What is food? And what is nutrients in detail.

 FOOD

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for any organism.

*   Food is usually plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients. These nutrients are essential for growth development and maintainance of good health throughout of life.

* They also play a vital role in meeting the special weds of pregnant and lactating women and patients recovering from illness.

* Nutrients are component of food that are needed by the body in adequate amounts in order to grow ,reproduce and lead a normal healthy life.

* There are 7 main classes of nutients that the body needs .These are -

                Carbohydrate, protien, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water.

* It is important that everyone consumes these 7 nutrients on a daily basis to help them build their bodies and maintain their health.

* Deficiences, excess and imbalances diet can produce negative impacts on health which may lead to diseeases.

CLASSIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS

Based on the amount of the nutrients that each person needs to consume on a daily basis, these nutrients are categorized into two groups.

These are Macronutrients ,which should be consumed in fairly large amounts,

Micronutrients which are only required in small amounts.

MACRONUTRIENTS

1- Macro means large; as their name suggests these are nutrients which people need to need to eat regularly and in a fairly large amount.

2- They include carbs ,fats ,protien, fibre and water. These substances needs for the supply of energy and growth .These substances are needed for theg supply of enery and growth ,for metabolism and other body functions.

3- Metabolism means the process involved in the generation of energy and all the building block required to maintain the body and its functions.

4- Macronutrients provide a lot of calories but the amount of calories provided varies ,depending on the food source .For example,

     each gram of carbohydrates or protien provides four calories, which people need in their diet in only small amounts .These include  minerals and vitamins.

5- Although most foods are mixtures of nutrients, many of them contain a lot of one nutient and a little of the other nutrients.

6- Foods are often grouped according to the nutrient that they contain in abundance.

NUTRIENTS TYPES AND THEIR NAMES

* Foods that contain a lot of protien are called body-building foods or growing foods.

* Foods that contain a lot of fat or carbohydrates and perhaps only a little protien are called energy giving foods.

* Foods in which the most important nutients are vitamins or minerals are called protective foods.

           MACRONUTRIENTS IN DETAILS

CARBOHYDRATES

* Carbohydrates are referred to as energy -giving foods. They provide energy in the form of calories that the body needs to be able to work and to support other functions.

* Carbohydrates are needed in large amounts by the body. Indeed upto 65% of our energy comes from carbohydrates.

* They are the body's main source of fuel because they are easily converted into energy.

* This energy is usually in the form of glucose, which all tissues and cells in our bodies readily use.

* For the brain, muscles, central nervous system and muscles to function properly they need carbohydrates.

* These carbs are usually stored in the muscles and the liver, where they are later used for energy

* The main source carbohydrates are bread, wheat, potatoes of all kinds, maize, rice, cassava, pasta, macroni ,banana, sweets, sugarcane, sweet fruits, and honey.

* Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.

CLASSIFICATION

Based on the number of sugar units.

Carbohydrates are classified into three groups ; these are -

1_ Monosaccharides

2_ Disacchrides 

3_ Polysaccharides

* You need to know the classes of carbohydrates to enable to give relevent advice to patients with special needs like diabetes (when someone has problems regulating the amounts of glucose in their body).

* Monosaccharides and disaccharides are referred to as simple sugars or simple carbohydrates that our body can easily utilise.

       For this reason .people with diabetes mellitus should not eat too many of these carbohydrates. Examples - include sugar, honey, sweet fruits and sugar cane. 

* Polysaccharides are called complex carbohydrates and they need to be broken down into simple sugars to be used by our body.

* They can be consumed by diabetic patients without restriction. Examples- Include starch and cellulose.


PROTIENS

* About 10-35% of calories should come from protien.

* Protiens are needed in our diets for growth important for children, teens and pregnant and to improve immune functions.

* They also play an important role in making essential hormones and enzymes, in tissue repair, preserving lean muscle mass, and supplying energy in times when carbohydrates are not available.

* Pregnant women need protien to build their bodies and that of the baby and placentas, to make extra blood and flat storage. 

* Breast feeding mothers need protien to make breast milk.

SOURCES OF PROTIEN

* The main sources of protiens are meats, chicken, eggs, breastmilk, beans, ground nuts, lentils, fish, cheese and milk.

* All animal foods contain more protien than plants and are therefore usually better sources of body building foods.

* However, even though plant protiens are usually not as good for body building as animal protiens, they can become more effective nutritionally when both are mixed with each other.

FATS AND OILS

* Fats and oils are concentrated sources of energy and so are important nutrients for young children who need alot of energy -rich food .

* Fats can also make meals more tasty and satisfying.

* Fats is found in meat, chicken, milk products, butters, creams, avacado , cooking, oils and fats, cheese, fish and ground nuts.

CLASSIFICATION OF FATS

* Fats are classified into saturated and unsaturated fats.

The classification is important to unable to advice your community about which fats consumed with less to risk to peoples health.

Saturated fats are not good for a persons health.

1- Saturated fats are usually solids at room temperatures.

Eating to much saturated fat is not good for a persons health, as it can cause heart and blood vessel problems.

2- Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temp.

These types of fats are healthy fats.

Examples include fats from fish, oil seeds, maize oil and ground nut oil and breast milk.

Plant sources of fats are better for a person's health then the animal sources, because animal fats contain more saturated fats.


WATER

1_ A  50 kg adult contains about 31 litres of water and a one year old, 10 kg child contains nearly 8 litre's of water. Almost every part of the body contains large amounts of water.

2_ People can live without solid food for a few weeks, but we can not live without water for more than a few days.

3_ An adult needs about 2-3 litre's of water each day. That is why giving drinks are so important, when people lose a lot of water, such as when they have diarrhoea.

Water is essential for life. we need water for a number of reasons:

For the body to make cells and fluid such as tears, digestive juices and breast milk.

For the body to make sweat for cooling itself

For essential body processes - most take place in water

For keeping the lining of the mouth, intestine, eyelids and lungs wet and healthy.

For the production of urine, which carries waste from the body.


FIBRE

Fibre is a mixture of different carb which are not digested like other nutrients but pass through the gut nearly unchanged.

Foods are rich in fibre are 'Kocho'. Vegetables like cabbage 'Kosta', Carrots 'Cassava'

Fruits like banana, avacado , peas and beans. Whole grain cereals like wheat flour and refined maize or sorghum.

Including fibre in the diet.

Fibre should be included in the diet for the following reasons :-

* Fibre makes food bulky or bigger- this can help a person who is overweight to eat less food.

* Fibre makes the faces soft and bulky ;this can help prevent constipation.

* Fibre slow the absorption of nutrients, so it helps nutrients to enter the blood strem slowly this is important for patient with diabetes mellitus.

                                                       MICRONUTRIENTS

VITAMINS

* Vitamins are groups of related substances present in small amounts in food stuffs and are necessary for the body to function normally

* Vitamins are also called protective foods.

* They are grouped together because, as their name implies, they are a vital function in the diet.

Classifications of vitamins

* Vitamins are classified into two groups:

1-  Fat soluble vitamins( vitamins A, D, K and E ) are soluble in fats and fat solvent. They are soluble in water. So these are utilised only if there is enough fat in the body.

2- Water soluble vitamins( vitamins B and C, and folic acid ) are soluble in water and so they can not be stored in the body.

The best sources of micronutrients in our diets are fruits and vegetables.

These two food groups contain essential vitamins and minerals.

Animal sources of foods are also both good sources of micronutrients. However, an adequate micronutrient intake can only be acheived through sufficient intake of a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables.

MINERALS

* Minerals are the substances that people need to ensure the health and correct working of their soft tissues, fluids, and their skeleton.

* Examples of minerals include calcium, iron, iodine, fluoride, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, selenium, and sodium.

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