Nutrition and Health

• nutrition- composition and quality of food intake and the utilization of food by a living organism

• How does your body use nutrients from your diet?

  • energy- biochemical reactions release the energy in carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins

  • building blocks for structures- this is how lots of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids get used

  • regulation of body processes- all chemical reactions in the body (metabolism) are regulated to create a stable environment that is said to be in homeostasis

• malnutrition- when the organism is not receiving the optimal amount of nutrients to be healthy

  • undernutrition- inadequate supply of nutrient amount or type

    • most organisms are thought to live in an undernourished state- on the edge of starvation

  • overnutrition- plenty of nutrients in amount and type

    • tends to be in humans in developed countries

• optimal nutrition- amount and type of nutrients in the diet designed to increase health and longevity

Cardiovascular Disease and Health Disparities

• heart disease is the leading cause of death for men & women as well as people of most racial & ethnic groups in the US

• 1 person dies every 37 seconds from cardiovascular disease in the US

• about 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year- 1 in every 4 deaths

• heart disease costs the US about $219 billion each year from 2014 to 2015

  • includes the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost productivity because of death

• 7 things that contribute to heart disease- smoking, BMI, physical activity, diet, total cholesterol, BP, diabetes

• children (ages 12-19) tend to be okay in all categories except diet, physical activity, and BMI

  • children have increased consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods

  • children also have lower physical activity now

  • unhealthy diets + lack of physical activity = increased BMI and risk of obesity

• adults carry over these bad diet practices from childhood

• 10 dietary factors of cardiovascular disease

  • low intake of fruit

  • low intake of vegetables

  • low intake of nuts/seeds

  • low intake of whole grains

  • low intake of seafood omega-3 fats

  • low intake of polyunsaturated fats

  • high intake of sodium

  • high intake of unprocessed red meat

  • high intake of processed meats

  • high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages

• proportion of younger people (ages 25-54) dying because of cardiometabolic disease higher because younger people shouldn’t be dying of cardiovascular disease

• proportion of african-american people dying because of heart disease higher than proportion of white people

  • mainly due to social determinants of health

• main comorbidities of COVID- heart disease & diabetes

Energy Density and Oxidative Metabolism

• energy-dense/nutrient-poor foods- foods that have high caloric content with very other little nutrients

• carbs and fats are broken down via metabolic processes and converted to adenosine triphosphate- the body’s energy currency

• ATP has three phosphate groups with 2 high energy phosphoanhydride bonds and a lower energy phosphate ester bond linking the adenosine and the alpha phosphate

• ATP is then used to fuel any mechanical work or process that requires energy input

• calorie- the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 degree C

  • different than the Calorie/kilocalorie- 1000 calories

• amount of kcal/g in each macronutrient

  • fats- 9 kcal/g

  • alcohol- 7 kcal/g

  • carbohydrates- 4 kcal/g

  • protein- 4 kcal/g

• compounds are broken down for energy by oxidative metabolism- which is why we need oxygen

  • taking carbons in a compound from a reduced state where they have more electrons assigned to them to a compound where they are in an oxidized state with fewer electrons assigned to them

• assign the central carbon 2 electrons per bond if bonded to a hydrogen, 1 electron per bond if bonded to another carbon, 0 per bond if bonded to oxygen

  • this is because H < C << O in terms of electronegativity

• the above reactant compound is actually the first part of a fat

  • so fats have more energy per g because they have high reduction potential

• carbohydrates and proteins are already partially reduced because they have carbons bonded to oxygens

  • alcohols are somewhat in between carbohydrates/proteins & fats because they have a hydrocarbon portion bonded to an OH group

Types of Fats

• different types of fats

  • saturated fats- fats where all the carbons have as many hydrogens bonded to them as possible

    • higher melting point, solid at room temperature, mostly animal fats

  • unsaturated fats- fats that have at least one double bond within the carbon chain

    • lower melting point, liquid at room temperature, mostly plant fats

    • monounsaturated- only 1 double bond

    • polyunsaturated- have many double bonds

  • cis fats- have “kinks” in the carbon chain

    • the parts of the carbon chain are on the same side of the double bond

    • lower melting point because they can’t all line up

  • trans fats- look like saturated fats

    • the parts of the carbon chain are on opposite sides of the double bond

    • formed by partial hydrogenation- reaction where polyunsaturated fatty acids get hydrogens attached to them to make them more saturated

      • makes margarine

• saturated and trans fats are associated with increased blood cholesterol