NUTR 210 Chapter 1

What determines food choices in one’s life? (6)

Personal preference

Comfort/security (question: psychological?)

Availability/affordability

Cultural/family traditions

Social interactions

Health (allergies, weight, chronic disease treatment or prevention)

What are nutrients?

Substances found in food that provide energy and structure to the body, and regulate body processes

What does a healthy diet consist of? (broad answer; not specific)

Any food adds nutrients, but a healthy diet consists of nutrient-dense foods

Nutrient density

Measure of the nutrients provided by a food relative to its calorie content

Provide one example of low nutrient density vs. high nutrient density

Iced tea (just simple carbohydrates)

Milk (carbohydrates and a variety of nutrients such as protein and essential vitamins)

Empty calories

Calories that come with few nutrients; foods low in nutrient density are high in empty calories

Essential nutrient

Nutrient that must be consumed in the diet because it cannot be made by the body or cannot be made in sufficient quantities to maintain body functions

calorie (lowercase)

Unit of heat used to express the amount of energy provided by food or expended by the body

Extra: amount of energy needed to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius

Calorie (uppercase)

Refers to kilocalories; technically 1,000 calories

Define fortification and explain the difference between mandated and discretionary

The adding of nutrients to foods

Mandated = by the government to address a public need

Discretionary = by the manufacturer typically for marketing

What are phytochemicals? Do animal foods contain something similar?

Substances found in plant foods that are not essential but may have health-promoting properties

Yes–zoochemicals

Functional food; also called?

Food with health-promoting properties beyond basic nutritional functions; nutraceuticals

Food environment

Physical, economic, and social factors around us that affect eating habits and patterns

What are the macronutrients?

Carbohydrates, lipids, protein, and water

What are considered micronutrients?

Vitamins and minerals

Difference between macros and micronutrients?

Needed in large quantities vs. needed in small quantities

Organic compound

Substance that contains carbon bonded to hydrogen

Carbohydrates

Class of nutrients that includes sugars, starches, and water

Chemically all contain carbon, along with hydrogen and oxygen

Fiber

Type of carbohydrate that cannot be broken down by human digestive enzymes

Lipids

Class of nutrients that includes saturated and unsaturated fats and cholesterol; most do not dissolve in water

Cholesterol

Lipid that is found in the diet as well as in the body

High blood levels increase risk of heart disease

Saturated fat

Lipid that is most abundant in solid animal fats and associated with increased risk of heart disease

Unsaturated fat

Lipid that is most abundant in plant oils and associated with reduced risk of heart disease

Protein

Class of nutrients that includes molecules made up of one or more intertwining chains of amino acids

Vitamins

Organic molecules needed in small amounts to maintain health

Minerals

Elements needed in small amounts to provide a variety of diverse functions in the body

Which classes of nutrients provide energy?

Proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids (energy-yielding nutrients)

What are the 3 overall functions that nutrients provide?

Providing energy, forming body structures, and regulating physiological processes

What are the 6 classes of nutrients?

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals

Malnutrition

Condition resulting from an energy or nutrient intake either below (undernutrition; deficient) or above (overnutrition; excess) that which is optimal, or by an imbalance of nutrients

Nutritional genomics

The study of how our genes affect the impact of nutrients or other food components on health (nutrigenetics; genes on diet) and how nutrients affect the activity of our genes (nutrigenomics; diet on genes)

Epidemiology

Field that studies health and disease trends/patterns in populations

Clinical trials

In nutrition–explore the health effects of altering peoples’ diets

How can biochemistry and molecular biology be used to study nutrition?

Biochemistry can study the chemical reactions that provide energy or synthesize molecules, while molecular biology can study how nutrients interact with our genes