HUBI 2002 - Section 1

Nutrition

The study of how food nourishes the body

Food

Any substance the body can take in and assimilate; a source of nutrients.

Diet

The food and beverages a person usually eats and drinks

Nutrient deficiencies, imbalances, and excesses

Malnutrition includes:

Smoking, tobacco use and alcohol consumption

ONLY two lifestyle habits that have a stronger influence on long-term health than dietary choices.

Iron, vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Examples of nutrition-related diseases

Genome

The full complement of genetic material in the chromosomes of a cell.

DNA

The molecule that encodes genetic information in its structure.

Nutritional genomics

The science of how nutrients affect the activities of genes and how genes affect the interactions between diet and disease

Tobacco and alcohol use, substance abuse, physical activity, sleep, stress, and life conditions

Besides diet, other factors that affect health include:

Energy

The capacity to do work.

Sun, plants

The energy that fuels the human body comes indirectly from the _______ via ___________.

Calories/kilojoules

Food energy is measured in:

Nutrients

Components of food required for the body's function.

- Provide energy

- Building material

- Maintenance and repair

- Support growth

Roles of nutrients in the human body:

Water, carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals

Six categories of nutrients

Water, carbohydrates, fat and protein

4 of the 6 categories of nutrients that are energy-yielding

Essential nutrients

Nutrients that the body either cannot make or cannot make fast enough, i.e., nutrients that must be obtained from food

Calories

Units of energy in food.

Carbohydrates, fats, proteins; alcohol

The energy a person consumes in a day's meals comes from _______________, ___________, _____________; ______________, if consumed, also contributes energy

4 Cal/g

Amount of energy provided by carbohydrates

9 Cal/g

Amount of energy provided by fat

4 Cal/g

Amount of energy provided by protein

Elemental diet

Composed of purified ingredients of known chemical composition, intended to supply all essential nutrients to people who cannot eat foods (illness).

Non-nutrients

Compounds in foods, other than the six nutrients that have biological activity in the body

Phytochemicals

Non-nutrient compounds that confer colour, taste, and other characteristics on foods.

Basic foods

Milk/milk products; meats such as fish or poultry; vegetables. Also called whole foods.

Enriched/fortified foods

Foods to which nutrients have been added

Fast foods

restaurant foods that are available within minutes after customers order them—traditionally hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes.

Functional foods

Foods known to possess nutrients or nonnutrients that might lend protection against diseases.

Natural foods

Foods that imply wholesomeness.

Nutraceutical

A product that has been isolated from food, often sold in pill form and believed to have medicinal effects

Organic foods

Foods grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

Partitioned foods

Foods composed of parts of whole foods, such as butter (from milk) and sugar (from beets or cane).

Processed foods

Foods subjected to any process, such as milling, the addition of additives, or cooking.

Staple foods

Foods that are used frequently or daily, such as rice and potatoes.

A (adequacy), B (balance), C (calorie control), M (moderation), V (variety)

A nutritious diet must follow the ______________ principles. All five must be applied to obtain a nutritious diet.

Adequacy

The dietary characteristic of providing all of the essential nutrients, fiber, and energy in amounts sufficient to maintain health and body weight

Balance

The dietary characteristic of providing foods of a number of types in proportion to each other, such that foods rich in some nutrients do not crowd out of the diet foods that are rich in other nutrients

Calorie control

The dietary characteristic that ensures intakes from food balances energy expenditures in activity. Helps control body fat content and weight.

Moderation

The dietary characteristic of providing constituents within set limits; intakes of certain foods, such as fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt should be limited.

Variety

the dietary characteristic of providing a wide selection of foods, increasing the likelihood that the diet will be adequate in nutrients.

Cuisines

Styles of cooking

Foodways

The sum of a culture's habits, customs, beliefs, and preferences concerning food

Ethnic foods

Associated with a particular cultural subgroup within a population.

Nutrition monitering

_______________ ______________________ makes it possible for researchers to assess the nutrient status, health indicators, and dietary intakes of the Canadian population.

Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)

Comprehensive survey of health-related issues, including the eating habits of 65,000 Canadians, that begun in 2004 and continues to collect data every two years. Is a cross-sectional survey study of people 12 and older.

Scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems, including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing conclusions.

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Causation

A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable.

Blind experiment

An experiment in which the subjects do not know whether they are members of the experimental group or the control group.

Case studies

Studies that involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals

Control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Epidemiological studies

A study that involves large-scale comparisons among groups of people, usually contrasting a group known to have been exposed to some toxicant and a group that has not

Experimental group

The people/animals participating in an experiment who receive the treatment under investigation

Intervention studies

Studies of populations in which observation is accompanied by experimental manipulation of some population members

Laboratory studies

Studies that are performed under tightly controlled conditions and are designed to pinpoint causes and effects

Placebo

A sham treatment often used in scientific studies; an inert harmless medication.

Randomized controlled trials (RCT)

Studies in which the subjects are selected in such a way that they have an equal chance of being included in the experimental group or the control group. Also referred to as clinical trials.

Advertorials

Lengthy advertisements in newspapers and magazines that read like feature articles but are written for the purpose of touting the virtues of products and may or may not be accurate.

Anecdotal evidence

Information based on interesting and entertaining , but not scientific, personal accounts of events.

Fraud or quakery

The promotion, for financial gain, of devices, treatments, services, plans, or products that alter or claim to alter a human condition without proof of safety or effectiveness

Infomercials

Feature-length television commercials that follow the format of regular programs but are intended to convince viewers to buy products and not to educate or entertain them

Urban legends

Stories, usually false, may travel rapidly throughout the world via the internet, gaining strength of conviction solely on the basic of repetition.

Professional health organizations, government health agencies, dietetic technicians, dieticians, and nutritionists

Sources of reliable nutritional advice: