Kitchen Of India Malabari Chicken stew

Protein is the main ingredient of structural and functional component of body. It plays a key role in our body as building blocks for  muscles, cartilage, skin, bones and blood. They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins.

Foods that we regularly consume are low in Protein so eating food products which get more than 20% of its energy from Protein is good to include in your meal to ensure enough Proteins in a day.

Preservation does not mean necessarily require utilization of artificial ingredients. There are natural ways for preservation too.

1. Sugar and salt are water-loving, hence they bind to all the free water present in a food preparation.  Due to lack of free water bacteria cannot grow and shelf life of the product increases.

2. Oil acts as a barrier, it does not allow air or water to enter the food, thus preventing spoilage. 

Sugar, Salt and Oil are used in our day-to-day cooking too, but when used as preservative the amounts required are high thereby may increase the total fat and sugar content of the product leading to weight gain.

Energy available from a food is based on Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein present in it. The ideal ratio of energy obtained from these components is 65% from Carbohydrates, 20% from Fat and 15% from protein. 

More than 30% of energy available in this product is from FAT, which is 50% more than the ideal amount. Foods with High Fat are often loaded with Saturated Fat and Trans Fat both of which contribute to life style diseases including diabetes, obesity or Cardiovascular. 

Again, one should not go on the other extreme of having low fat diet as some amount of fat is required for various bodily functions like storing of energy, absorption of fat soluble vitamins such Vitamin A, D, E and K, insulate us and protect vital organs besides synthesis of specific hormones and cell membrane formation.

Thus, it is important to eat food which has each nutrient in the right quantity and limit food products that give too much of one nutrient.