Comprehensive Study Notes on Fundamentals of Nutrition and Health and Physiology

Academic Presentation Reporting Schedule

  • August 11, 2025

    • Carbohydrates: Abdullah, Talib, Pangandag

    • Protein: Eusebio, Saiben

    • Fats and Water: Pacete

    • Vitamins: Delacalzada, Laroda, Serino

    • Minerals: Labasano, Lee, Alimorin

    • Nutrition During Pregnancy: Dayonot, Carpentero, Sultan

    • Nutrition During Lactation: Deguit

    • Nutrition During Infancy: Generalao, Cargo

  • August 12, 2025

    • Nutrition During Childhood: Esculto, Talaid

    • Nutrition During Adolescence: Jahaddin, Macatanong, Montaner

    • Nutrition During Adulthood: Moneva

    • Different Hospital Diets: Fuderanan, Lapinig, Genesiran

Fundamental Definitions in Health and Nutrition

  • Health (World Health Organization Definition)

    • Health is defined as a "state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity."

  • Nutrition

    • It is the science of food and its components (nutrients and other substances).

    • It includes the relationship of food to health and disease.

    • It encompasses the processes within the body: ingestion, digestion, absorption, metabolism, and excretion of end-products.

    • It involves social, economic, cultural, and psychological implications of eating.

    • It is the study of how food nourishes the body, based on human requirements for maintenance, energy, growth, reproduction, and lactation.

    • According to Rinzler (2004), "Nutrition equals life."

  • Food

    • Any substance, organic or inorganic, which, when ingested, nourishes the body by building and repairing tissues, supplying heat and energy, and regulating bodily processes.

  • Nutrients

    • Chemical substances (organic or inorganic) found in food.

    • Functions include: supplying heat and energy, building and repairing cells and tissues, and regulating life processes.

Qualities and Functions of Food and Nutrition

  • Essential Qualities of Food

    • 1. It is safe to eat.

    • 2. It is nourishing or nutritious.

    • 3. Its palatability factors satisfy the consumer.

    • 4. It has satiety value.

    • 5. It offers variety and is planned within the socio-economic context.

    • 6. It is free from toxic agents and does not contain substances deemed deleterious to health.

  • Basic Function of Nutrition

    • To maintain life by allowing one to grow and be in a state of optimum health.

  • Reasons for Applying Nutritional Science to Nursing Care

    • 1. Recognition of the role of nutrition in preventing diseases or illnesses.

    • 2. Concern for adapting food patterns of individuals to nutritional needs within their cultural, economic, and psychological frameworks.

    • 3. Awareness of the need to modify nutritional factors for therapeutic purposes in specified disease states.

  • Rule for Proper Nutrition

    • Observed by eating the right kind and amount of food at the right time.

Classification of Nutrients

  • According to Function

    • 1. Energy Giving: Nutrients that furnish energy.

    • 2. Body Building: Nutrients that form tissues in the body.

    • 3. Body Regulating: Nutrients that maintain normal physiologic processes.

  • According to Chemical Structure

    • Organic Nutrients: Carbon-containing compounds (excluding carbonate and cyanide). Examples: Protein, CHO (Carbohydrates), Fat, and Vitamins.

    • Inorganic Nutrients: Minerals and Water.

  • According to Essentiality

    • Essential Nutrients: Required by the body for growth or maintenance but the body lacks the ability to manufacture them in sufficient amounts; must be supplied in the diet.

    • Non-essential Nutrients: Nutrients the body can manufacture on its own.

  • According to Concentration

    • Macronutrients: Nutrients the body needs in amounts of one or more grams per day. Includes water, protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

    • Micronutrients: Present in minute amounts (less than 1 g1\,g). Includes all vitamins and trace minerals.

Detailed Breakdown of Essential Nutrients

  • Carbohydrates

    • Source: Glucose.

  • Lipids (Fats)

    • Sources: Linoleic acid, linolenic acid.

  • Proteins (Amino Acids)

    • Essential Amino Acids: Histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine.

  • Vitamins

    • Water-soluble Vitamins:

      • B1B_1 - Thiamin

      • B2B_2 - Riboflavin

      • B3B_3 - Niacin

      • B6B_6 - Pyridoxine

      • B9B_9 - Folic Acid

      • B12B_{12} - Cobalamin

      • Vitamin C - Ascorbic Acid

    • Fat-soluble Vitamins:

      • Vitamin A - Retinol

      • Vitamin D - Calciferol

      • Vitamin E - Tocopherol

      • Vitamin K - "Anti-hemorrhagic factor"

  • Minerals

    • Major Minerals: Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, sulfur, chlorine, magnesium.

    • Trace Minerals: Chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc.

  • Water

    • Essential for all human beings and listed as a macronutrient.

Nutritional Status (Nutriture) and Malnutrition

  • Nutriture (Nutritional Status)

    • Refers to how well-nourished the human body is, based on several criteria:

      • Physical signs and symptoms of good nutrition.

      • Medical history.

      • Blood and urine tests.

      • Anatomical changes visible via imaging (X-rays).

      • History of dietary intake up to current food habits.

  • The 60-20-20 Rule (Adult Normal Weight)

    • Water: 60%60\%

    • Fat/Lipids: 20%20\%

    • Protein, Carbohydrates, Minerals, and Vitamins: 20%20\%

  • Malnutrition

    • An undesirable state of health representing the opposite of good nutrition.

    • It is a condition due to lack, excess, or imbalance in one or more nutrients.

    • Results in rehabilitation or death.

  • Undernutrition

    • Lack of one or more nutrients.

    • Underconsumption of energy or nutrients based on Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).

  • Overnutrition

    • Excess of one or more nutrients.

    • Consumption of too many nutrients and too much energy compared with Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) levels.

Specific Deficiency Diseases and Symptoms

  • Kwashiorkor (Protein Deficiency)

    • Protruding belly

    • Brownish hair

    • Dark and scaly skin

    • Stunted growth

    • Under weight

    • Swollen legs

    • Loss of appetite

    • Anaemia

    • Mental retardation

    • Reduced resistance

  • Scurvy (Vitamin C Deficiency)

    • Weakness

    • Anemia

    • Bruising

    • Bleeding gums

    • Loose teeth

Factors Affecting Nutritional Status

  • Primary Factors (Inadequate or Faulty Diet)

    • Poverty

    • Ignorance

    • Poor food habits

    • Limited food supply (due to overpopulation or low production)

    • Poor distribution of food

  • Secondary Factors

    • Conditions within the body that reduce the ultimate supply of nutrients to cells after food leaves the mouth.

Methods of Evaluating Nutriture

  • 1. Dietary Survey

    • Collecting information on actual and habitual intake.

    • 24-Hour Food Recall: A report on everything eaten during the previous 24 hours.

  • 2. Anthropometric Measurement

    • Measuring height, weight, and limb circumference.

    • Comparing dimensions with national standards for healthy growth patterns.

  • 3. Medical/Clinical History

    • Head-to-foot examination (eyes, mouth, tongue, skin, gum, hair).

    • Clinical observations are limited because overt symptoms often appear only in late stages.

    • Example Signs:

      • Eyes: Pale conjunctiva (Iron & B12B_{12} deficiency).

      • Tongue: Magenta tongue (purple-red color with morphological changes) (Riboflavin deficiency).

  • 4. Biochemical Tests

    • Analysis of body tissue samples (blood or urine) to assess nutrient usage.

Nutritional Physiology and the Digestive System

  • Nutritional Physiology

    • Deals with biological processes and how structural parts of the body work to transform food for life maintenance, growth, and energy.

    • Required components: Cell, Nutrients, Energy, Oxygen, and Water.

  • Organs and Their Functions:

    • Mouth/Tongue: Chews food; breaks up particles; assists in speech.

    • Salivary Glands: Moistens food; Amylase digests polysaccharides.

    • Pharynx: Swallowing mechanism.

    • Esophagus: Transports food to the stomach.

    • Liver: Breaks down/builds biological molecules; stores vitamins and iron; destroys old blood cells and poisons; produces bile to break fat.

    • Gallbladder: Stores and concentrates bile.

    • Stomach: Stores and churns food; Pepsin digests protein; HCl activates enzymes, breaks food, and kills germs; Mucus protects the wall.

    • Pancreas: Hormones (Insulin) regulate blood glucose; Bicarbonates neutralize stomach acid; Trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase digest proteins; Amylase digests polysaccharides; Lipase digests lipids.

    • Small Intestine: Completes digestion; absorbs nutrients and most water; contains peptidases (proteins) and sucrases (sugars).

    • Large Intestine: Reabsorbs water and ions; forms and stores feces.

    • Rectum: Stores and expels feces.

    • Anus: Opening for waste elimination.

History of Nutrition

  • Global Milestones

    • 1760: Antoine Lavoisier (Father of Nutrition) studied animal respiration and introduced the balance, calorimeter, and thermometer.

    • 1803: Liebig supported Mulder's work and established modern names: protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

    • 1880: Mulder was the first to use the word "Protein."

    • 1955–1980 (Cellular Era): Characterized by discoveries in cellular metabolism using radioactive isotopes and electron microscopes.

  • Historical Highlights in the Philippines

    • 1903–1923: Musgrave, Richmond, Aaron, Gibbs, Chamberlain, R.R. Williams, Agcaoli, Concepcion, and Santos studied beri-beri and proximate food analysis.

    • 1923: Fleming and Santos worked on basal metabolic standards for Filipino students.

    • 1947: The Philippine Institute of Nutrition (PIN) was created for food and nutritional biochemistry research.

    • 1958: PIN transferred to DOH under R.A. 2067; placed under National Science Development Board (NSDB) and renamed Food and Nutrition Research Center (FNRC).

    • 1959: Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines (NFP), a private agency, was organized to improve health through food and nutrition assistance.

    • 1960: National Coordinating Council on Foods and Nutrition (NCCFN) organized by Dr. Conrado Pascual.

    • July 1, 1960: DOH established the National Program (now Nutrition Service) and Nutrition Mothercraft Centers.

    • 1968: First Malnutrition Ward established by Dr. F. Solon at Southern Islands Hospital in Cebu.

    • June 25, 1974: National Nutrition Council was established.