Basics of Nutrition Flashcards
L14.1
What are the two types of Nutrients?
Macronutrients: Majority of the food we eat that supplies us with energy for life and exercise (Carbs).
Micronutrients: Made up in small amounts in food. Includes vitamins and minerals which help energy transfer and tissue synthesis.
What are examples of Macronutrients?
How many calories per gram do they contain?
Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins are all Macronutrients.
Carbs = 4 Cal/g
Proteins = 4 Cal/g
Fats = 9 Cal/g
What are examples of Micronutrients?
What is their purpose?
They don’t provide energy to the body rather, they help the body’s metabolic processes.
Vitamins: Regulate Metabolic reactions.
Minerals: inorganic substances needed by the body for good health.
Help produce bones, blood and proteins.
What are the two types of Carbohydrates?
Simple Carbs: Absorbed more rapidly and can cause large swings in blood sugar level.
Complex Carbs: Absorbed more slowly and contains many of the vitamins, minerals our body needs because it has not been refined heavily.
What is they Glycemic Index?
Glycemic index is a measure that we can use to help us understand how foods will affect our blood sugar when we eat them.
Indicates the rate of carbohydrate digestion and its effects on blood glucose levels.
What are extra calories that are not needed converted into?
Converted into fat and stored as fat tissue for later usage.
What are Proteins?
Molecules that make up a large portion of our body and assist in all the body’s cellular functions. They are essential nutrients and the building blocks of body tissue.
The average adult body consists of 10 to 12 kg of proteins, which are mostly found in our muscles
What are Amino Acids?
They are the building blocks of Protein(s). Twenty different amino acids are used to create the more than 50,000 proteins found in the body.
9 come from the foods we eat (essential), and 11 are naturally synthesized from our body’s (non-essential).
What are the 2 types of fats?
Unsaturated: Good fats. These include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
Saturated: Bad fats. These include Saturated and Trans fats
What are Trans Fats?
The unhealthiest fat of them all.
Converted from a liquid to a solid through a process called hydrogenation. Makes healthy vegetable oils behave more like saturated fats.
What do diets high in saturated fats do to the body?
Increases overall risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Also increases likelihood of cardiovascular issues.
