Nutrition Flashcards
Identify what happens to excess carbohydrates in our diet.
Carbohydrates turn into glucose, which your body burns immediately or converts to glycogen to be stored in the muscles and liver for between meals. If you eat more calories from carbs or other sources than your body can use, the cells store the excess as fat
Compare and contrast high glycemic foods to low glycemic foods. Which is healthier?
High glycemic foods break down my quickly during digestion and sugars are released very quickly into the blood. Low glycemic food breaks down more slowly and releases sugars over a longer period of time.
Low glycemic food is better for you because it gives you sustained energy.
Understand the problem of diabetes.
In type 1 diabetes the immune system attacks the islet cells in the pancreas and they cease to produce insulin, In type 2 diabetes production of insulin decreases while the resistance of insulin increases. In both scenarios, the blood glucose levels are left dangerously high and lead to adverse health effects if left untreated.
Identify the role of fiber in our diet.
it helps to keep the intestinal tract functioning properly
Identify the importance of having some lipids in our diet. Know what kinds of fats are recommended as the most beneficial.
It is a major source of energy, some vitamins fo not dissolve in water but dissolve in fat and therefore require fat for their absorption from the digestive tract. Lipids contain essential fatty acids that we cannot produce on our own. These are necessary for normal cholesterol, metabolism and forming steroids.
Identify the impact of lipids on our health.
they help produce cholesterol, steroids, and is important to help synthesise bile salts and vitamin D
Identify the role of beneficial role of cholesterol in our body
it is an important component of cell membranes and is needed to synthesize other steroid molecules such as testosterone and estrogen.
Compare and contrast HDL and LDL cholesterol. Why can cholesterol be a health concern?
HDL is good cholesterol because they are strong and can carry a lot of cholesterol. LDL is bad cholesterol because it can’t grab as much cholesterol on their way to and from the liver and they tend to have accidents and drop the cholesterol, leaving more cholesterol in the blood.
Identify what is a trans-fat and what impact trans-fats have on our health.
Trans fats are produced by heating liquid vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen. Trans fats are linked with an increased risk of heart disease. Studies indicate that they raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol.
Identify what makes a protein complete. Give examples of complete proteins and incomplete proteins.
A complete protein is one that has all the essential amino acids are body can’t produce. Most animal products are complete e.g meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, and cheese.
Identify what happens if we have excess protein in our diet.
Excess protein is used as an energy source or to build fat. The was products from excess protein in the metabolism are lost in urine. Over consumption of protein places a strain on the kidneys.
