FATS
Like carbohydrates, fats also provide energy to our body. In fact, fats provide us twice as much energy as that provided by the same amount of carbohydrates. For example, a little butter (which is a fat) provides us much more energy than a large slice of bread (which is a carbohydrate). Butter, ghee, groundnut oil, mustard oil, sunflower oil and coconut oil are the common fats used by us in everyday life. Fats are the richest source of energy but they are more expensive than carbohydrates. Since both, fats as well as carbohydrates provide energy, therefore, the foods containing fats and carbohydrates are called 'energy giving foods'.
Fats are supplied to our body by many foods such as: Butter, Ghee, Milk, Cheese (Paneer), Oil (Groundnut oil, Mustard oil, Sunflower oil and Coconut oil, etc.), Egg yolk (yellow of an egg), Meat, Groundnut, Cashew, and Soybean. Please note that fats and oils are similar substances, the only difference being that fats are solids at room temperature whereas oils are liquids at room temperature.
Fats can be obtained from plants as well as from animals. Some of the plant sources of fats are: Groundnut oil, Mustard oil, Coconut oil, Sunflower oil, Soyabean oil, Groundnuts, Til and Nuts. And some of the animal sources of fats are: Butter, Ghee, Milk, Cream, Cheese (Paneer), Eggs and Meat.
PROTEINS
Proteins supply the body with materials to make new cells which build the body and make it grow. Proteins also give materials which repair the damaged body cells (as that during the healing of wounds). Thus, proteins are needed for the growth and repair of our body. In fact, foods containing proteins are known as body building foods. Children need more proteins than adults (in comparison to their body weight) because of the rapid growth of their body.
The various foods which are rich in proteins are: Milk, Cheese (Pancer), Pulses (Dal), Peas (Matar), Beans, Soyabean, Groundnut, Fish, Meat, Chicken and Eggs. All these are body building foods. The names of some of the pulses (or dals) which contain a lot of proteins are: Bengal gram (Chana), Black gram Green gram (Moong) and Lentil (Masoor). Proteins can be obtained from plants as well as animal foods.
(1) The foods such as pulses (dal), peas, beans, soyabean, and groundnut are good sources of plant proteins.
(ii) The foods like milk, cheese, fish, meat, chicken and eggs are the main sources of animal proteins.
Most of the food materials usually contain more than one nutrient. However, in a given food material, one particular nutrient may be in much larger quantity than the other nutrients. For example, rice contains much more carbohydrate than fat and protein. So, rice is said to be a carbohydrate-rich food. Similarly, butter is a fat-rich food whereas fish is a protein-rich food.