Unit 1 Flashcards
What is nutrition often referred to as due to its application of principles from various disciplines?
An applied science
Which disciplines do nutrition researchers draw upon?
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
- Anatomy
- Genetics
- Anthropology
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Religion
- Microbiology
- Agriculture
- Geography
- Business
How do biochemistry, physiology, and anatomy contribute to nutrition?
They help nutritionists understand how nutrients are processed in the body at molecular and cellular levels
What role does genetics play in nutrition?
It helps understand why certain people are more susceptible to nutrition-related diseases
Which nutrition-related diseases are mentioned as common causes of premature death?
- Cancer
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Colon disease
- Type 2 diabetes
What percentage of Canadians die from cancer?
28 percent
What percentage of Canadians die from heart disease?
19 percent
What do cancer and heart disease together account for in Canada?
Close to half of all deaths
What strategies are being developed by government and health organizations to address health problems related to nutrition?
Strategies to promote prevention or delay the onset of health problems
What are nutrition policies or recommendations designed to do?
Help Canadians reduce their risks of nutrition-related diseases
In what way is nutrition involved in the treatment of diseases?
As a component of treatment or part of patient care
How is nutrition science utilized in food development?
It may be used when manufacturers formulate a new food
What are the nutrients that must be provided directly by foods called?
Essential nutrients
Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized by the body.
What is the multidisciplinary science that studies how nutrients are handled in the body?
Nutrition
Nutrition encompasses various aspects of how the body processes food.
List the six major classes of nutrients.
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids (fats)
- Protein
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Water
These classes are essential for various bodily functions.
What percentage of body weight is constituted by water?
About 60 percent
Water is often overlooked but is crucial for bodily functions.
What are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and water classified as due to their required large amounts?
Macronutrients
Macronutrients are needed in grams or litres.
Which nutrients are referred to as energy-yielding nutrients?
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Proteins
These nutrients provide energy for the body.
What are vitamins and most minerals classified as due to their required smaller amounts?
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are needed in milligrams or micrograms.
define nutrition.
discuss the nature of nutrients.
describe four methods of assessing nutritional status.
describe four methods of diet information collection for nutritional analysis of individuals or groups of people.
explain the uses and limitations of food composition databases.
What is malnutrition?
Any condition caused by excess or deficient food energy or nutrient intake or by an imbalance of nutrients.
Malnutrition can lead to significant health issues over time.
What are the two main classifications of malnutrition?
- Undernutrition
- Overnutrition
Undernutrition includes deficiencies in nutrients or energy, while overnutrition involves excesses.
What does undernutrition refer to?
Nutrient or energy deficiencies.
It represents a lack of essential nutrients or sufficient energy intake.
What does overnutrition refer to?
Nutrient or energy excesses.
This condition arises when the intake of nutrients or energy exceeds the body’s needs.
What can malnutrition lead to over time?
Health issues.
Both deficiencies and excesses can negatively impact overall health.
What is the impact of a well-chosen array of foods?
It supplies enough energy and nutrients to prevent malnutrition.
Proper nutrition is crucial for maintaining health and preventing nutrient imbalances.
What are the three most influential lifestyle habits on long-term health prospects?
- Smoking and other tobacco use
- Excessive drinking of alcohol
- Diet
Diet is the third most influential lifestyle habit after smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
Which chronic diseases are connected to poor diet?
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Some kinds of cancer
- Dental disease
- Adult bone loss
These diseases cannot be prevented by a good diet alone; genetic factors and lifestyle choices also play a role.
True or False: A good diet alone can prevent chronic diseases.
False
Chronic diseases are influenced by diet, genetics, physical activity, and lifestyle.
Fill in the blank: Chronic diseases are long-duration degenerative diseases characterized by _______.
[deterioration of the body organs]
Examples of chronic diseases include heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
How does genetic constitution influence the likelihood of developing chronic diseases?
Genetic constitution sets a range within which food choices influence disease likelihood
The likelihood of developing chronic diseases is strongly influenced by food choices within the genetic inheritance range.
What emerging evidence suggests should be included among the risk factors for chronic disease?
Fitness level
Recent studies highlight the importance of fitness level in relation to chronic disease risk.
What is sickle cell disease primarily influenced by?
Genetics
Sickle cell disease is an example of a condition that is purely hereditary and not influenced by diet.
What type of anemia is most often the result of undernutrition?
Iron-deficiency anemia
This form of anemia is located at the nutritional end of the disease continuum.
What is anemia?
A blood condition in which red blood cells are inadequate or impaired
Anemia affects the body’s ability to meet its oxygen demands.
How do genetics and nutrition influence diseases?
To varying degrees
Some diseases are almost purely genetic, while others are almost purely nutritional.
What does the Human Genome Project establish?
The entire sequence of human DNA
This project provides insights into the genes and genetic material that influence health and disease.
What is the percentage of the human genome that is the same in all people?
99.9 percent
The variations that lead to differences in traits and diseases lie in the 0.1 percent that differs.
What is the role of epigenetics?
To study environmental influences, including diet, on genetic expression
Epigenetics explores how external factors can affect gene activity.
What is DNA?
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA encodes genetic information and is crucial for inheritance.
What are genes?
Units of a cell’s inheritance made of DNA
Each gene directs the production of proteins that perform essential tasks in the body.
Fill in the blank: Nutrition has little influence on some diseases but ______ strongly affects others.
strongly
This highlights the varying impact of diet on different health conditions.
True or False: All forms of heart disease are nutrition related.
False
Heart disease can have multiple forms, and not all are influenced by diet.
What is genomics?
The study of genomes
Genomics focuses on the full complement of genetic material in the chromosomes of a cell.
What does the remaining 98 percent of the human genome consist of?
Non-coding regions
Scientists are exploring the functions of these regions, which do not contain genes.
What is a key point regarding diet and long-term health?
Choice of diet influences long-term health within the range set by genetic inheritance
Nutrition plays a varying role depending on the disease.
nutritional genomics
the science of how nutrients affect the activities of genes and how genes affect the activities of nutrients. Also called molecular nutrition or nutrigenomics.
What is the focus of nutritional genomics?
The integration of nutrition, genomic science, and molecular biology
Nutritional genomics studies how nutrients affect gene activities and vice versa.
How do nutrients and genes interact according to nutritional genomics?
Nutrients affect the activities of genes and genes affect the activities of nutrients
This bidirectional relationship is central to understanding nutritional genomics.
What potential benefits does nutritional genomics offer for individuals?
Pinpointing nutrient needs more precisely for various populations
This includes growing children, healthy adults, and those fighting diseases.
What are food manufacturers looking to achieve with nutritional genomics?
Providing food and supplement products tailored to individual nutrient needs
This customization aims to improve health outcomes based on genetic profiles.
Who can offer personalized genetic testing in the context of nutritional genomics?
Authorized registered dietitians
They provide feedback on food components and their interaction with genes.
What does the genetic testing offered by dietitians include?
45 genetic markers for various nutrients, physical activity, nutrition-related conditions, and disease states
An example is the relationship between caffeine and heart disease.
True or False: Nutritional genomics only applies to healthy adults.
False
It applies to growing children, healthy adults, and individuals fighting diseases.
Fill in the blank: Nutritional genomics is expected to help pinpoint _______ needs more precisely.
[nutrient]
nutritional genomics
the science of how nutrients affect the activities of genes and how genes affect the activities of nutrients. Also called molecular nutrition or nutrigenomics.
Besides food choices, what other lifestyle choices also affect people’s health?
Tobacco use, alcohol, other substances, physical activity, sleep, stress levels, work and home conditions (air quality/water/environment).
What is a nutrient?
A nutrient is a family of molecules essential for the body’s functioning that are delivered through foods.
List the six major nutrients required by the human body.
The six major nutrients are water, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.
How does the body obtain energy from the sun?
The body gets energy indirectly from the sun when plants capture and store solar energy in their tissues; when we eat plant-derived foods (or
In what form is solar energy stored in plant tissues?
Solar energy is stored in the chemical bonds (such as the carbon–carbon bonds) of compounds like glucose and starch.
How is energy defined and measured in food?
Energy is defined as the capacity to do work and in food, it is measured in Calories.
Which four classes of nutrients are considered organic and why?
Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins are considered organic because they contain carbon, an element derived from living things.
What distinguishes organic nutrients from inorganic ones?
Organic nutrients contain carbon (and are made by living things), while inorganic nutrients, such as water and minerals, do not contain carbon.
What key elements are found in organic nutrients?
Organic nutrients typically contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen; proteins and vitamins also include nitrogen, and sometimes minerals like sulphur or cobalt (in vitamin B12).
How can the chemical energy from food be used by the body?
The chemical energy from food can be converted into mechanical, electrical, heat, or other forms of energy to perform work in the body.
Which nutrient is foremost among the six classes found in foods, and why is it so important?
Water is foremost because it is constantly lost from the body and must be continually replaced.
What are the energy-yielding nutrients among the organic nutrients?
Carbohydrates, fats (lipids), and proteins. (Note: Although proteins can yield energy, they also provide building materials for body tissues.)
What dual role does protein play in the body?
Protein not only yields energy but also supplies the materials needed to build and repair body tissues.
Why is alcohol not classified as a nutrient, even though it yields energy?
Alcohol is considered a toxin because it interferes with the growth, maintenance, and repair of body tissues.
What roles do vitamins and minerals play in the body?
They act as regulators that help with processes such as digesting food, muscle movement, waste disposal, tissue growth, wound healing, and aiding in energy extraction from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
What does the term “essential nutrients” mean?
Essential nutrients are those the body cannot make on its own (or cannot produce quickly enough) and must be obtained from food to prevent deficiencies.
In what units is food energy measured, and what is the technical definition of this unit?
Food energy is measured in Calories (kilocalories), which is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
How are food and nutrient quantities typically measured?
They are measured in grams (g), a unit of mass (where 1 gram is the mass of 1 cc or 1 mL of water under standard conditions).
What are the Calorie values per gram for carbohydrates, fats, and proteins?
Carbohydrates and proteins each provide 4 Cal/g, while fats provide 9 Cal/g.
How many Calories per gram does alcohol provide, and why isn’t it considered a nutrient?
Alcohol provides 7 Cal/g, but it is not considered a nutrient because it negatively affects growth, maintenance, and repair of body tissues.
Why can’t dietary supplements replace food, according to the text?
Because food offers more than just the six basic nutrients—it provides a complex mixture of compounds that work together to support overall health.
