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FdSc Vet nursing - Anatomy & Physiology > Basic nutritional requirements > Flashcards

Basic nutritional requirements Flashcards

1
Q

Digestion

A

Long chains of molecules are broken down into individual molecules

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2
Q

Absorption

A

Those individual molecules can now be absorbed into the blood stream

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3
Q

Metabolism

A
  • Chemical reactions that occur within cells
  • A lot of metabolic reactions happen in the liver
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4
Q

Nutrient

A

Any food component that supports life

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5
Q

Essential nutrient

A

a nutrient that cannot be synthesised by the body

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6
Q

Types of macronutrients

A
  • Water - most essential
  • Protein
  • Carbohydrates
  • Fats/lipids
  • Proteins, Carbs and lipids are responsible for all calories
  • Macronutrients are needed in large quantities
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7
Q

Types of micronutrients

A
  • Vitamins
  • Minerals
  • Micronutrients are needed in tiny amounts
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8
Q

Carbohydrates

A
  • NOT essential in healthy adult cats and dogs - it can be synthesised by the body
  • All animals have a metabolic requirement for glucose
  • Carbs are broken down into a simple sugar e.g. glucose
  • Provides energy source that’s metabolically efficient
  • Carbs = water soluble
  • Make up 60-90% of dry matter weight in food
  • Polysaccharides e.g. fibre and starch are broken down into monosaccharides e.g. glucose and fructose, during digestion
  • Glucose can be used for cellular respiration or stored as glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscles
  • Enzymes hydrolyse the links between the sugars
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9
Q

Fibre

A
  • Polysaccharide
  • Its structure makes it harder to break down then refined carbs like starch
  • Made up of soluble fibre called pectin and insoluble fibre - mainly cellulose

Benefits of fibre:
- Promotes satiety (feeling full)
- Adds faecal bulk
- Increases amount of water that reaches large intestine
- Aids intestinal health via peristalsis
- They release fatty acids that provide nutrition to enterocytes (cells lining the gut)
- It releases sugar slowly, preventing blood glucose spikes

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10
Q

Proteins

A
  • Made up of amino acids
  • Essential amino acids (EAA) - cannot be synthesised by body
  • Non-essential = can be synthesised
  • Liver produces new proteins
  • Cells produce new proteins
  • Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins
  • 20 different types of amino acid - some are essential nutrients
  • Whether or not they are essential depends on the species
  • 10 essential amino acids in dogs
  • 11 essential amino acids in cats
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11
Q

Protein metabolism - Deamination

A
  • Bacteria in small intestine break down protein and as a by-product release ammonia
  • The ammonia is transported to the liver by the hepatic portal vein
  • The liver metabolises ammonia into urea (deamination)
  • Urea is excreted by kidneys in urine
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12
Q

Protein metabolism - transamination

A
  • The liver also converts protein into usable amino acids
  • This is transamination
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13
Q

Protein metabolism - SUMMARY

A
  • Excretion of waste from protein = Deamination (Detoxification of amino acids)
  • Production of new proteins = Transamination (Transformation of amino acids)
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14
Q

Protein deficiencies

A
  • Reduced growth and repair rates
  • Poor coat and skin conditions
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15
Q

Protein excesses

A
  • Weight gain
  • Can exacerbate underlying pathologies relating to kidneys/liver
  • Can exacerbate struvite crystal formation in animals predisposed
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16
Q

Fats/lipids

A
  • Good source of energy but metabolically inefficient
  • Made up of glycerol and fatty acids
  • Helps make food palatable
  • Some fatty acids are essential nutrients - omega 3 and 6
  • Needed for insulation, phospholipid bilayer, waterproofing fur, hormone production
  • Most concentrated form of energy in the diet
  • Is insoluble (hydrophobic)
  • Triglycerides are used as energy or stored as adipose tissue
17
Q

Triglycerides

A
  • Made up of glycerol and 3 fatty acids
  • Each fatty acid is made up of a branch of hydrogen and carbon atoms
  • The configuration of each strand of fatty acid falls into 3 different groups:
  • Saturated
  • Monosaturated
  • Polysaturated
  • Each category represents the amount of carbon double bonds in the molecule
18
Q

Essential fatty acids per species

A

Dogs = Linoleic acid (omega 6)
Cats = Linoleic acid (omega 6)

Non-essential:
Dogs = Arachindonic acid + Linolenic acid
Cats = Linolenic acid

19
Q

Functions of lipids

A
  • Storage because insoluble in water
  • High energy storage because yields more energy than carbs
  • Production of metabolic water because it produces more water on oxidation than glycogen
  • Thermal insulator because it’s a poor conductor
  • Electrical insulator because it’s a poor conductor
  • Waterproof because it’s a poor conductor
  • Hormone production because it’s required to synthesise hormones
20
Q

Fat/lipid deficiencies

A
  • Dry coat and scaly skin - making predisposed to pyoderma (skin infection)
  • Impaired wound healing
  • Severe deficiencies can result in emaciation and eventually death
21
Q

Fat/lipid excesses

A
  • Obesity for fat deposition (adipose stores)
  • Animals predisposed to pancreatitis would have the condition exacerbated by a high fat diet
22
Q

Vitamins

A
  • Many vitamins function as co-enzymes
    Co-enzymes are molecules that bind to the active site of enzymes

Types of water soluble vitamins include:
- C
- B1
- B5
- B6
- B9
- B12

  • A - found in high levels in dietary liver. Important for eyesight
  • D - Can by synthesised from UVB light. Essential for calcium absorption
  • E - Important antioxidant
  • K - Vital for coagulation (blood clotting)
  • B and C - Both co-enzymes for metabolism and homeostasis
23
Q

Essential vitamins

A
  • B - some synthesised in the gut
  • A
  • D - not enough synthesised through skin via UVB light
  • E
24
Q

Non-essential vitamins

A
  • C - except in guinea pigs and primates
  • K - made by gut bacteria
25
Q

Antioxidants

A
  • All cells carry out metabolic reactions
  • Reactive oxygen species/ free radicals are a by-product of metabolic reactions
  • Antioxidants neutralise free radicals
  • There are many free radicals but the most important one is vitamin E
26
Q

Minerals

A
  • Calcium - Ca
  • Magnesium - MG
  • Sodium - Na
  • Phosphorus - P
  • Chlorine - Cl
  • Potassium - K
  • Minerals are vital for homeostasis
27
Q

Electrolytes

A
  • Calcium - Ca+
  • Magnesium - Mg+
  • Sodium - Na+
  • Phosphate - PO-
  • Chloride - Cl-
  • Potassium - K+
  • Electrolytes are minerals with an electrical charge
  • They are metabolically active and are vital to homeostasis
  • Found throughout the body and they’re maintained in fixed ranges within plasma

FdSc Vet nursing - Anatomy & Physiology (12 decks)

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