Exam 1 - Nutrition Flashcards
Nutrition
science of food; the nutrients and the substances therein; their action, interaction, and balance in relation to health and disease
Nutrition (also)
The process by which the organism ingests, digests, absorbs, transports, utilizes, and excretes food substances
What are top 3 causes of death
- heart disease
- cancer
- stroke
Nutrients
substances essential for health that the body cannot make or makes in quantities too small to support kife
Characteristics of an essential nutrient
- Has a specific biological function
- Absence from the diet leads to decline in biological function
- Adding missing substance bac to the diet before permanent damage occurs restores normal biological function
Functional categories of nutrients
- Provide energy for the body
- Promote growth and development, maintain body structures
- Regulates body processes; help maintain homeostasis
Energy yielding nutrients
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Protein
Non-energy yielding nutrients
Vitamins
Minerals
Macronutrients
needed in large amounts
- carbohydrates
- lipids
- proteins
- water
micronutrients
needed in smaller amounts
- vitamins
- minerals
Carbohydrates
- composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
- primarily obtained from fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans
- provide 4 kcal/g
2 main types of carbohydrates
simple sugars: table sugar and glucose
complex carbohydrate: startch, glycogen, fiber
Lipids
- also composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
- insoluble in water
- provide 9 kcal/g
fats
lipids that are solid at room temperature
oils
lipids that are liquid at room temperature
triglycerides
- major form of fat in food and body
- major energy source for the body
- composed of 3 fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone
saturated fats
- mainly solid at room temperature
- mainly found in animal sources
- raise blood cholesterol levels
- can lead to cardiovascular disease
unsaturated
- mainly liquid at a room temperature
- mainly found in plant sources
- generally healthier than saturated fats
Essential fatty acids
- unsaturated fatty acids that must be supplied by the diet: linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid
- have important roles in the body: being structural components of cell walls, regulation BP and nerve transmission
- can be found in vegetable oils and fish
trans fatty acids
- unsaturated fats that have been processed from cis form to trans form
- primarily found in deep-fried foods, baked snack foods, and solid fats
- Pose a health risk - intake should be minimized
- mostly removed from US food supply
proteins
- composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen
- main structural components in the body
- provide 4 kcal/g
- formed from bonding of amino acids
Vitamins
- enable chemical reactions to occur: serve as enzyme cofactors
- do not directly provide energy (calories) but some vitamins help to break down energy-yielding nutrients
13 vitamins, 2 group
- fat soluble: vitamin A, D, E, K; more likely to accumulate and cause toxicity
- water soluble: vitamin C and B, more likely destroyed by cooking , excreted from the body more readily
Minerals
- inorganic substances
- not destroyed by cooking
- yield no energy