Unit 7
HUMAN NUTRITION
7.1. Diet
● A balanced diet is a diet consisting of the right proportions of every type of
nutrient (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.) in the right amount
and proportion.
● A balanced diet should contain carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber, vitamins,
minerals and water. Note that fiber cannot be digested; it is used to form
‘roughage’ in the alimentary canal. Lack of fiber in our diet causes constipation.
● If one cannot get balanced diet, suffers from malnutrition or deficiency diseases,
such as obesity, constipation and rickets.
●A balanced diet for different people is slightly different because our energy and
nutrient requirements vary from person to person.
Carbohydrates
● They are our primary source of energy – they are broken down to release
energy in respiration.
● Carbohydrates include starch and sugar.
● Carbohydrates are present in large quantities in staple foods such as rice,
potatoes, wheat, cereal, bread, etc.
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Fats and oils
◙ Fats and oils or lipids are needed for energy and to make cell membrane.
Fats stores under the skin in adipose tissue insulate the body, helping reducing
heat loss from our body temperature.
◙ It can also form a layer around body organs such as kidneys, providing
mechanical protection for them.
Fats are found in oil, butter, margarine, the white stuff on animal meat, egg, oily
fish etc.
◙ They are also a good store of energy – fats have a higher chemical potential
energy per gram than carbohydrates, so they can store more energy in the same
space. Often, excess carbohydrates are converted into fats for storage. When we
don’t have enough carbohydrates for respiration, body cells break down and
respire fats, too.
Proteins
◙ Proteins are needed to build new cells, for growth. They are also used to make
biological molecules including hemoglobin, hormones such as insulin and
antibodies which help to destroy pathogens. They also form our muscles,skin and
hair.
◙ Proteins are found in meats, such as chicken, beef, fish and egg and plus
products. It is also found in plant products such as lentils, beans, peas and nuts.
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Vitamins and Minerals
◙Vitamins and Minerals are micronutrients-only small amount of them is needed
in the diet. Vitamins are organic substances whereas minerals are inorganic
substances.
[Link] digestive system
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The human digestive system, system used in the human body for the process of
digestion. The human digestive system consists primarily of the alimentary
canal/digestive tract, or the series of structures and organs through which food and
liquids pass during their processing into forms absorbable into the bloodstream.
The system also consists of the structures through which wastes pass in the process
of elimination and other organs/liver and pancreas/ that contribute juices necessary
for the digestive process.
The digestive system deals with the food in a series of processes.
Ingestion-this means taking food and drink into the mouth, using lips, teeth
and tongue.
Digestion refers to the breakdown of large pieces physically and large
molecules of our food chemically into smaller components that can be
absorbed into the bloodstream.
Absorption is the movement of digested food nutrients and mineral ions
through the wall of the intestine into the blood.
Assimilation the transporting of nutrients to the individual cells of the body
through the bloodstream and used for energy or make new substances.
Egestion :there is always some material in our food that we can not digest.
Much of this is fibre. This is not absorbed. It remains in the intestine and
eventually passes out as faeces.
What is the Alimentary Canal?
The alimentary canal is mainly referred to as the pathway by which food enters our body and
moves out through the anus after digestion. It is a tube-like structure which starts from the mouth
and ends in the anus. The alimentary canal plays a primary role in human digestion and is also
termed as the digestive tract.
Organs of the Alimentary Canal
The main organs of the alimentary canal are:
The Mouth and Oral cavity.
Oesophagus.
Stomach.
Small intestine (duodenum and ileum).
Large intestine.
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The structure and functions of these organs are discussed below.
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The mouth and Oral cavity.
Food is ingested using the teeth, lips and tongue.
Teeth begins physical digestion by biting and grinding(increase the surface
area).
The tongue mixes food with saliva and forms it into little ball.
The salivary glands make saliva, which is a mixture of water, mucus and
enzyme amylase.
Water-helps to dissolve substances in the food.
Mucus-helps the chewed food to bind together to form a small ball and
lubricates it so that it slides easily down the esophagus.
Amylase begins to digest starch.
The oesophagus
There are two tubes leading down from the back of the mouth.
The one in the front-the trachea and behind the trachea is the esophagus,
which takes food down to the stomach.
The entrance to the stomach from the esophagus is closed by a
sphincter muscle.
The muscle relaxes to let food pass into the stomach, then contract to
close the entrance again.
The Stomach
Has large muscular walls.
Contains different cells that produce-HC l, mucus and digestive enzymes-
protease.
HCl creates acidic environment, which the optimum pH for the activity of
protease- pepsin enzyme.
The stomach can store food for few hours, and lets the partly digested food
move into the upper part of the small intestine(duodenum).
The small intestine
It is about 5m long and is quite narrow.
The upper part-duodenum, and the lowest part-ileum.
duodenum receives pancreatic juice from the pancreas through pancreatic
duct.
Chemical digestion continues in the duodenum by the pancreatic enzymes:
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Pancreatic protease-digests intermediate protein molecules to
aminoacids.
pancreatic amylase- digests starch which is not acted by
salivary amylase to give maltose.
pancreatic lipase-digests fats and oils into fatty acid and glycerol.
The ileum is where all the digested nutrients and most water are
absorbed into the blood.
The large intestine
The final part of the alimentary canal.
Has two parts-longer front part-colon, and the last part-rectum.
The colon absorbs water in the food.
Rectum-stores undigested food as feaces, to be egested through the
anus.