Texas Health Skills: Module 7 - Following a Healthy Diet Study Guide

Introduction to Nutrition

• Nutrition Defined: Nutrition is the process of choosing and consuming foods and beverages to fuel the body. It is essential for survival.

• Nutrients: These are chemical substances that provide the body with the materials required to grow and function.

• The Six Types of Nutrients:

  • Carbohydrates

  • Proteins

  • Fats

  • Vitamins

  • Minerals

  • Water

Carbohydrates: The Body's Energy Source

• Function: Carbohydrates serve as the major source of energy for the body.

• Sources: Commonly found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products.

• Simple Carbohydrates (Sugars):

  • Glucose: The preferred source of energy for the body, specifically used to power the brain and central nervous system.

  • Fructose: The sugar naturally found in fruits.

  • Lactose: The sugar naturally found in dairy products.

  • Sucrose: A common sugar found in processed foods and beverages sweetened with sugar.

• Complex Carbohydrates:

  • Starches: These are broken down into glucose during the digestion process. Sources include grain products, beans, and vegetables such as potatoes, peas, and corn.

  • Dietary Fiber: A type of complex carbohydrate that the body cannot completely break down. While it does not provide energy, it offers several health benefits:

    • Lowering cholesterol levels.

    • Adding bulk to feces to aid digestion.

    • Balancing blood glucose levels.

Proteins: Building Blocks of the Body

• Function: Proteins are used to build and maintain the body's cells and tissues, including muscles, bones, skin, hair, fingernails, and internal organs.

• Additional Roles: Proteins can provide energy or act as hormones and enzymes.

• Amino Acids: Proteins are composed of amino acids.

  • Nonessential Amino Acids: Produced naturally by the body.

  • Essential Amino Acids: Must be consumed through food.

• Types of Protein Foods:

  • Complete Proteins: Contain all nine essential amino acids. These are found in animal-based foods and certain plant foods like soybeans.

  • Incomplete Proteins: Lack one or more of the nine essential amino acids. These are found in plant-based foods but can be combined to provide a full profile of essential amino acids.

Fats and Their Functions

• Purpose: Fats offer a valuable energy source for muscles and facilitate the absorption and transportation of vitamins and nutrients.

• Common Types of Fats:

  • Saturated Fats: Diets high in these are linked to long-term health conditions.

  • Unsaturated Fats: Found in plant-based foods; these remain liquid at room temperature.

  • Trans Fats: These are not generally recognized as safe for consumption.

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamins: Organic substances required for normal growth, development, and the regulation of body processes.

  • Regulatory Functions: Includes blood clotting, immune system function, and maintenance of healthy skin.

  • Energy Release: Vitamins help the body release energy from proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

  • Fat-soluble Vitamins: Vitamins $A$, $K$, $D$, and $E$. These dissolve in body fat and can be stored for future use.

  • Water-soluble Vitamins: The eight $B$ vitamins and Vitamin $C$. These are used immediately or removed through urination.

• Minerals: Inorganic elements absorbed by plants from soil and water, necessary for normal development.

  • Major Minerals: Required in amounts of $\ge 100\,mg$ per day. Includes Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sulfur, Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium.

  • Trace Minerals: Required in amounts of < 100\,mg per day. Includes Iron, Zinc, Iodine, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Fluoride, Chromium, and Molybdenum.

The Importance of Water

• Body Functions: Necessary for nearly all body functions.

• Purposes:

  • Maintaining body temperature.

  • Cushioning and lubricating joints.

  • Protecting the spinal cord and sensitive tissues.

  • Moving oxygen, nutrients, and waste materials.

• Dehydration: A condition resulting from not consuming enough water.

Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate

• Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Published by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

  • Follow a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage.

  • Customize nutrient-dense choices for personal preference, culture, and budget.

  • Meet food group needs while staying within calorie limits.

  • Limit added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.

• MyPlate: Created by the USDA in 2011 to implement the Dietary Guidelines.

  • Factors: Recommendations are based on age, biological sex, height, weight, and physical activity level.

  • Food Groups:

    • Fruit: Fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or $100\%$ juice.

    • Grains: At least half should be whole grains.

    • Vegetables: Eaten in a variety each week (fresh, frozen, canned, raw, or cooked).

    • Dairy: Milk and high-calcium foods (including fortified soy, almond, and rice alternatives).

    • Protein foods: Meat, poultry, seafood, beans, peas, eggs, processed soy, nuts, and seeds.

    • Oils: Technically not a food group but essential for nutrients.

Strategies for Healthy Eating

• Balanced Patterns:

  • Maintain calorie balance.

  • Choose nutrient-dense foods; avoid empty calories.

  • Eat breakfast every day.

• Food Sensitivities:

  • Food Intolerance: The body cannot properly digest a specific food; symptoms appear gradually.

  • Food Allergy: The immune system reacts to a food as harmful; symptoms occur suddenly and can be triggered by tiny amounts.

• Vegetarian and Vegan Eating: Requires reliance on plant-based proteins. Needs planning to ensure complementary proteins provide all essential amino acids.

• Consequences of Poor Nutrition:

  • Malnutrition: Failing to get or properly absorb recommended nutrients.

  • Undernutrition: Not receiving or absorbing needed nutrients.

  • Overnutrition: Consuming too many of certain nutrients.

Choosing and Preparing Food Safely

• Influences on Choice: Genetics, age, feelings/thoughts, cultural background, and social environment.

• Nutrition Facts Labels: Required by the FDA for packaged foods. Includes serving size, calories, nutrient amounts, percent of Daily Values, ingredients, and additives.

• Food Label Claims:

  • Low-fat: Must contain $\le 3\,g$ of fat in a single serving.

  • Heart-healthy: Must contain $\ge 51\%$ whole-grain ingredients and be low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

  • Organic: Consists of $\ge 95\%$ organically produced ingredients (no fertilizers or pesticides).

  • GMO: Genetically Modified Organisms. Most must be labeled as "bioengineered."

• Preventing Foodborne Illness (Food Poisoning):

  • Wash hands with hot, soapy water for $\ge 20\,seconds$.

  • Clean counters, utensils, and surfaces after each use.

  • Refrigerate perishables promptly; discard food at room temperature for > 2\,hours.

  • Keep hot foods > 140^\circ F and cold foods < 40^\circ F.

  • Thaw food in the refrigerator or microwave.

Calorie Needs and Weight Management

• Calorie Needs (Age 13-19):

  • 13-year-old Male: Inactive ($2,000$), Moderately active ($2,200$), Active ($2,600$).

  • 13-year-old Female: Inactive ($1,600$), Moderately active ($2,000$), Active ($2,200$).

  • 16-18-year-old Male: Inactive ($2,400$), Moderately active ($2,800$), Active ($3,200$).

  • 16-18-year-old Female: Inactive ($1,800$), Moderately active ($2,000$), Active ($2,400$).

• Body Mass Index (BMI): A status assessment formula:     $BMI = \left(\frac{\text{Weight in pounds}}{\text{Height in inches}}\right)^2 \times 703$

• Weight Status Categories:

  • Overweight: Excess weight from fat, bone, muscle, or water for a particular height.

  • Obesity: Having excess body fat or being excessively overweight.

  • Underweight: Low weight compared to others of the same age and sex.

• US Statistics:

  • $70\%$ of adults $\ge 20$ years old are overweight.

  • $36\%$ of adults are affected by obesity.

  • $18\%$ of children and teens are affected by obesity.

• Body Composition: The ratio of fat, bone, and muscle. People of the same weight can have different compositions (e.g., athletes with high muscle mass).

• Management Skills: Set realistic goals, avoid fad diets, mindful eating, limit screen time, and change "all-or-nothing" mindsets.

Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating

• Disordered Eating: Irregular habits indicating an unhealthy relationship with body image. An example is Orthorexia (obsession with healthy eating).

• Eating Disorders: Mental illnesses causing major disturbances in eating behavior, including:

  • Anorexia nervosa

  • Avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)

  • Binge-eating disorder

  • Bulimia nervosa

  • Otherwise specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED)

• Health Effects:

  • Cardiovascular: Muscle breakdown (including the heart), electrolyte imbalances (disrupts rhythm).

  • Digestive: Acid reflux, constipation, stomach rupture.

  • Nervous: Fainting, dizziness, seizures, numbness in extremities.

  • Endocrine: Falling hormone levels, osteoporosis, amenorrhea, insulin resistance, and Type 2 diabetes risk.

  • Other: Lanugo (fine body hair), brittle nails, kidney failure, and death.

• Treatment Options:

  • Individual Therapy: One-on-one sessions.

  • Family Therapy: Involves parents/siblings to address developmental impacts.

  • Levels of Care: Intensive outpatient, Partial hospitalization, Residential treatment, and Hospitalization.

• Resources: National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helpline.