal products, dietary supplements (nutrients), or specific diets.

Drug-Food Interactions

  • A change in a drug’s effect on the body when the drug is taken together with certain foods (or beverages). Not all drugs are affected by food, and some drugs are affected by only specific foods.
  • A drug-food interaction can delay, decrease, or enhance the absorption of a drug. This can decrease or increase the action of the drug, or cause adverse effects.

National Health Programs in India

After India’s independence, the Central Government launched National Health Programs for the control and eradication of communicable diseases, improvement of environmental sanitation, enhancement of nutritional standards, population control, and promotion of rural health.

Key National Health Initiatives

  • National Health Mission
  • Reproductive And Child Health Programs
  • Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP): DOTS Strategy
  • National AIDS Control Program
  • National Vector Borne Disease Control Program

Ayushman Bharat Yojana: Healthcare for All

The United Nations Development Programme classifies ‘Good Health and Well-being’ as one of the top 5 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Health is a prime development goal for the current Government of India (GoI). Through the National Health Policy 2017, Ayushman Bharat (AB) is India’s first move towards a Continuum of Care approach to providing healthcare delivery.

Benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana

  • Medical examination, treatment, and consultation
  • Pre-hospitalization expenses
  • Post-hospitalization follow-up care (up to 15 days)
  • Diagnostic procedures and lab investigation charges
  • Cost of medicine and medical consumables expenses are covered
  • Non-intensive and intensive care services
  • Accommodation benefits
  • Medical implantation services (where necessary)
  • Food services
  • Treatment resulting in complications

National Health Mission (NHM)

National Health Mission is a strategic plan of the Central Health Ministry to strengthen health systems in rural and urban areas. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 for strengthening health systems and providing better rural health services. It was converted to the National Health Mission (NHM) in 2013.

It is provided under two sub-missions:

  • NRHM – National Rural Health Mission: Launched in 2005 to provide healthcare to the remote rural population.
  • NUHM – National Urban Health Mission: Aims to meet the healthcare needs of the urban population, with a focus on the urban poor.

Functions of the NHM

  • Antenatal and postnatal check-ups
  • Improved facilities for institutional deliveries
  • Trained community-level workers
  • Complete immunization
  • Good hospital care
  • Provision of household toilets

National Family Welfare Programme

  • Family planning was started in 1951. In 1977, the Government of India re-designated the National Family Planning program as the National Family Welfare Programme, integrating it with Mother and Child Health services.
  • The aim of the Family Welfare Programme is to improve the quality of life through education, nutrition, health, employment, women’s welfare and rights, shelter, safe drinking water, and all factors vital to life.

HIV/AIDS Control Program

  • The HIV/AIDS control program was the most well-known among the surveyed students. This may be because of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association’s (IPA) initiatives since 2000 in creating awareness about the roles and opportunities for pharmacists in HIV/AIDS care and prevention.
  • Among the initiatives were National Pharmacy Week 2000 with the theme “Pharmacists to fight against HIV/AIDS,” and the preparation of “guiding principles for pharmacists.”

National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP)

  • In this survey, 90% of the surveyed pharmacy students were willing to take an active role in Tobacco Control. This is quite similar to results obtained in a previous study in 2003 (92.5%).
  • This acknowledges that pharmacists have a continuous interest in promoting smoking cessation. Smoking is among the most important risk factors jeopardizing public health, and thus, pharmacists are easily accessible healthcare professionals to be involved in the NTCP.
  • The potential for Indian pharmacy students and pharmacists to make a definitive contribution to public health protection through the NTCP should be utilized by the Government of India.