CHAPTER 7 Diet and Growth
Balanced diet
● A diet which contains the correct amounts and portions of carbohydrates, proteins,
fats, vitamins, minerals, water and fibres.
● Food is important for three roles:
1. Provide materials for growth and repair
2. Provide energy to keep your cells alive
3. Provide vital elements and compounds to maintain chemical reactions in your cells
Age, gender and activity affect the dietary needs of humans including during pregnancy
and whilst breastfeeding
List the principal sources of, and describe the dietary importance of:
● Carbohydrates
Energy (Released through – RESPIRATION)
Carbs – STARCH
Glucose – simple sugar
Starch – lots of glucose joined together Example - pasta, corn, potatoes, noodles, rice
• Testing foods for starch - Iodine test
To test for starch, we use iodine solution
- Add a few drops of iodine solution to the food solution
- If the solution turns a dark blue-black colour, the food contains starch.
● Fats
○ Source of energy, building materials, energy store, insulation, buoyancy, marking
hormones Example - cheese, butter, whipped cream, avocado, fatty meat
● Proteins
• Made of amino acids.
• Energy, building materials, enzymes, haemoglobin, structural material , muscle,
hormones, antibodies Example - fish, meat, egg, dairy products
• Biuret test: Original colour - Blue
• If protein is present – purple
• Light purple – amount of protein is not high
• Dark purple – amount of protein is high
• Protein deficiency - weak and fatigue
Vitamins & minerals
• Needed in much smaller amounts than other nutrients
• Vitamins – Help chemical reactions
• Minerals – provide strength & help cells to function properly
Vitamin A
- Important to
- vision, growth , cell division, immunity
- Lack of Vitamin A
- Night blindness / Dry eyes
- maternal mortality and other poor outcomes of pregnancy and lactation.
- Dry skin - eczema
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Food rich in Vitamin A
Leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, broccoli), orange and yellow vegetables (carrots,
sweet potatoes, pumpkin and other winter squash, summer squash), Tomatoes, Red
bell pepper, mango, Beef liver, Fish oils, Milk, Eggs.
● Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is necessary for
- the growth,
- development and repair of all body tissues. - formation of collagen,
- absorption of iron,
- the proper functioning of the immune system,
- wound healing
- the maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.
● Vitamin D
Function
- Help the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus (building bone)
- Strengthen the immune system
- Prevent certain types of cancer - repair and regeneration of cells
- Improve brain function
● Calcium
99% of the body’s calcium is stored in bones,
1% is found in blood, muscle, and other tissues.
Development and maintenance of strong bones and teeth
● Iron
○ 70 %of your body's iron is found
1. Haemoglobin - transferring oxygen in your blood from the lungs to the tissues
2. Myoglobin - in muscle cells, accepts, stores, transports and releases oxygen.
Anaemia (not enough red blood cells, not enough oxygen delivered to tissue), lead to
constant tiredness, lack of energy.
● Fiber
○ Provides bulk for faeces, helps peristalsis
● Water
○ Regulates internal tempearture (to prevent overheating), chemical reaction, solvent
for transport
● Growth
- A process of physical maturation resulting an increase in size of the body and
various organs.
- It occurs by multiplication of cells and it is quantitative changes of the body
- Energy is needed to make cells divide
Cell division a process by which a parent cell divides, when a mother cell divides into two
or more daughter cells.
Embryo, a ball of cell, the early developmental stage of an animal while it is in the egg
or within the uterus of the mother.
Development
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- It is the process of functional and physiological maturation of the individual. It is
progressive increase in skill and capacity to function.
- It is qualitative aspects
• Smoking produces heat that temporarily paralyzes (slow down) and even kills cilia.
• They no longer wave and so cannot sweep up mucus.
• This makes you more at risk for infection.
• Long-term smokers – cough up the mucus
Harmful chemicals from cigarette smoke:
• Tar – The black and sticky mixture
- carcinogenic
- paralyses cilia
- reduce efficiency of oxygen uptake
- increase chance of lungs infections, may cause
cancer / growth of tumour – uncontrolled cell division
• Carbon monoxide
- toxic gas
- binds tightly to red blood cells-
carboxyhemoglobin
- red blood cells carry less oxygen
- affects baby (during pregnancy)
• Nicotine
- addictive
- affects brain cells
- narrow blood vessels and increase blood pressure
- Smokers are more likely to develop heart disease
Deaths caused by smoking:
• lung cancer
• heart disease
• lung disease
• other disease
• other cancer
• stroke