Ch. 1: Nutrition in Human Health

Nutrition

Science of food and its relationship to health

Health

State of complete well-being; Not merely absence of disease of infirmity (physical or mental weakness, illness, or frailty)

Primary disease prevention

avert occurrence of disease (Dieting and exercising BEFORE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF DISEASE)

Secondary disease prevention

Monitoring techniques to discover diseases early (ex: finding prediabetes & making efforts to change this prior to onset of diabetes)

Tertiary disease prevention

Treatment after a disease has occured (disease occured but receiving tx so it doesn’t progress—ex: managing diabetes through diet & exercise to prevent coronary artery disease)

Macronutrients

Carbs, fats, and proteins

Carbohydrates purpose in body

Act as your body’s main source of fuel; When you eat them, your digestive system breaks them down into glucose (blood sugar), which is absorbed into your bloodstream to power your brain, organs, and muscles.

Micronutrients

Minerals, vitamins, and water

Essential nurtrients

body needs but cannot make on its own

Nonessential

Body can make from other substances within the body

Conditionally essential

Body can normally make these nutrients but because of disease, illness, or injury the body cannot make them

Functions of nutrients

Source of energy, growth & maintenance of tissues, and regulation of body processes

Energy

The capacity to do work

Electric energy

Communication from cell to cell; controls the ability to have thoughts, movement, emotions

Chemical energy

food enters body as carb, fats, or proteins and it is turned into energy nutrients (kilocalories/kcals)

Thermal energy

heat, amount of energy it takes the body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food we eat (also includes calories out; lose weight by less cals in, more cals out)

Mechanical energy

eating food, muscle contraction used, breakdown of food

Nuclear energy

metabolism (protein metabolism or vitamin and mineral metabolism)

How do proteins help growth & maintenance of tissue?

build new tissue, rebuild damaged tissue, and help keep immune system healthy

How are nutrients able to control and regulate body processes?

Nutrients are able to control & regulate chemical processes (ex: potassium helps with muscle contraction, calcium helps with bones/teeth, iron helps carry oxygen to cells of the body)

Functional foods

whole foods, fortified/enhanced foods that may have a potential health benefit

Whole foods

natural, unprocessed, or minimally processed foods that are as close to their original form as possible (no added sugars, fats, artificial flavors, or preservatives)

Fortified foods

a product that has extra vitamins or minerals added to it during production

Phytochemical benefits

plants, contain antioxidants that prevent cell damage, which lowers the risk of cancers

Animal products benefits

Helps with vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes (ex: bone broth)

Microbial benefits

preservatives to keep food good for longer periods of time, also probiotics

Categories of functional foods

convention, modified/fortified, synthesized

Conventional functional foods

Fruits, veggies, oats

Modified/Fortified functional foods

fortified juices, almond milk, fortified cereals or pastas

Synthesized functional foods

processed to contain substances that can improve health or prevent disease (prebiotics, probiotics, and dietary fibers)

Genes

information the body needs to function properly

What can variation in genes cause?

Can cause greater risk for certain diseases

Epigenetics

how genes turn off and on

Nutrigenetics

Can detect gene differences that can increase risk of dysfunction or disease (ex: lactose intolerance is body inability to digest lactase)

Nutrigenomics

interaction of a person’s diet and their genes (ex: if a person w/ Crohn’s disease has too many carbs their immune system will attack the digestive system)

Malnutrion

Inadequate or unbalance intake of food or nutrients (can be due to diet or malfunction/disease)

Food insecurity

Unsure where next meal is coming from (common in older pop d/t fixed income, decrease in taste or smell—can taste unhealthy foods more, coming from eras like the great depression causes hoarding or eating expired food)

Can also be d/t lack of money or transportation to grocery store

Nutritional status

body’s condition related to their nutrient intake

Dietary status

What a person has been eating

Anthropometric

measure their height & weight, BMI, & measuring different body regions such as triceps skin fold

Subjective data

what patient says (usual diet, how many times they eat in a day, digestion/elimination issues, food allergies, problems chewing or swallowing, wear dentures, significant weight changes, food likes/dislikes)

Objective data

appearance & tests (laboratory tests include blood, urine, and stool to check their vitamin & mineral content, what their blood sugar is, how much protein or high cholesterol)

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)

a look at the healthy population to come up with what the estimated averages of food groups should be

Recommended dietary allowances (RDAs)

97-98% of individuals or group nutritional needs

Adequate Intakes (AIs)

Sufficient enough to meet the needs on average of the group

Acceptable macronutrient distribution range (AMDR)

percentage of kcal from carbs and proteins met (associated with reduced risk of chronic disease)

Tolerable upper intake levels (ULs)

highest average daily intake by an individual that is unlikely to pose risk of health effects (97-98% of the group)

Ethnocentrism

one person believes their group or culture is better than another

Acculturation

adopt another culture’s values, attitudes, and behaviors'

Culturally competent care

knowledge, acceptance, and respect for other cultures