Food, Health and Hygiene
Diseases:Types and Cause
Dis + Ease = Disease.
'Dis' is a prefix which means lack of. And ease means easy or easiness. Thus, condition of lack of easiness is called disease.
A disease is a state in which a function or a part of body is not work in a healthy condition.
Deficiency of any components of food in our diet can lead to diseases. However a disease also occurs due to many other reasons also.
There are two types of diseases — non–communicable and communicable.
Non—communicable Diseases
Diseases which do not spread from one person to another are called non—communicable diseases. Such diseases are mainly caused by deficiency of a particular vitamin and mineral and other nutrients of food. So, these are called deficiency diseases.
There are some diseases which caused mainly because of lack of vitamins and minerals.
Diseases which are caused by deficiency of certain nutrients are called deficiency diseases.
| Diseases and Causes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Deficiency disease | Caused by the deficiency of | Food containing the vitamins and minerals |
| Beriberi | Vitamin B1 | Cereals, peas, milk green vegetables. |
| Night blindness | Vitamin A | Yellow fruits like papaya, mango, carrot, Green leafy vegetables, milk, eggs |
| Rickets | Vitamin D | Milk, milk product and sunlight |
| Scurvy | Vitamin C | Orange, lemon, amla, and tomato |
| Goitre | Iodine | Iodized salt |
| Anaemia | Iron | Spinach, apple, guava, brinjal, and meat. |
Non—communicable diseases may be present at birth or linked to an individuals’ life style, such as not taking of balance diet.
Anaemia, goiter, diabetes, heart diseases, and cancer, etc. are non communicable disease.
Communicable disease
Diseases which spread from one person to another are called Communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are spread by germs, bacteria, virus, and insect. Food and water containing germs caused diseases like typhoid and cholera.
Causes of spread of some of the communicable diseases
Diarrhoea, cholera, jaundice are spread by housefly.
Malaria, dengue are spread by mosquitoes.
Measles are viral diseases. Measles can also spread through air.
Many diseases can be prevented through vaccination. These vaccinations are given to babies when they are very young.
Vaccination is the use of special substance called vaccines to prevent specific diseases.
We can prevent to spread such communicable diseases by taking some precautions. Good hygiene helps in preventing diseases. Good hygiene makes our body strong enough to fight with diseases.
Some prevention to keep us healthy and fit
(1)We should take bath daily.
(2)It is also very important to wash hands with soap and water before having food and after going to the toilet.
(3)We should brush our teeth twice a day.
(4)We should always keep our nails short.
(5)We should always throw garbage in covered dustbin. Uncovered garbage attracts flies and other germs of other diseases.
(6)Water should not be allowed to collect inside old tyres, buckets, drums, ect. This water can become the breeding ground for mosquitoes, which spread diseases.
(7)We should always keep our home clean.
(8)We should keep our surroundings play ground, neighborhood, clean.
Rest
After working for long hours, our body needs rest. Rest refreshes us. Rest helps our body in proper functioning. An adult person needs 6 to 8 hours continuous sleep in a day to remain healthy. New born babies require to sleep for 16 to 18 hours in a day.
Exercise
Exercise is essential all of us. Exercise keeps our body fit. Regular exercise improves blood circulation in the body and keeps us fit. Walking, jogging, pranayama, yoga, playing hockey, cricket, football, kabaddi and khokho are good exercises. By doing so, we can keep us healthy and fit.