I am sure you already know how important a balanced diet is to keep yourself healthy. Your diet should provide you with the energy you need, but not more. Different food groups provide different uses in your body, and that is where the ‘balance’ comes in. It’s important for you to find the right balance of foods for your body. You need: • enough carbohydrates to release energy. • enough fats to keep warm and release energy. • enough protein for growth, cell repair and cell replacement. • enough fiber to keep everything moving smoothly through your digestive system • and a tiny amount of various vitamins and mineral ions to keep your skin, bones, blood and everything else generally healthy. Different people’s energy needs vary. For example, when you exercise, you obviously need more energy, so people who have very active jobs should take in more carbohydrates to help keep them going. There are three main factors which can affect your health. 1. An unbalanced diet – people whose diet is badly out of balance are said to be malnourished. Malnourished people can be both fat or thin. 2. Not getting enough exercise – exercise is just as important as diet, with people who exercise regularly usually being healthier than those who do not. 3. Inherited factors – your health can depend of inherited factors too. Some people have inherited factors which affect their metabolic rate and others their blood cholesterol level. To stay healthy and have a balanced diet, it is useful to learn what to look for in food labeling, as some claims can be misleading and it can be surprising to find out what is in the food you are eating.