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The importance of nutrition to the human body
Importance of nutrition in the human body
The importance of nutrition to the human body
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Nutrition is the science that deals with food and how the body uses it. All living things need food to live. The food supplies energy, which people need to perform certain actions. Food also provides substances that the body needs to build and repair its tissues and to regulate its organs and organ systems. Food provides certain chemical substances needed in order for a person to maintain good health. These chemical substances are called nutrients. Nutrients can perform three important functions. They provide materials for building, repairing, or maintaining body tissues. They help regulate body processes. They serve as fuel to provide energy. The body needs energy to maintain all its functions. People who do not get enough nutrients are sometimes lazy and are unwilling to work. The foods we eat contain thousands of different chemicals. Our body, however, only needs only a few dozen of these chemicals in order to stay healthy. These are the nutrients that the body needs. Nutrients are divided into six main groups. They are (1)water, (2)carbohydrates, (3)fats, (4)proteins, (5)minerals, (6)vitamins. Water, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are called macronutrients. Since macro means large, the body needs these four nutrients in large amounts. Minerals and vitamins are called micronutrients (because micro means small). The body needs only small amounts of these nutrients. Water is the most important nutrient. Our bodies can survive without other nutrients for several weeks, but we can only go without water for about one week. Water is needed in great amounts because the body consists largely of water. Between 50 and 75 percent of a normal person's body weight is made up of water. The body needs water to carry out all of its life processes. Watery solutions help dissolve other nutrients and carry them to all of the tissues. The body also needs water to carry away waste products and to cool itself. Adults should drink about 2 1/2 quarts of water every day. The carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are needed because they have nutrients which provide energy. Carbohydrates include all sugars and starches. They are the main source of energy for living things. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates include sugars and have a simple molecular structure. Complex carbohydrates include starches and have a larger and more complicated molecular structure. The structure consists of many simple carbohydrates linked together. Fats are a highly concentrated source of energy. All fats are composed of an alcohol called glycerol and substances called fatty acids. A fatty acid consists of a long chain of carbon atoms. There are three types of fatty acids.
Acid or base-catalyzed hydrolysis yields the component fatty acid, some examples of which are given in the following table, together with the alcohol component of the lipid. These long-chain carboxylic acids are generally referred to by their common names, which in most cases reflect their sources. Natural fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated, and as the following data indicate, the saturated acids have higher melting points than unsaturated acids of corresponding size. The double bonds in the unsaturated compounds listed on the right are all cis (or
Water is very important to have in your body. Water is in charge of transporting nutrients throughout your body, removing waste products, controlling out body temperature, etc.. Without water our body would compl...
Carbohydrates and lipids/fats are a very important part of our lives. They have many similarities
“Nutrition is the science/study of ways in which the body uses food. It is also the study of how and why we make food choices” (Lesson 18). Nutrients are substances in food that provide energy for body tissues and are necessary for life and growth. There are six classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Carbohydrates are a class of energy-giving nutrients that include sugars, starches, and fiber. Carbohydrates can be simple (donuts, chocolate, french fries, and gummy bears) or complex (bread, pasta, broccoli, oatmeal, and bananas). Fats are a class of energy-giving nutrients and are the main form in which energy is stored in the body. Fats can be good or bad for you and are either saturated (meats, butter, dairy) or unsaturated (vegetable oils). Proteins are nutrients made up of amino acids, which are needed to build/ repair body structures and to regulate processes in the body. There are incomplete proteins (fruits, vegetables, oats, bread, and rice) and complete (meat and dairy) versions of proteins. Water is an essential class of nutrients that keeps you alive and is necessary for almost every bodily function. Our bodies are made of approximately 60% percent water and because exercise makes you lose water through sweating it is important to drink at least 8 glasses a day. Minerals are a class of nutrients needed for certain body processes such as enzyme activity and bone
Fats are separated in to two groups, saturated and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats have doubled bonds, meaning that where a hydrogen atom would be the there is none so the carbon atoms bond together instead “the carbon atoms are busy double-bonding with each other, then they aren't forming bonds to hydrogen atoms” "The Kinds of Fat and Why It Matter to You." Indiana University. Web. Saturated fats are saturated with Hydrogen Atoms.
Nutrition in humans is a product that require to supply the human body to function, nutrients also helps to prevent any disease in human organs.
Good fats come from vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish. The two broad categories of beneficial fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The good healthy fats are liquid at room temperature, and do not solidify. They are different from saturated fats as that have fewer hydrogen atoms bonded to their carbon chains.
It can be categorized as fats, oils, or waxes. Lipids can give energy but its function is to mainly stores energy (in adipose cells). Other functions of lipids are to help the body absorb vitamins. It can also be an important part of biological membranes. It also serves as a chemical messenger in the body like hormones. There are many more things lipids can do. Such as, provide warmth for the body, protect the body, maintain vision and support the immune system. Lipids are formed when a glycerol molecule combines with the carbon in fatty acids. The carbon atoms in the acids combines with another carbon atom making the lipid saturated which means the fatty acid contains the maximum amount of hydrogen atoms. For a fatty acid to be unsaturated there is only one carbon double bond. Also, if a lipid contains a fatty acid that has more than one double bond, it is polyunsaturated which can be seen on various food labels. Foods containing lipids are different oils like (olive oil, canola oil, soybean etc.) nuts, fatty fruits (avocado), certain fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, mackerel) and egg
...oles in body function as well. Minerals also serve many functions in the body and hence, they need to be included in our diet. Minerals are vital for enzymes to function, for maintaining the pH balance of the body and proper nerve conduction, for facilitating the transfer of nutrients across cell membranes, for aiding in function of muscles, regulation of body tissue growth and for providing the body with structural and functional support. Vitamins, in general, are antioxidants and are important in fighting off free radicals in the body.
Water is a deciding factor between life and death throughout a survival situation. One of the biggest killers in the wild is lack of water, or dehydration. Dehydration is detected by thirst, little to no sweat, no urination, and exhaustion. Devoid of water, a person dies from dehydration in within three to five days, but in an unforgiving survival situation the time before death is reduced due burdens on the body. Water is challenging to acquire; however, it is straightforward to do with basic knowledge of how water flows, geological features, and how some plants retain water (Muma 3). All plants require water, and the majority store water inside themselves; this element alone could give people a sufficient amount of water to survive. If chewed on, almost any green plant or leaf will produce water (Muma 9). Erik Falk said, “Water is very rarely drinkable in the wild, so some kind of purification is neces...
Lipids are fat like substances that are found in blood and body tissues. Lipids are an important part of the membrane that surrounds every cell in the body, and they are also components of the nervous system. Good lipids activate genes and burn the calories they also increase the metabolism, and improve the insulin activity. Fats are important because they help the intestines absorb vitamins into the body. Fats provide structural components for cell membranes in the brain.Consuming too much fat from unhealthy food can cause the unused calories to be stored in the body and cause weight gain. Fats can cause
Nutrition is important to understand because it is a significant contributor to the health and wellness of a human being. Nutrition can determine the weight of a person, the performance of organs and the body’s ability to prevent or accelerate certain diseases. Health and nutrition can be influenced by several factors such as family, friends, peers as well as physical and mental stress. As a young child, the immediate family is the biggest influence on nutrition because they are the first role models and establish the initial habits that the individual will develop. Through daily meal plans given to children, they can develop a standard of care in regard to nutrition and then incorporate key food groups into their daily diet. A child’s exposure to cooking habits and nutrition values could significantly contribute to the overall health and well being of the child in their later years. Therefore a person’s eating habits can effect their weight and well being. A persons view on nutrition changes over time through knowledge gained about food and its nutrition. A person also can become cognitive in how their diet influences their body, by altering weight or causing internal problems. Through time one can use food as a therapy because it makes them feel better, it relieves stress and it occupies their time. Balancing three specific nutrients, protein, fats, and fiber, which are major parts of a nutritional diet and can play a major role in a persons overall success in their health.
Proper nutrition is one of the most essential elements to being healthy and living a long life. People deal with food every day, and food has been a part of life since the beginning of civilization. What we eat becomes our diet, and our diet plays a major role in deciding how healthy we are and how well our body functions. Without proper diet, our body cannot carry out the functions it needs to perform. Most people have some common knowledge on what is good and what is bad for the human body to consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are some common items people think of when they think of healthy foods. However, it is not enough just to know what foods are good for your body, it is also important to understand why certain foods are good for you and what they do to help the body function.
Food contains nutrients, like minerals and vitamins, which can have a direct affect on different parts of the body. Eating enough of a certain nutrient, you can boost and strengthen these parts, and if you don’t get enough, you can start damaging your body. The most obvious example is calcium. Without enough calcium in your body, your bones can become unhealthy and weak. In certain instances, a lack of calcium can lead to diseases such as osteoporosis. By ensuring you eat enough calcium, you are preventing osteoporosis from occurring in your body. Examples like calcium are plentiful. Vitamins can strengthen your
The importance of nutrition is nothing new, but the facts are what do. Many people do not understand how important nutrition is to our everyday life until it is taken for granted. Nutrition is the process in which an organism obtains there materials from the environment. It also has to do with the human digestive system because in order for one to get nutrients one has to be able to digest it. Good nutrition is key to a healthy body. Without the right nutrients the body cannot grow and keep itself energized and strong. In essence, food is needed in the human system for growth and development, for the sustenance of life, and nourishment of the body. “Without an adequate supply of food, a human being can neither grow nor develop optimally.” However, in some countries food is not always accessible which can lead to a person becoming malnourished.