Food and Nutrition: College of Business and Economics School of Hotel and Tourism Hotel Management Program
Food and Nutrition: College of Business and Economics School of Hotel and Tourism Hotel Management Program
Food and Nutrition: College of Business and Economics School of Hotel and Tourism Hotel Management Program
1
Objectives of the course
After the completion of this course students will be able to:
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Brief history of nutrition science
The first controlled nutrition experiment
(Turn of the century) Purified diets (containing only protein, fat, and carb
ohydrates)
Malnutrition
Expanding population, inefficient agricultural methods, and unequal distributi
on of food, inadequate medical care
3
Definitions
Nutrition: is the science of nourishing the body properly or the analysis of
the effect of food on the living organisms
The science of food, the nutrients and other substances therein, their actio
n, integration, and balance in relation to health and disease and the progre
ss by which the organism ingests, digests, absorbs, transports, utilizes and
excretes food substances.
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Functions of Food
Physiological function: provide energy, regulate body processes and build a
nd maintain body tissues
Food customs
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FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD SELECTION
Demographics
Environmental concern
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Flavor
•Flavor is a combination of all five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, and
sound.
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• From birth, we have the ability to smell and taste.
• Most of what we call taste is really smell, a fact we realize when a col
d hits our nasal passages.
• Even though the taste buds are working fine, the smell cells are not,
and this dulls much of food’s flavor.
Taste
• Taste buds, found on the tongue, cheeks, throat, and roof of the mou
th, house 60 to 100 receptor cells each.
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• The body regenerates taste buds about every three days.
• They are most numerous in children under age six, and this may expl
ain why youngsters are such picky eaters.
• These taste cells bind food molecules dissolved in saliva and alert the
brain to interpret them.
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• In fact, a single taste bud can have receptors for all five sensations.
• We also know that the back of the tongue is more sensitive to bitter
and that food temperature influences taste.
Demographics
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• Older adults also have more concerns with poor dental health, swall
owing problems, and digestive problems.
• People with higher incomes and educational levels tend to think abo
ut nutrition more often when choosing what to eat.
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• Each culture has norms about which foods are edible, which foods h
ave high or low status, how often foods are consumed, what foods a
re eaten together, when foods are eaten, and what foods are served
at special events and celebrations (such as weddings).
Health
• Most people are trying to lose weight or keep from gaining it.
• Obesity and overweight can increase your risk of cancer, heart diseas
e, diabetes, and other health problems.
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• A knowledge of nutrition and a positive attitude toward nutrition ma
y translate into nutritious eating practices.
• Our food choices are influenced by the social situations we find ours
elves in, whether in the comfort of our own home or eating out in a r
estaurant.
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• Peer pressure no doubt influences many food choices among childre
n and young adults.
• Even as adults, we tend to eat the same foods that our friends and ne
ighbors eat. This is due to cultural influences as well.
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Food Industry and the Media
•The food industry very much influences what you choose to eat.
•After all, the food companies decide what foods to produce and where
to sell them.
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Environmental Concerns
•Many vegetarians won’t eat meat or chicken because livestock and pou
ltry require so much land, energy, water, and plant food, which they con
sider wasteful.
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The Nutrients and their Role in the Body
We need food as a source of energy, for growth and maintenance of tissue
s, and for the regulation of body processes.
Our food contains, apart from water, mainly carbohydrates (CHO), by far l
ess fat and protein, and vitamins and minerals in only very small amounts,
whereas the human body is made out of 2/3th water, quite high percentag
e of protein, fat and minerals and almost no carbohydrates.
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Food/Day (%) Human Body
Water 83 64
Carbohydrates 10 1.5
Protein 2.5 17
Fat 2.5 14
Vitamins Ca:0.003
Minerals Ca:0.003 4
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Everyday we consume around 350 g of carbohydrate, but that doesn’t sho
w in the body composition at all.
We can conclude that carbohydrate is being burnt in the body, it is the mai
n source of energy.
On the other hand we eat only 15 – 20 g minerals daily, but the body contai
ns 2.5kg of minerals. So that means that they are built into the body, they
are part of the tissue (E.g. Skeleton)
All the nutrients fulfill different functions, these functions are the follows.
Source of energy- carbohydrate, fat (to little extent)
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Chapter Two
Energy
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Five forms of energy(Solar, chemical, electrical, thermal and mechanical)
Living creatures like inanimate matter can neither create nor destroy energy
but can only transform it.
Function of Energy
Animals differ from green plants in that they cannot utilize solar energy dire
ctly
Green plants are able to prepare complicated organic substance like carbohy
drates, proteins, and fats from simple materials such as CO2, H2O, NH3 and S
O4.
In this process the solar energy is used and converted to chemical energy wh
ich is stored in plants.
Animals get their energy from their food in a chemical form which is derived
directly or indirectly from plants.
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This energy is bound in molecules of carbohydrates, protein or fat.
It can be liberated and utilized in the following ways:
– In the performance of mechanical work (for the muscles, liver, heart, brain etc
– In maintaining the tissues of the body
– In maintaining the body temperature
– In promoting growth by the synthesis of new chemical substance rich in energy
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Energy Need and Expenditure
The rate at which energy is liberated within the body as a whole for the life
processes (the activities of the heart, kidneys, lungs, and other organs, as w
ell as the metabolic processes within the cells), is known as the basal metab
olic rate (BMR),
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Basal metabolism is not the same for all people at all times in all countries it
is related to:
Sex: normally it is higher in men than in women.
Body size: the greater the surface area of a body, the greater is the basal me
tabolism
Pregnancy and lactation: during pregnancy and while lactating the basal me
tabolic rate increases.
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A simple method of finding the approximate basal metabolism of a person
is to take the weight of the person and allow 1 kcal for 1 kg body – weight (
b w) for every hour of the day
Example:
Physical Activity
Physical activity uses a lot of energy
It is the most important single factor affecting energy expenditure and exp
lains to a large extent the variations in the need of people
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The energy required for physical activities above the BMR is a function of th
e type of activity, the duration of activity and the size of the individual perfo
rming it
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So energy cost of various activities are being given per unit of body weight
(bw):
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But because it would be very difficult to record the amount of time spent in
every activity separately all activities have been grouped in light, moderate
, heavy and very heavy work
Appropriate figures (again exclusive of the BMR) for these different groups
are given below:
• Light work – 0.5 – 1.0 Kcal /kg bw /hr, like office workers.
Man is warm-blooded and his body temperature (the temperature of his blo
od) doesn’t change with his surroundings.
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That means that energy is needed to maintain the temperature of the body
When the temperature of the air is lower than that of the body
Evaporation of moisture from the skin and from the lungs is also responsibl
e for great amount of heat lost by the body.
If the air is dry, evaporation will be more rapid than if there is humid
The amount of heat used by the body to maintain the blood temperature wi
ll vary and will depend on:
• the outside humidity and temperature (climate)
• the protection against loss of heat by the amount and thickness of the clothing
warm,
• the ventilation of the room
• and other external conditions.
But there are no easy ways to calculate the energy need for the maintenanc
e of body temperature. 31
That means that energy is needed to maintain the temperature of the body
When the temperature of the air is lower than that of the body
Evaporation of moisture from the skin and from the lungs is also responsibl
e for great amount of heat lost by the body.
It the air is dry, evaporation will be more rapid than if there is humid
The amount of heat used by the body to maintain the blood temperature wi
ll vary and will depend on:
• the outside humidity and temperature (climate)
• the protection against loss of heat by the amount and thickness of the clothing
warm,
• the ventilation of the room
• and other external conditions.
But there are no easy ways to calculate the energy need for the maintenanc
e of body temperature. 32
Specific Dynamic Action of Food
The ingestion of food causes an increase in energy needs not only for the di
gestion, absorption, and transportation of the nutrients but also as a result
of a general, stimulation in metabolism that follows the ingestion of food
This effect has been referred to as the specific dynamic action of food.
This effect of food amounts to about 10% of the total energy needed for bas
al metabolism and activity
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The best (and the easiest) way to judge whether a person is getting the righ
t amount of food for his energy needs is by weight changes and health.
But to get an idea of the total energy needs of a person, some calculations c
an be done to estimate this value:
As an example of lets take a person, 25 years old, body weight 65kg, living i
n a moderate climate, who does moderate work for 8 hours a day and sleep
s for 8 hours, calculate the total energy need of this person.
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Energy Value of Food
Our food is composed of different nutrients, protein, carbohydrate, fat, min
erals, vitamins and water. Of these only protein, fat and the carbohydrates s
upply the body with energy.
There are ways to measure the measure the energy obtained from these nu
trients.
Direct calorimetry : foodstuffs are placed in a small chamber of a bomb calorime
ter and burnt. The heat liberated is measured.
Indirect calorimetry : The oxygen used in burning the nutrients in the body and t
he carbon dioxide produced are measured.
But the energy obtained by man (as well as animal) from food ingested is le
ss than that released from the same food when is oxidized in the bomb calo
rimeter
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In the calorimeter foods are completely oxidized to carbon, water and nitro
us oxide.
However, the physiological values are different; the energy available to the
body is the gross energy of the diet minus the losses in the urine and the fac
es.
Foods eaten are not completely digested (resulting in energy losses in the f
aces) and the nitrogen of protein is not completely oxidized (resulting in en
ergy loss in the nitrogen- containing compounds excreted in the urine)
Digestibility varies from one food to another for each of the energy loss in t
he nitrogen – containing compounds excreted in the urine.
Digestibility varies from one food to another for each of the energy nutrien
ts
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The average physiological fuel values were determined by taking the means
of the values for the heat of combustion and the coefficients of digestibility
of various food and food groups.
1g protein = 4 kcal = 17 KJ
1g fat = 9 kcal = 38 KJ
1g alcohol = 7 kcal = 30 KJ
Nutrient Requirement
It is not sufficient to know the daily energy need of a person, the daily requi
rements of the nutrients have to be defined as well.
There are several ways to determine: One of the easier methods is to relate
the nutrient requirements to-the energy needs.
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There are several ways to determine: One of the easier methods is to relate
the nutrient requirements to-the energy needs.
It is said that the energy should come from the three energy giving nutrient
s in the following proportion: 55% from carbohydrate, 15% from protein, and
30% from fat
Now it can quite easily be calculated exactly how many grams of carbohydr
ate, fat, and protein should be consumed in a day, if the total energy need i
s known
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Chapter Three
Nutrients and Their Functions
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Carbohydrates
The carbohydrate (CHO), or saccharides (sacchar – sugar), are quantitativel
y the most important nutrient for the human organism
They are being formed within the plants with the help of the energy of the
sun under presence of chlorophyll (leaf green).
This is the only known process at which an organic nutrient comes into bein
g from inorganic elements; it is called photosynthesis.
For that reason the carbohydrates can be regarded as the primary products
for the synthesis of fat and protein
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Structure of mono-, Di-, and polysaccharides
All carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
A simple carbohydrate molecule is one with six carbon atoms arranged in a
chain with atoms of hydrogen and oxygen in a ration 2:1.
Monosaccharides
Glucose
Glucose is found in the blood stream of animals and men (blood glucose lev
el: in diabetes the level is too high).
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Fructose
Fructose, which is the sweetest of all sugars, is also known as fruit sugar.
Synthesis
Disaccharides
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Sucrose (glucose + fructose )
When we talk about “sugar” we always mean the carbohydrate sucrose
White and brown sugar (beet or cane sugar) are almost 100% sucrose.
Because of the added sugar, fruit jellies and jams are also high in sucrose.
Maltose (glucose +glucose)
Unlike sucrose, maltose is not consumed in large mounts in an average diet.
The amount of lactose in human and cows milk is 6.8 and 4.8 mg / 100 ml res
pectively. 43
Polysaccharides
The polysaccharides are much more complex and are considered starches ra
ther than sugars, because they are not sweet.
They are composed solely of glucose units linked to gather in long chains.
Starch
Roots, seeds, and tubers all contain starch. Cereals more than 70%, legumes
around 50%, potatoes, 15%
Starches are not soluble in cold water but when boiled with water they for
m a paste, which facilitates the enzymatic digestive process.
Glycogen
It is stored primarily in liver and muscle, the only animal tissues aside from
milk and blood that contain carbohydrate
The adult human stores about 340 g of glycogen, 140 g as liver glycogen and
200 g as muscle glycogen.
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Cellulose
Human beings and carnivores do not have the enzymes to digest cellulose. I
ts function in man’s diet is as a part of dietary fiber.
Studies showed people ingesting diets high in fiber were less likely to devel
op certain diseases of the colon and metabolic disorders
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The function of carbohydrates
The main function is to supply energy for the body. The central nervous syst
em is entirely dependent on glucose for energy.
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Lipids
Until recently nutritionists considered the lipid component of the diet only i
mportant as a concentrated source of energy and little else.
Classification of Lipids
Visible fats and oils- such as butter salad oil and fat surrounding meat and et
c.,
Invisible fats- such as the fat hidden in food like avocado, nuts, cakes, cooki
es, eggs, milk, cheese etc.
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The Structure of lipids
Like carbohydrates lipids are composed of the there elements carbon, hydr
ogen, and oxygen.
But the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen and carbon is much lower 1:7 to 1:30.
The main form of fats both in food stuffs and in the storage depots of most
animal is the triglyceride.
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One of the lipid – related substances is a component of thromboplastin, a su
bstance that initiates blood clotting.
Acts as an insulator around nerve fibers.
Most of the hormones of the adrenal cortex and certain ones of the ovaries and
The adrenal cortex is located near the kidneys, secretes minerals and gluco-cort
icoids which control the chemical constitution of body fluids, metabolism and s
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Functions of fats and other lipids:
Sources of Energy
They are the most concentrated form of energy in food, 9 Kcal or 38kj per g
ram, yielding more than twice as much as energy per gram as either carboh
ydrates or protein.
Energy Store
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In very emaciated patients it is reduced to about 1 kg, and some very obese
people carry around over 100 kg!
In any case, fat is the greatest store of energy in man and animal (see the fa
t in hibernating animals).
Nonconductors of Heat
In the body, fats are deposited under the skin where they function as nonco
nductors of heat, help to insulate the body, prevent rapid loss of heat and p
rotect hair and skin from water.
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Also, cushions of fat support the viscera (internal organs)
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are important for the building of all cell structur
es, like membranes, nucleus, mitochondrion etc.
Fat – soluble vitamins can only be absorbed when fats are present. Fat-so-lu
be vitamins are A, D, E, and K.
Oils
The most important vegetable oils and fats are the following cottonseed. Gr
oundnut,-soya bean, palm kernel , sunflower oil
So proteins are the most important of all nutrients, no life is possible witho
ut proteins.
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Structure
Because of the great number of proteins, attempts have been made to class
ify them:
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Simple proteins are made solely of amino acids. Examples are;
– Albumin, in eggs
– Zein, in maize
– Keratin, in hair
– Globin, in hemoglobin
Examples are;
– Hemoglobin = protein + heme ( a pigment )
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Simple proteins are made solely of amino acids. Examples are;
Properties of Proteins
Once a protein has undergone this process of coagulation its properties are
permanently changed.
It can never be brought back into simple solution in water and its specific pr
operties, e.g. enzymatic, hormonal or immunological are destroyed.
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Proteins also undergo lesser changes, known as denaturation, in which they
become less soluble in water.
This occurs when they are exposed to a variety of agents such as moderate
heat, ultraviolet light, or alcohol, and mild acids or alkalis.
Animal food, such as meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs, contains high-quality
protein
Plants are also a significant source; soybeans are high in protein content an
d its protein is of a high value.
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Other legumes provide a good quantity of protein, but of a comparatively l
ow value.
Fruits and vegetables provide little protein, sugars, syrups, pure fat and oils
have none.
Minerals
94% of body weight is made up of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen and of water.
60
The essential mineral elements are often grouped as macronutrients and mi
cronutrients / trace minerals.
Even though some are needed in inconceivable small amounts, they are as i
mportant to body function as those nutrients needed in high amount
61
Essential Macronutrient Elements Essential micronutrient elements
Phosphorus k Copper
Sodium Iodine,
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Functions
Most of the iron in the blood is located in the red blood cells (erythrocytes).
In the lungs hemoglobin combines loosely with oxygen to from oxy -hemog
lobin, this compound carries oxygen to the tissues and releases it there.
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In muscle tissue
It stores oxygen temporarily in the muscle for use primarily in aerobic meta
bolism
Food sources:
Iron is present in most foodstuffs, but its content in plants tends to very acc
ording to the soil.
The richest plant sources are green leaves, followed by vegetables and fruit
s roots or animal products.
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Cereals contain almost twice as much iron as starchy roots, while fish and m
eat contain good quantities , the red teff contains the astonishing amount
The essential trace mineral iodine is present in the body in little amount abo
ut 0.00004% of body weight (15 to 23 mg )or one hundredth of the amount o
f iron in healthy human adult.
Here the level of iodine used in the synthesis of the hormone thyroxin is 20
times that of the blood supplying it
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In the circulation it occurs either as free iodine or as protein- bound iodine.
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Vitamins
were the last group of dietary essentials to be recognized.
The minimum need for a vitamin varies from a low of a few micrograms for
cobalmine (vit b12) to a high of 60 mg for ascorbic needed at a hundred or t
housand times that level.
The first vitamin was discovered in 1913, it was the fat soluble vitamin A, the
last vitamin, the vitamin B12, in 1948.
Vitamins are now defined as organic substances, needed in very small amou
nts, that perform a specific metabolic function and must be provided in the
diet of the animal.
Plants can manufacture vitamins from the elements available to them from
the soil. 67
The word vitamin uses byFunk a Polish biochemist, vita (meaning life) and a
mine indicating the chemical strucure.
Vitamin A Retinol
Vitamin D Calcitriol
Vitamin E Tocopherol
Vitamin K Phyllochinon
Vitamin B1 Thiamin
Riboflavin Vitamin B2 Complex
Niacin
Folacin
Pantothenic acid
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine
Vitamin B12 Cobalamin
Vitamin H Biotin
Vitamin C Ascorbic Acid
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Function
Coenzymes
Specific functions
69
They are not coenzymes, but they are found in in the blood or only in specifi
c cells.
Properties
70
Fat-soluble (A,D,E,K) Water soluble
Have precursors Generally don’t have precurssors
Contain only elements C,H or O Contain elements C,H,O,N and sometim
es Co or S
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Related Substances
Precursors
Anti-vitamins
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Vitamin A
Functions
Function in Vision
The retina of the eye has two kinds of photoreceptor cells: the rods and the
cones.
The terms “cone” and “rod” are derived from the shape of the cells.
The rods are sensitive to light of low intensity and function in dim light and
the cones are sensitive to high intensity and provide color vision.
Rhodopsin (visual purple) is the pigment in the rods that contains vitamin A
whereas iodopsin is found in cones
All of the visual pigments are composed of the same vitamin A fraction = ret
inol, but of different proteins
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If, as in a person suffering from severe vitamin A deficiency, the level of vita
min A in the blood becomes reduced, there will be not enough rholopsin in
the rods to be sensitive to dim light, the eyes will not adapt to darkness
Growth
Before vitamin A had been isolated and its chemical formula determined its
potency in food was measured by the growth rate.
If the intake of vitamin A is not sufficient for normal growth, the bones will
stop growing before the soft tissues are affected.
If the intake of vitamin A is not sufficient for normal growth, the bones will
stop growing before the soft tissues are affected
The function of vitamin A in bone growth has been attributed to its role in t
he conversion of immature cells to osteoblasts
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Osteoblasts are responsible for the increase in the number of bone c
ells
They are also necessary for the breakdown of bone cells as the bone
is remodeled during growth.
Health of the epithelial tissues
The epithelial tissues cover the outer surface of the body and line the
major cavities and all of the tubular systems within the body.
They are also necessary for the breakdown of bone cells as the bone is rem
odeled during growth.
Health of the epithelial tissues
The epithelial tissues cover the outer surface of the body and line the major
cavities and all of the tubular systems within the body.
In the absence of vitamin A the male’s body fails to produce sperm cells and
the female’s body reabsorbs the fetus.
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Other Functions
Vitamin A is essential for the normal function of four of the five senses; visi
on, smell, hearing and taste.
While the role of vitamin A in vision has been defined as previously describe
d, the mechanisms by which vitamin A maintain the other senses have not b
een identified.
Food Sources
• Good sources of vitamin A are whole milk, butter, egg yolk, liver and kidney.
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Vitamin C
Function
Ascorbic acid is necessary for the proper formation and maintenance of inte
rcellular material.
This function of vitamin C explains most of the symptoms that appear in scu
rvy.
It is also said that certain parts of the protein metabolism depend on the pr
esence of vitamin C.
78
It is also said that certain parts of the protein metabolism depend on the pr
esence of vitamin C.
It may also have a role in the metabolism of cholesterol in increasing the abi
lity of liver to convert cholesterol into bile. The body’s use of the mineral iro
n is related to the presence of vitamin C as well.
Dietary Sources
• The main source of vitamin C in most diets are fruits, vegetables, and variou
s leaves.
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This is aggravated when especially when in alkaline solution.
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Chapter Four
Water
Functions
Building Material
As solvent water is used in digestion, where it aids in the mastication and the
softening of food and it facilitates the movement of material along the digest
ive tract.
The nutrients, in a state of solution, are absorbed thought the intestinal wall i
nto the blood and are carried directly to the liver by way of the portal vein
81
Within the cells, water is the medium in which intracellular chemical reactio
ns take place.
The blood, which is about 90 % water, collects the waste products from the c
ells and carries them to the lungs, the kidneys, or for excretion
Water is the major constituent of all body fluids including digestive juices, b
lood, lymph, urine and perspiration
It bathes the body cell, keeping the moist, permitting the passage of the su
bstances between the cells and the blood vessels.
There is always some loss of heat by evaporation from the skin and the lung
s. 82
Even when the temperature is a comfortable 23 to 25c, water loss is about 6
00 ml per day and heat is dissipated at the rate of 12 to 18 kcal / hours.
83
Sources of Water
Liquids
The average person consumes a total of about 1 to 1.5 liter of liquid each day
, be it water, coffee, tea, soup, milk fruit juice and others.
Solid food
The water content of food varies widely, but most food contain more than 7
0 % e.g. bananas – 76%, potatoes – 80 %, whole milk – 87 %, watermelon – 93 %
biscuits – 27 %
Water Excretion
Kidneys
The largest amount of water normally lost from the body is though the kidn
eys, which excrete from 1 to 2 liter of urine each day.
The urinary output varies according to the liquid intake, the type of food co
nsumed, and the amount of water lost through the skins and lungs.
As the blood flows through the kidneys, its composition is modified accordi
ng to the body’s need for the various constituents it carries
In general, when the body’s need is greater, less of the constituent is excret
ed by the kidneys.
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This process is being regulated through the hormone vasopressin, excreted
by the hypothalamus
Skin
The amount of water lost through the skin depends upon physical activity, e
nvironmental and body temperature, humidity and wind velocity.
Lungs
A bout 400 ml of water in the form of vapor is lost through the lungs each d
ay.
This amount will be increased, if the inspired air is very dry, in the dry cold a
ir of the mountains and in high altitudes.
Intestinal Tract