Food Tech Exam Flashcards
What are the Macronutrients
Protein, Carbohydrates, Lipids
What are the Nutrients
Protein, Carbohydrates, Lipids, Vitamins (from live things), Minerals (from the earth), Water
What are proteins needed for?
- Skin, muscle, bones need it for growth
- Complete proteins have all the amino acids needed by the body to function
Are plant sources of protein complete?
- Plant proteins can’t be complete sources of protein, meaning some amino acids are missing
- You have to have multiple sources of plant proteins in order to get every amino acid
- Plants don’t have B12, which only comes from animal products - vegans have to take a supplement
What are Carbohydrates
Major energy source - both physical activity and involuntary functions like heartbeat, breathing, digestion, etc.
Grains and grain products, vegetables, fruits, legumes, dairy products, sugars
How much caloric intake should carbs take up?
Should supply 40-60% of someone’s caloric intake
What do lipids do?
- Necessary for normal body functions
- Absorption of vitamins, supports cell membrane health, helps maintain the immune system
- Choose healthy unsaturated fats
Name every part of the digestive tract
mouth
salivary glands
esophagus
stomach
liver
gall bladder
pancreas
small intestine
large intestine
rectum
anus
The liver is
Large, next to stomach
The gall bladder is
Small, inside the liver
The pancrease is
leaf shaped, below the stomach
Mechanical processes of the mouth
Chewing
Breaking down foods
Chemical processes of the mouth/salivary glands
Chemically breaks down food
Creates a bolus which travels down the digestive system
Esophagus
Contracts on itself to move food to the stomach
Mechanical processes of the stomach
Pushes around the bolus, making it smaller and smaller
Chemical processes of the stomach
Takes the small bolus and turns it into chyme slurry
Liver/Pancreas/Gallbladder
Breaks down food, produces digestive juices
Small intestine processes
- Dissolves the fats in the chyme (in the Duodenum)
- Absorbs most of the nutrients from the food via the villi (in the Ileum)
- Empties rest of the chyme into the large intestine
Large intestine processes
- First part of wastage process - insoluble fibre, water, dead cells end up here
- Stool is formed here - soft mass of byproducts from digestive process
Rectum processes
- Temporary holding place for stool - nerves tell brain when getting stretched
Anus processes
- Stool is expelled from the body, and the digestive process has finished
Short term benefits of a healthy gut microbiome
- Less risk of mood related disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.)
- Better immunity
- More energy
Long term benefits of a healthy gut microbiome
- Reduced risk of diseases such as diabetes and some cancers
How to have a healthy gut microbiome
Have a large range of dietary fibres
The 4 dietary fibers
- Resistant starch
- Soluble fibre
- Insoluble fibre
- Ready fermentable fibre
What does resistant starch do?
Resistant starch - feeds the good bacteria in the microbiome
What does Soluble fibre do?
Soluble fibre - lowers blood cholesterol and glucose levels
What does Insoluble fibre do?
Insoluble fibre - speeds the passage of foods through the stomach and intestines, adds bulk
What does Ready fermentable fibre do?
Ready fermentable fibre - stimulates the growth and activity of beneficial gut bacteria
Serves in the AGHE
Grains - 6
Vegetables - 5
Protein/Lean meat - 2.5
Dairy - 3
Fruit - 2
4 key messages of the AGHE
- Drink water as your main drink
- Choose a balanced diet with all the 5 major food groups
- Eat sugars, discretionary foods and saturated fats in moderation
- Have about a third of your diet as vegetables
What is an allergy
- Immune system attacking something that isn’t a threat
- Chemical reaction to a particular food or drink
- Ranges from mild to moderate food allergy, to life threatening anaphylaxis
Common allergies
○ Wheat
○ Nuts
○ Shellfish
○ Hen’s Eggs
○ Fish
○ Soya
Symptoms of allergies
○ Tingling or itching mouth
○ Raised red rash
○ Swelling face, mouth, throat
○ Difficulty swallowing
○ Shortness of breath
What is an intolerance
- Adverse reaction to food, not the immune system
- Inability to properly metabolize or absorb a substance
- Not life threatening
Common Intolerances
○ Lactose
○ Gluten
○ Caffeine
○ Fructose
Symptoms of Intolerances
○ Stomach pain/bloating
○ Gas/diarrhoea
○ IBS
○ Rashes/Hives
○ Headaches
5 steps to assessing dietary information
- Source
- Purpose
- Context
- Presentation of evidence
- Language use
Describe the Source step
- Who wrote this?
- Do they have a qualification?
- Who published this? Are they credible?
Describe the Purpose step
- What is this trying to tell me?
- What’s the message?
Describe the Context step
- What’s the reason?
- When was this published? Is it old?
Describe the Presentation of Evidence step
- Scientific evidence?
- Objectivity?
- Is this information recent?
- How can I tell it’s reliable?
Describe the Language Use step
- Biased language?
- Is it technical/professional?
- Is it trying to persuade or inform?
Benefits of seasonal eating
- Cheaper
- Fresher and tastier
- Healthier - less nutrient loss from storage process
- Grown more locally, reducing food miles
- Pleasure of anticipation
Causes of food waste in a family
- Bad planning
- Bad storage
- Leftovers not eaten
- Not careful about amount of plastic wrapping
Causes of food waste in farming
- Foods that aren’t ‘perfect’ get thrown out
- Very high standards of visual of produce - 25% of foods are thrown out
Implications of food waste
- Greenhouse gases (methane) produced in landfills because of the lack of oxygen available for organics to break down
- Perfectly edible food is being thrown out and wasted - Waste of time, money and food
- Some countries have an overabundance of food, while others are struggling
Solutions of food waste in a family
- Create a weekly menu, and buy groceries based off that list - saves food and money
- Make sure to store all foods correctly
- Eat your leftovers
- Choose produce and products with less unnecessary plastic wrapping when possible
Solutions of food waste in farming
- Sell uglier food at a discounted price - saves money and food
- Supermarkets should lower cosmetic standards
- Create tax benefits for farmers to donate usable produce to food banks
Environmental benefits of plant based diets
- Livestock farming has a terrible carbon footprint which create clouds of CO2 and Methane
- Lots of water is used in meat production
- Plant production takes up less space than livestock
Environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption
- Less CO2 and Methane is produced due to less demand
- Reduce pressure on forests and land used to grow animals and animal feed
