The iNutrition

Introduction to Human Nutrition

Nutrition can be defined as the science of the action of Food,

Beverages and their component in the biological order.

A Nutrient is the compound that provide needed function to the

body. It can be classified into groups based on the needed amount in the

body. -Micronutrient and Macronutrient are the major classified group of

nutrients.

1 Micronutrients.
Micronutrients are the essential nutrients needed in small or minimal amount in
the body for proper physiological processes.

Vitamins and Minerals are the major classified group of Micronutrients.

Vitamin

Vitamins: Vitamins are the essential

compounds we have to get from foods for
normal physiological processes in the body.
They are so important as they help almost every chemical reaction in the
body. They are commonly named by the letters of the alphabets. For
example, Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, and K.

Importance of Vitamins
Vitamin B12 helps our body to make red blood cells.
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Vitamin C is used to make collagen; the protein that gives skin strength and
elasticity.
Vitamin K helps the body to clot, which prevent nosebleed that can lead to death
and so on.

Minerals
Just like Vitamins, Minerals are also essential chemicals humans needed to perform the
physiological processes. They come entirely from the Earth and they always retained
their chemical identity no matter how longed they stayed in the body. And this means
that from the day a Mineral is ingested till when they are excreted from the body, they
do not change or convert to anything.
There are two types of Mineral
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The Major Minerals are the minerals that are required in higher
amount in the body. They are majorly seven in numbers; Calcium, Sodium, Potassium,
Magnesium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Chlorine.

The Trance minerals are required in smaller amount in the body. They amount to less
than a teaspoon of a person’s body weight and they are Manganese, Molybdenum,
Selenium.

Note; Vitamins or Minerals do not add to muscle strength, or supply energy or cure
disease even though they are so essential.

2 Macronutrients
Macronutrients are the essential nutrient that are needed in large quantity in the body.
They are usually gotten from foods and they are for growth and living.
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There are four major classification of Macronutrients; the Carbohydrate, Protein, Lipid
and Water. All of these macronutrients provide energy except water.

A. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate are the main nutrients found in our everyday food and drinks. They are
sugar molecule which serves as the main sources of energy when converted to glucose.
Carbohydrate means hydrated carbon or carbon with water. When carbohydrate is eaten
and digested, they are converted to glucose which serves as the main human fuel.
Types of Carbohydrates.
I. Simple [Monosaccharides]: examples are Glucose, Fructose and Galactose.
II. Double [Disaccharides]: examples are Maltose, Sucrose and Lactose.
III. Complex [Polysaccharides]: examples are Cellulose and Starch.
When carbohydrate is eaten, they digested and converted into a sugar called Glucose.
Every cell in the body requires glucose to function because it’s the main energy for
the human system; the brain needs glucose and only uses glucose as its energy fuel to
function, so does the central nervous system use glucose for its energy source.
Some glucose is used right away, some are stored and converted into Glycogen,
while the unused are turned into fat. The converted glycogen is converted back to
glucose when the body system is in need of energy to function in the cell.
Deficiencies of Carbohydrate.
Carbohydrate deficiency can only occur as a result of starvation, because carbohydrate
is the main compound found in meals. People lose weight as a result of cutting the
intakes of carbohydrates, this makes the central nervous system used up the stored
glycogen when its in shot of energy in the cells. The energy sourced from Protein
doesn’t help the brain health so the brain only uses glucose as its energy fuel.
Sources of Carbohydrate.
Carbohydrates can be found in Cereal grains such as Wheat, Rice, Corn, Oats. These
food items are use in the making of bread, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice dishes, flour and
so on.

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Other examples of Carbohydrate include;

i. Vegetable, especially root vegetables such as potato and these are good source for
starch.
ii. Sugar naturally found in fruits.
Excess intake of Carbohydrate.
i. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates leads to excess fat in the body which
can cause weight gain and obesity.
ii. Constantly high intakes of sugar may lead to dental calories. People should
reduce the consumption of added sugar [soft drinks] which gives many calories
with no nutritional value.

B. Proteins
Proteins are large complex of molecule that play many critical roles in the body.
They do most of the work in the cells and are responsible for the growth, repair,
structure and regulation of the body tissues and organs.
They are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but they also contain nitrogen.
Each protein contains amino acids link to one another. About 20 different kind of
amino acids are arranged into thousand different types of protein. And each of
these proteins is specific for it uses, which means the protein needed in the skin is
different from the proteins the heart and the lungs needed.
Eleven of these proteins can be made in the body while the rest can only be
derived by eating food.

Function of Proteins.
i. They are used for growth and repair of body tissues.
ii. Protein form the structure of soft tissues [skin and muscles are form of soft
tissues] and hard tissues [bone and teeth are examples of hard tissues] that make
most part of the body and all these tissues are constantly being produced.
iii. Protein control fluids and acid base balanced in the body.
iv. Proteins also produced some energy.
Excess intake of Protein.

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When more than needed protein is consumed, the amino acid that makes up the protein
molecule deaminated viz the nitrogen containing the amine group is separated.
During this process, deamination produces ammonia which is released into the blood
stream. The liver takes it up and convert the ammonia into urea, and then released it into
the blood to be filtered by the kidney and excreted in the urine.
The carbon section that remain can then be converted into energy if required or stored
into fat.

Deficiencies of Protein.
i. Extreme cases of anorexia nervosa and child abuse can lead to protein deficiency.
--Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that cause people to forcefully diet and fast out
of the fear of gaining weight.
ii. Lower than needed intake of protein in diet of children can slow down the growth
rate of all part of the body including the brain.
iii. Marasmus is combined protein deficiency that result from starvation
iv. Kwashiorkor result from lack of protein in diet, it usually occurs in young
children after weaning [stopping breastfeeding].

Sources of Protein.
 Animal proteins are protein that contain all the essential amino acids that
human needs and these is while people eat animals.
 Other sources of protein include nuts, beans, milk, egg white, legumes, etc.

Lipid
A lipid is a natural occurring chemical that cannot be dissolve in water. They are
one of the main nutrients grouped that is so essential as they perform several
functions in the body system both positively and negatively.
There are different types of Lipid including triglycerides, the fat most familiar as
body fat and fat in foods. Each triglyceride is a compound made up of glycerol
(which is alcohol and fatty acids)

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Fatty acids are the building block of fat in our body and in the food we eat.
During digestion, the body break down fat into fatty acids which can then be
absorbed into the bloodstream.
Fatty acids molecules are usually joined together in group of three forming a
molecule called triglycerides.
Triglycerides includes the viz fat and polyunsaturated fat which are known to be
the good fats.

Purpose of Triglycerides
They supply energy against extreme temperature and shock

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