9 Nutrition

Objectives:

• Summarize the basics of nutrition
• Define macronutrients and micronutrients
• Categorize and describe the body’s sources of energy
• Analyze intake of nutrition and make appropriate changes

 

The Basics

Nutrition can be defined as the science of the action of food, beverages, and their components in biological systems. A nutrient is a compound that provides a needed function in the body. Nutrients can be further classified based on the amount needed in the body. Macronutrients are the nutrients the body needs in larger amounts. Micronutrients are also important nutrients, but ones the body needs in smaller amounts.

 

Macronutrients

• Carbohydrates

The word carbohydrate literally means “hydrated carbon,” or carbon with water. Thus, it is no surprise that carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Sucrose (table sugar) is an example of a commonly consumed carbohydrate. Some dietary examples of carbohydrates are whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, rice, sugary snacks/drinks, and pasta.

• Proteins

Like carbohydrates, proteins are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but they also contain nitrogen. Several dietary sources of proteins include nuts, beans/legumes, skim milk, egg whites, and meat.

• Lipids

Lipids consist of fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, and sterols (cholesterol). Lipids are also composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Some dietary sources of lipids include, oils, butter, and egg yolks.

• Water

Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen and is the only macronutrient that provides no energy.

 

Micronutrients

• Vitamins

These compounds are essential for normal physiologic processes in the body.

• Minerals

Minerals are the elements (think periodic table) that are essential for normal physiologic processes in the body.

 

Calories (Food Energy)

Food energy is measured in kilocalories (kcals), commonly referred to as calories. Although technically incorrect, this terminology is so familiar that it will be used throughout this course. A kilocalorie is the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius. A food’s kilocalories are determined by putting the food into a bomb calorimeter and determining the energy output: Energy = Measurement of Heat Produced. Below is a picture of a bomb calorimeter and a link to a video showing how one is used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXo9B2AbH0s

 

Nutrient	Energy (kcal/g)
Carbohydrate	4
Protein	4
Lipids	9
Water	0
Minerals	0

The number of kilocalories per gram for each nutrient is shown below:

As the table above illustrates, only carbohydrates, protein, and lipids provide energy. However, there is another dietary energy source that is not a nutrient— alcohol. To emphasize, alcohol is not a nutrient, but it does provide 7 kilocalories of energy per gram.

Knowing the number of calories in each nutrient allows a person to calculate/estimate the amount of calories contained in any food consumed.

 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates have become, surprisingly, quite controversial. Some people passionately extol the merits of carbohydrates, while others berate them as nutritional assassins. However, it is important to understand that carbohydrates are a diverse group of compounds that have a multitude of effects on bodily functions. Thus, trying to make blanket statements about carbohydrates is not a good idea.

My Plate

Derived from OpenStax- You can download material Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e-3ef2482e3e22@8.108.

On average, a person needs 1500 to 2000 calories per day to sustain (or carry out) daily activities. The total number of calories needed by one person is dependent on their body mass, age, height, gender, activity level, and the amount of exercise per day. If exercise is regular part of one’s day, more calories are required. As a rule, people underestimate the number of calories ingested and overestimate the amount they burn through exercise. This can lead to ingestion of too many calories per day. The accumulation of an extra 3500 calories adds one pound of weight. If an excess of 200 calories per day is ingested, one extra pound of body weight will be gained every 18 days. At that rate, an extra 20 pounds can be gained over the course of a year. Of course, this increase in calories could be offset by increased exercise.

Running or jogging one mile burns almost 100 calories.

The type of food ingested also affects the body’s metabolic rate. Processing of carbohydrates requires less energy than processing of proteins. In fact, the breakdown of carbohydrates requires the least amount of energy, whereas the processing of proteins demands the most energy. In general, the amount of calories ingested and the amount of calories burned determines the overall weight. To lose weight, the number of calories burned per day must exceed the number ingested.

Calories are in almost everything you ingest, so when considering calorie intake, beverages must also be considered.

To help provide guidelines regarding the types and quantities of food that should be eaten every day, the USDA has updated their food guidelines from MyPyramid to MyPlate. They have put the recommended elements of a healthy meal into the context of a place setting of food. MyPlate categorizes food into the standard six food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, dairy, and oils. The accompanying website gives clear recommendations regarding quantity and type of each food that you should consume each day, as well as identifying which foods belong in each category. The accompanying graphic (Figure) gives a clear visual with general recommendations for a healthy and balanced meal. The guidelines recommend to “Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.” The other half is grains and protein, with a slightly higher quantity of grains than protein. Dairy products are represented by a drink, but the quantity can be applied to other dairy products as well.

MyPlate

The U.S. Department of Agriculture developed food guidelines called MyPlate to help demonstrate how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Derived from OpenStax- You can download material Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e- 3ef2482e3e22@8.108.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Food manufacturers are always searching for cheaper ways to produce their products. One extremely popular method for reducing costs is the use of high-fructose corn syrup as an alternative to sucrose. High-fructose corn syrup is approximately 50% glucose and 50% fructose, which is the same as sucrose. Nevertheless, because increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup has coincided with increased obesity in the United States, a lot of controversy surrounds its use.

Alternative sweeteners are simply alternatives to sucrose and other mono- and disaccharides that provide sweetness.

Below are several links that provide additional information about glucose, corn syrup, and sugar.

The New York Times article linked below discusses the growing popularity of sugar compared to high fructose corn syrup:

“Sugar is Back on Food Labels, This Time as a Selling Point”

The website linked below provides a wealth of information about all things sweet, such as corn syrup, sugar substitutes, sugar supplements, and granulated fructose.

Corn Syrup

The article linked below explains why the Corn Refiners Association has asked for permission to change the name of high fructose corn syrup to corn sugar and why the US Food and Drug Administration rejected that request:

“No New Name for High Fructose Corn Syrup”

Protein

Protein is another major macronutrient that, like carbohydrates, consists of small repeating units. But instead of sugars, proteins are made up of amino acids.

Proteins can be classified as either complete or incomplete. Complete proteins provide adequate amounts of all nine essential amino acids. Animal proteins, such as meat, fish, milk, and eggs, are good examples of complete proteins. Incomplete proteins do not contain adequate amounts of one or more of the essential amino acids. For example, if a protein does not provide enough of the essential amino acid leucine it would be considered incomplete. Leucine would be referred to as the limiting amino acid because there is not enough of it for the protein to be complete. Most plant foods are incomplete proteins, with a few exceptions, such as soy. The table below shows the limiting amino acids in some plant foods.

Self Magazine’s Nutrition Data website is a useful resource for determining protein quality and identifying complementary proteins. To use the site, go to www.nutritiondata.com, type the name of the food you want information on in the search bar and hit Enter. When you have selected your food from the list of possibilities, you will be given information about this food. Included in this information is the Protein Quality section. This will give you an amino acid score and a figure that illustrates which amino acid(s) is limiting. If your food is an incomplete protein, you can click “Find foods with a complementary profile.” This will take you to a list of dietary choices that will provide complementary proteins for your food.

The chapter linked below is from a book published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and provides an exhaustive examination of the role protein and amino acids play in human health.

Protein and Amino Acids

Fat

There is neither bad nor good cholesterol, despite the common use of these descriptions in reference to LDL and HDL, respectively. Cholesterol is cholesterol. HDL and LDL contain cholesterol but are actually lipoproteins that will be described later. It is not necessary to include cholesterol in your diet because our bodies have the ability to synthesize the required amounts. The figure below gives you an idea of the cholesterol content of a variety of foods.

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/foods-to-avoid-for-high- cholesterol

Fiber

The simplest definition of fiber is indigestible matter. Indigestible means that it survives digestion in the small intestine and reaches the large intestine.

There are the three major fiber classifications:

 

• Dietary fiber

This type of fiber contains both non-digestible carbohydrates and lignin and is always intrinsic and intact in plants.

 

• Functional fiber

This type of fiber contains non-digestible carbohydrates only and can be isolated, extracted, or synthesized. Functional fiber can be from plants or animals and produces beneficial physiological effects in humans.

 

• Total Fiber

Fiber that contains both dietary fiber and functional fiber.

 

Vitamins

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Vitamins are organic compounds found in foods and are a necessary part of the biochemical reactions in the body. They are involved in a number of processes, including mineral and bone metabolism, and cell and tissue growth, and they act as cofactors for energy metabolism. The B vitamins play the largest role of any vitamins in metabolism (Table and Table).

You get most of your vitamins through your diet, although some can be formed from the precursors absorbed during digestion.

For example, the body synthesizes vitamin A from the β-carotene in orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Vitamins are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, are absorbed through the intestinal tract with lipids in chylomicrons. Vitamin D is also synthesized in the skin through exposure to sunlight. Because they are carried in lipids, fat-soluble vitamins can accumulate in the lipids stored in the body. If excess vitamins are retained in the lipid stores in the body, hypervitaminosis can result.

Water-soluble vitamins, including the eight B vitamins and vitamin C, are absorbed with water in the gastrointestinal tract.

These vitamins move easily through bodily fluids, which are water based, so they are not stored in the body. Excess water- soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine. Therefore, hypervitaminosis of water- soluble vitamins rarely occurs, except with an excess of vitamin supplements.

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Minerals

Minerals in food are inorganic compounds that work with other nutrients to ensure the body functions properly. Minerals cannot be made in the body; they come from the diet. The amount of minerals in the body is small—only 4 percent of the total body mass—and most of that consists of the minerals that the body requires in moderate quantities: potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and chloride.

The most common minerals in the body are calcium and phosphorous, both of which are stored in the skeleton and necessary for the hardening of bones. Most minerals are ionized, and their ionic forms are used in physiological processes throughout the body. Sodium and chloride ions are electrolytes in the blood and extracellular tissues, and iron ions are critical to the formation of hemoglobin. There are additional trace minerals that are still important to the body’s functions, but their required quantities are much lower.

Like vitamins, minerals can be consumed in toxic quantities (although it is rare). A healthy diet includes most of the minerals your body requires, so supplements and processed foods can add potentially toxic levels of minerals. Table and Table provide a summary of minerals and their function in the body.

References & Links

Lindshield, B. L. Kansas State University Human Nutrition (FNDH 400) Flexbook. goo.gl/vOAnR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heat-loss_calorimeter.giftp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heat- loss_calorimeter.gif

NHANES Food Frequency Questionnaire – http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/FFQ.English.June0304.pdf Framingham Heart Study History –

http://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/about/history.html.

Framingham Heart Study Research Milestones – http://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/about/milestones.html

The Nurses Health Study – http://www.channing.harvard.edu/nhs/?page_id=70 Health Professionals Follow-Up Study – http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/

Links and references found at the end of the section on Protein: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-phenylalanine-skeletal.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L-tyrosine-skeletal.png

Wardlaw GM, Hampl J. (2006) Perspectives in nutrition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/PBJ.jpg (This link doesn’t work)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Red_beans_and_rice.jpg (This links to a great picture of red beans and rice)

Schaafsma G. (2000) The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score. J Nutr 130(7): 1865S.

Derived from OpenStax- You can download material Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/14fb4ad7-39a1-4eee-ab6e-3ef2482e3e22@8.108.