Nutrition Lecture 1

Nutrition: Nutrients: The substances in food that your body needs to function properly You use nutrients to keep your body healthy You use them for energy Most nutrients come from what you eat

How We Use Nutrients: Some we use for energy for: Growth Maintenance Repair Maintain body function Essential Nutrients: Nutrients you must get from food (what we don’t make ourselves). 6 classes of essential nutrients

Terminology: Calories: the amount of energy that your body gets from food. Healthy calorie amounts depend on age, gender, and activity levels. Metabolism: the process of converting the energy from food into energy your body can use.

Essential Nutrients: Carbohydrates: Your bodies main source of energy It’s a chemical composed of one or more simple sugars. Two Basic types: Simple: table sugar. Easy to digest and give your body fast energy. (15% or less of total consumption) Complex: Most of your carbs should be complex. Made of many sugar molecules. Harder to digest and give your body slow energy. Bread, Pasta, Veggies, Fiber.

Essential Nutrients: Fats: Energy storage nutrients Help the body store vitamins Needed in small amounts Saturated Fats: Solid at room temperature Mostly animal products Unsaturated fats: Liquid at room temperature Mostly from plants or fish 30% or less of daily calories should be from fat.

Essential Nutrients: Proteins: Building blocks for your body They build/repair tissue Provide energy but less than carbohydrates Meat, poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, beans, nuts, tofu Your body breaks proteins down to amino acids (you actually make 11 of the 20 yourself). The other 9 are called Essential amino acids because we don’t make them. Complete proteins: foods with all 9 essential A.A. Incomplete: foods that don’t contain all 9 essential A.A. Essential Nutrients:

Essential Nutrients: Vitamins: Help to keep your body healthy Organic compounds that control body functions Growth, repair of cells You only need a small amount Found in veggies, fruits, nuts, and dairy 2 types: Fat Soluble-dissolve in blood (A, D, K, E). Extra is stored Water soluble-dissolve in water (C & B). Extra is waste

Essential Nutrients: Minerals: Help to regulate the activities of cells You need 25 Present in plants and animals Needed in small amounts Examples: Calcium builds bones. Phosphorus: builds teeth and bones Magnesium: aids in breaking down glucose and protein Sodium: regulates water balance

Essential Nutrients: Water Body is almost 70% water Water carries waste Regulates temperature Cells are mostly water Water surrounds joints Dehydration: when your body dries out due to a lack of water Most fresh foods provide a lot of water You can lose 2-3 quarts through breathing, talking, blinking, sweating, and going to the bathroom

Food Groups: If you eat a variety of foods from each of these groups, your body will receive all the nutrients it needs to function. Food Groups and Nutrients Groups are DIFFERENT!

Food Groups: Dairy: Sources that often come from animals: milk, cheese, yogurt. Contains: fat, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins  Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that individuals ages 9 and older consume three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt each day; One serving of milk is one 8-ounce cup.

Food Groups: Grains Whole & Refined Whole=full kernel Refined=processed Rice, pasta, cereal, oatmeal, tortillas What nutrient do “grains” fall under? Is this misleading?

Food Groups: Protein Animals-cow, pig, chicken, fish Beans, tofu, nuts, seeds Leaner meats are recommended Serving sizes vary with what product you eat. Contains protein

Food Groups: Vegetables: Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed. Organized into 5 subgroups: dark-green vegetables, starchy vegetables, red and orange vegetables, beans and peas, and other vegetables. Contains: minerals, water, vitamins, fiber (carbs)

Food Groups: Fruits: Any fruit or 100% juice counts Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Contains: minerals, water, vitamins, fiber & simple sugars (carbs)

Making Good Choices: Food choices: Eat 3 meals a day Limit simple sugars Get a balanced meal Eat a variety of foods Read food labels Limit trans fat and fatty meats Eat 3 meals a day Healthy snacks are ok between meals Eat at regular intervals Consume enough calories recommended for your age, gender, and activity levels.

Lecture 2: How we digest food Digestion Lecture 2: How we digest food

Food from Energy Digestive System: group of organs that physically and chemically break down food Takes place in the mouth, stomach, and intestine

Journey of Food: Chewing: makes food particles smaller Food mixes with saliva which breaks sugars down Food is swallowed Food passes to your stomach Food mixes with acid and stomach churns the food to mix it

Journey of Food (continued): After a few hours the food enters the small intestine (SI) where chemical digestion/absorption happens SI contracts to move the food down Liver, gallbladder, and pancreas release chemicals to the SI to aid digestion Food goes to large intestine as waste product and then leaves your body