Nutrition Unit 1

What is Nutrition?

The scientific study of nutrients and how the body uses them or how body reacts to food and nutrients.

Why study Nutrition?

It’s involves food which is the basic human need for survival, growth, maintenance, and repair body’s cells.

Nutrients:

The life sustaining substance found in food.

Diet:

A person’s usual pattern of food choices.

ABOVE the recommendations:

• added fats/oils

• added sugar/sweeteners

• protein foods

• grains

BELOW the recommendations:

• vegetables

• dairy products

• fruits

Poor dietary practices are associated to many diseases that ar eon the rise:

Obesity, Heart Disease, and Type II diabetes.

The 6 classes of Nutrients are:

• Carbohydrates

• Lipids

• Proteins

• Vitamins

• Minerals

• Water

The body uses nutrients for:

• energy

• growth/development

• regulation of processes

Cells use ____ to carry out metabolism.

Nutrients

Metabolism is:

the total of all chemical processes that occur in living cells.

Organic refers to compounds that contain ____.

Carbon (Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and vitamins)

Inorganic nutrients DO NOT contain _____.

Carbon (minerals and water)

Essential nutrient:

must be supplied in food b/c body doesn’t synthesize it or make enough to meed its needs.

What is the most essential nutrient is:

Water

Body can use raw material from food to synthesize many nutrients, such as:

• cholesterol

• some types of fats/proteins

Deficiency Disease:

Results when nutrient is missing; resolved by adding nutrient back into diet.

Example of an essential nutrient:

Vitamin C

Macronutrients (grams/day):

Nutrients that the body needs in large amounts

Examples of Macronutrients:

• Carbohydrates

• Fats

• Proteins

Micronutrients (miligram or microgram/day):

Nutrients that the body needs in small amounts

Examples of Micronutrients:

• Vitamins

• Minerals

Macronutrient (Carbohydrates) Functions:

• primary fuel source in the body

• Requirement for the brain

• Main fuel for physical exercise

• Maintains blood sugar

Macronutrients (Carbohydrates) Food Sources:

• grains (wheat/rice)

• vegetables/fruits

• legumes (lentils, beans, peas)

• seeds/nuts

• milk/dairy products

Macronutrients (Lipids - Fats/Oils) Functions:

• major fuel source for the body

• stored as adipose tissue which protects body/fuel source

• needed for fat-soluble vitamin absorption

• brain growth/development

Macronutrients (Lipids - Fats/Oils) Food Sources:

• vegetable oils - Canola/olive/soybean

• butter

• milk/milk products

• fat in animal products

Macronutrients (Proteins) Functions:

• important in building new cells/tissues (ex: muscle fibers)

• helps maintain bone, repair damages in body

• transports substances within blood

• NOT primary source in energy

Macronutrients (Proteins) Foods sources

• beef/poultry/fish

• milk/milk products

• seeds/nuts

• beans/legumes

• small amounts in grains/vegetables

Beta-carotine:

Red, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables (rich food sources).

What’s true about vitamins?

They are classified as water/fat-soluble

Examples of Biological/Physiological Factors

• sense of taste

• hunger/thirst

• age

Examples of Cognitive/Psychological Factors:

• religious beliefs

• emotional stress level

• positive/negative food associations

Examples of Environmental Factors:

• layout of campus dining facility

• availability of food on campus

• cost of food

Water:

• body requires large amounts

• considered a nutrient

• not a macronutrient

Top 2 leading causes of death in the US:

Heart disease/cancer

Macronutrients include:

• Fat

• nutrients required in grams/day

• carbohydrates

• energy-yielding nutrients

Micronutrients include:

• vitamins

• minerals

• nutrients required in milligrams or micrograms/day

• Non-energy nutrients

Must Knows

• 1 gram of Carbohydrates = 4 kcal

• 1 gram of Protein = 4 kcal

• 1 gram of Fat = 9 kcal

• 1 gram of Lipids = 9 kcal

• 1 gram of Alcohol = 7 kcal

What’s FALSE about overnutrition/undernutrition?

Overnutrition is less common than undernutrition