Nutrition Guide for Humans
Nutrition Guide Links Menu
Nutrition ~
Essential Nutrients ~
Vitamins ~
Learning about fruits ~
Learning about vegetables ~
|
Nutrition
Introduction - What is Nutrition?
Nutrition is a science that examines the relationship between diet and health.
Dietitians are health professionals who specialize in this area of study, and are trained to provide safe,
evidence-based dietary advice and interventions.
Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to
diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis.
Many common diseases and their symptoms can often be prevented or improved with better nutrition.
The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health.
Overview
Nutrition science looks carefully at the body before and after digestion, the food ingested, and the feces/waste after.
Comparing the waste to the food can determine the specific types of compounds and elements absorbed by the body.
The effect that the absorbed matter has on the body can be determined by finding the difference
between the before-ingestion state and the after-digestion state. Nutritional study very time-consuming and expensive.
The human body is made up of chemical compounds such as water, amino acids (proteins), fatty acids (lipids), nucleic acids
(DNA/RNA), and carbohydrates (e.g. sugars and fiber).
The human is made of the elements that it eats and absorbs into the bloodstream.
The digestive system is the first step which makes the different chemical compounds and elements in food available for the trillions
of cells of the body. The digestive juices help break chemical bonds between ingested compounds.
Any unabsorbed matter is excreted in the feces.
In general, eating a variety of fresh, whole (unprocessed) plant foods has proven hormonally and metabolically healthy
compared to eating a monotonous diet based on processed foods. Eating whole plant foods slows digestion
and provides higher amounts and a better balance of essential and vital nutrients resulting in
better management of cell growth, maintenance, and mitosis (cell division) as well as regulation of blood glucose and appetite.
Regular eating patterns (e.g. eating medium-sized meals every 2 to 3 hours) has also proven to be more healthy than infrequent, haphazard food intake.
|
Nutrition - Quiz
Include Quiz Title, Name, Date, and Number for each answer.
1) What does nutrition science examine?
2) What are people that specialize in the study of nutrition?
3) Name 3 chemical compounds the human body is made of.
4) What is the first step that makes chemical compounds available to the body?
5) Bonus Question: What is the healthiest eating pattern for the body?
|
|
Essential Nutrients
What are Essential Nutrients?
An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that cannot be
synthesized by the body and must be obtained from the foods they eat.
Some categories of essential nutrients include vitamins, dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids.
Different species have very different essential nutrients. Most essential nutrients are substances
that are metabolically necessary but cannot be used by the species.
For example a human must obtain the iron from their diet for their body to turn it into and create the hemoglobin their body needs.
And your body needs Vitamin C in order to transfer that hemoglobin into your body system so your body can absorb and use it.
Your body needs Magnesium in order to absorb calcium. You can eat all the calcium in the world, but if your body doesn't have magnesium
in it, your body cannot absorb the calcium!
There are seven main classes of nutrients that the body needs: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water.
It is important to consume these seven nutrients every day to build and maintain health.
|
Essential nutrients
Carbohydrates
There are 3 kinds of Carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides, & polysaccharides.
Monosaccharides contain 1 sugar unit, disaccharides contain 2, and polysaccharides contain 3 or more.
Polysaccharides are complex carbohydrates because they are long chains of sugar units.
Complex carbohydrates take longer to metabolize since their sugar units are processed one-by-one off the ends of the chains.
Monosaccharides and disaccharides are simple carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates are metabolized quickly and raise blood sugar levels more quickly resulting in rapid increases in blood insulin levels.
Protein
Most meats such as chicken contain essential amino acids needed for humans.
Protein is composed of amino acids, that are body's structural (muscles, skin, hair) materials.
The body requires amino acids to produce new body protein (protein retention) and to
replace damaged proteins (maintenance) that are lost in the urine. You can also get your required
protein from all types of nuts, seeds, beans, and soy beans and avoid the other health problems related
to eating meats.
Fat
Fats are composed of fatty acids.
Fat may be classified as saturated or unsaturated.
Saturated fats have all of their carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms.
Unsaturated fats have some of their carbon atoms double-bonded instead of a hydrogen atom.
Saturated fat is solid at room temperature while unsaturated fat is a liquid.
Read your food labels to avoid saturated fats & hydrogenated fats. You don't want to eat much
of this type of fat because it can cause heart problems.
Most fatty acids are not-essential, the body can produce them as needed.
There are two fatty acids that are essential and must be consumed in the diet.
They are the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids - very important for good health.
Vitamins
Vitamin or mineral deficiency or excess may cause symptoms of poor health such as weak immune system, certain forms of cancer,
symptoms of premature aging, and poor psychological health (including eating disorders).
Thousands of different phytochemicals have been discovered in food (particularly in fresh vegetables),
that have antioxidant activity, which helps fight cancers.
Minerals
Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms.
-
Calcium (for muscle and digestive system health, builds bone, neutralizes acidity, clears toxins, helps blood stream)
- Chloride
-
Magnesium required for processing ATP and related reactions (health, builds bone, causes strong peristalsis, increases flexibility, increases alkalinity)
-
Phosphorus required component of bones and energy processing and many other functions (bone mineralization)
- Potassium required electrolyte (heart and nerves health)
- Sodium electrolyte
-
Sulfur for three essential amino acids and many proteins and cofactors (skin, hair, nails, liver, and pancreas health)
- Chromium required for sugar metabolism
- Iron required for many proteins and enzymes, notably hemoglobin
- Manganese (processing of oxygen)
- Zinc required for several enzymes
Fiber
Dietary fiber is mostly cellulose that is indigestible because we do not have enzymes to digest it.
Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber.
Importance of dietary fibre:
- provides bulk to the intestinal contents
- stimulates peristalsis (rhythmic muscular contractions passing along the digestive tract)
- Lack of dietary fibre in the diet leads to constipation (failure to pass motions)
Water
About 70% of the non-fat parts of the human body is made of water.
To function properly, the body requires between one and seven liters of water per day to avoid dehydration.
The exact amount depends on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors. With physical
exertion and heat exposure, water loss will increase.
About 20 percent of water intake comes from food, while the rest comes from drinking water and beverages (caffeinated included).
Water is excreted from the body in multiple forms; through urine and feces, through sweating, and by exhalation of water vapor in the breath.
|
|
Essential Nutrients - Quiz
Include Quiz Title, Name, Date, and Number for each answer.
1) What is An essential nutrient?
2) A human must obtain iron in their diet to create ________ ?
3) What are the seven main classes of nutrients that the body needs?
4) Name the 3 kinds of Carbohydrates.
5) What does the body require to produce new body protein?
6) What are the two kinds of fats?
7) What is Potassium help in the body?
8) What can happen if you don't eat enough fiber?
9) Name some ways our body loses water.
10) Bonus Question: Name a fruit or vegetable that has Vitamin C.
|
|
Vitamins
What are Vitamins?
A vitamin is a nutrient that is an organic compound required in tiny amounts for essential metabolic reactions in a living organism.
Most vitamins cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities by synthesis in the body, and must be obtained from the diet.
Vitamin requirement are different for each living organism. For example, ascorbic acid turns into vitamin C for some animals but not others,
and vitamins D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.
Vitamins are defined by their biological activity, not their structure. The term vitamin does not include
other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it include the large
number of other nutrients that promote health but that are not essential for life.
Vitamins have many biochemical functions, including function as hormones (e.g. vitamin D), antioxidants
(e.g. vitamin E), and mediators of cell signaling and regulators of cell and tissue growth.
Until the 1900s, vitamins were obtained only from the foods you ate, and changes in your diet would change the types and amounts of vitamins ingested.
Vitamins are now produced as chemicals and made available as inexpensive pills for many years now, which allows people to supplement thier diet.
For example, if you are not eating foods with enough Vitamin C, you can take a pill.
Side effects and overdose
In large doses, some vitamins have documented side effects that tend to be more severe with a larger dosage.
It is very rare to consume too much of any vitamin from eating food. But overdosing from vitamin supplementation (pills)
does occur. At high enough dosages some vitamins cause side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
In the United States, most overdose exposures are in children under the age of 6 years old.
In humans
Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble (meaning that they dissolve easily in water) or fat-soluble vitamins,
(which are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids -fats). Water-soluble vitamins are can be flushed out
of the body easily. Which means we need to consume these kinds frequently. Each vitamin is used in many reactions and has many functions.
In humans there are 13 vitamins needed: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C).
In nutrition and diseases
Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism.
Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to develop, at the
moment of conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be
present at certain times. These nutrients help the chemical reactions that produce things like: skin, bone, and muscle.
If there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child may develop a deficiency disease.
Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.
For the most part, vitamins are obtained with food, but a few are obtained by other means. For example,
microorganisms in the intestine—commonly known as "gut flora"—produce vitamin K and biotin. And one form of vitamin D is
synthesized in the skin with the help of natural ultraviolet in the sunlight. Humans can produce some vitamins from things they consume.
Examples: you eat foods with beta carotene, and your body turns that into Vitamin A.
Or you consume the amino acid tryptophan and your body turns that into niacin.
Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs
that make up a multicellular organism; they also enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food
it eats, and to help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration.
|
Vitamins - Quiz
Include Quiz Title, Name, Date, and Number for each answer.
1) What is a vitamin?
2) Vitamins are defined by their _______ _______, not their structure.
3) Name two biochemical functions of Vitamins.
4) Vitamins are classified as _______ soluble & _______ soluble.
5) Water-soluble dissolves easily in _______.
6) Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed through the ______ with the help of ______.
7) How many vitamins are needed by humans?
8) Name 4 fat-soluble vitamns:
9) True or False: Some vitamins we need come from chemical reactions in our bodies.
10) Bonus Question: What vitamin is known as the sunshine vitamin?
|
|
Learning about fruits
Fruits - Nutritional value
Fruits are generally high in fiber, water and vitamin C. Fruits also contain various phytochemicals.
Regular consumption of fruit is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts,
and some of the functional declines associated with aging.
Many hundreds of fruits, including fleshy fruits like apple, peach, pear, kiwifruit, watermelon and mango are commercially valuable as human food,
eaten both fresh and as jams, marmalade and other preserves. Fruits are also in manufactured foods like cookies, muffins, yoghurt, ice cream, cakes,
and many more. Many fruits are used to make beverages, such as fruit juices (orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, etc) or alcoholic beverages,
such as wine or brandy.
Many vegetables are botanical fruits, including tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, okra, squash, pumpkin, green bean, cucumber and zucchini.
Olive fruit is pressed for olive oil. Apples are often used to make vinegar. Spices like vanilla, paprika, allspice and black pepper are derived from berries.
|
|
Learning about vegetables
Vegetables
Vegetable generally refers to an edible part of a plant.
Whole or parts of herbaceous plants eaten as food by humans are normally considered vegetables.
In general, vegetables are thought of as being savory, and not sweet, although there are many exceptions.
Nuts, grains, herbs, and spices are not usually considered vegetables.
Vegetables are eaten in a variety of ways as part of main meals and as snacks.
The nutrient content of each vegetable can be very different. Eating a variety of vegetables helps your body get as many
essential nutrients as it can. Vegetables do not have protein and fat.
Vegetables contain water soluble vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C, fat-soluble vitamins including vitamin A and vitamin D, and also
contain carbohydrates and minerals and fiber.
Among the nutrients vegetables may include antioxidants, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticarcinogenic nutrients.
|
Fruits & Vegetables - Quiz
Include Quiz Title, Name, Date, and Number for each answer.
1) Fruits are high in _______ _______ & _______.
2) What is a vegetable?
3) What is something vegetables do not have?
4) Name some Vitamins vegetables contain.
5) Bonus Question: What is your favorite vegetable?
|
|
|