Lecture 1 Flashcards
What factors impact food choices??
- availability
- flavor, taste, texture
- routine and habits
- convenience
- cost
- marketing
- self expression
- culture and religion
- health beliefs
- environment: weather, soil condition, technology
- politics: labeling laws, trade
What is nutrition??
The scientific study of food and how food nourishes our body and influences our health
What are nutrients??
Chemical substances in food that are NECESSARY/CRITICAL for human growth and function and sustaining life
Chemical
Has chemical composition
What are the functions of nutrients??
- provide energy for normal physiological function, activity, growth
- promote growth, maintenance and repair body tissues
- involved in physilogical processes: vision, bones, energy production, transportating nutrients, nerve impulses, muscle contraction, immune system etc.
What are essential nutrients??
- Nutrients with a specific biological function and without them your health will decline
- your body cannot make them on its own or they make it in insufficient quantities
- you must obtain them through your diet
The 6 essential nutrients??
- water
- carbs
- fat (some fatty acids)
- protein (some amino acids)
- vitamins
- minerals
What are macronutrients??
- Needed in large quantities- grams
- energy yielding
- carbs, fat, protein
- caveats: alcohol, water
What are micronutrients??
- Needed in small quantities- milligrams and micrograms
- not energy yielding
- vitamins and minerals
Organic
Contains the element carbon
-ex. Carbs, lipids, protein and vitamins
Inorganic
No carbon
- water and minerals
Vitamins
- organic, micronutrients
- 13 vitamins: A, D, E, K, C, B (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folate, panthothenic acid and biotin)
Vitamin C
Ascorbic acid
Vitamin B2
Riboflavin
Vitamin D
Cholecalciferol
Examples of Fat soluble Vitamins
A, D, E, K
Examples of Water soluble vitamins
B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folate, pantothenic acid, biotin) and Vitamin C
Fat soluble vitamins
- stored in the body: do not need to consume daily ir weekly
- toxicitycan occur (likely with supplements)
- found in: largely in fat containing foods (veg oils, meat, dairy, nuts)
Water soluble vitamins
- not largely stores (excepts B12), excess excreted in urine
- consume daily and weekly
- toxicity via food unlikley
- deficiency can result quickly, esp. In growing conditions
Minerals
- Inorganic, micronutrients
- exist as elements already in the simplest chemical form
- not broken down during digestion or destroyed by heat/light
- Minor changes in atomic structure can occur, which can impact absorbability
- may exist as a compound: NaCl
Maior minerals
- need >100 mg/d from diet and we need at least 5 g in the body
- CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, chloride, magnesium, sulfur
Trace minerals
- need <5 g of each in the body
- IRON, ZINC, copper, manganese, fluoride, chromium, selenium, iodine
Non-nutrients of Interest
-phytochemicals: beneficial plant chemical thought to have health protective properties (cancer, heart disease, alzheimer’s disease, diabetes)
What is energy??
-the capacity to do work
-energy in food measured by the unit kilocalorie (kcal) or Calorie (capital “C”)
• the amount of energy (heat) needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree celsius
-lower “cal” = 1 g of water by 1 degree celsius
The energy content of macronutrients
- carb= 4 kcal/gram
- fat= 9 kcal/gram
- protein= 4 kcal/gram
- alcohol= 7 kcal/gram
Cause of deaths that a good health can prevent
- heart disease
- cancer
- stroke
- diabetes mellitus
