An Overview of Nutrition

Chapter 1
 Definitions

 Nutrition: The science of foods and its action

in the body
 Foods: are products derived from plants and
animals that can be taken into the body to
yield energy and nutrients
 Diet: is the foods and beverages a person eat
and drinks
Food Choices
 Personal preferences (taste # 1)
 Habits
 Ethnic heritage or traditions
 Social interactions
 Food availability and convenience
 Time and cost
 Positive and negative associations
Food Choices
 Emotional comfort
 Boredom, depression, anxiety etc.
 Values such as religious beliefs, political
views, or environmental
 Body weight and image
 The nutrition and health benefits of foods

 Please check your textbook for examples

The Nutrients
 Nutrients are chemical substances in food that
provide energy, support growth, and repair body
tissues.
 Composition of foods includes the six nutrient
classes
 Carbohydrates
 Fat ( Lipid)
 Protein
 Vitamins (Fat soluble & Water soluble)
 Minerals (Major and Trace)
 Water
Functional foods and
Phytochemicals
Functional foods Food that contains
physiologically active compounds that are
beneficial to health.
Phytochemicals: nonnutritive chemicals that
have a biological role in the body.
Phytochemicals are found in plants
Macro- vs. Micronutrients Nutrients
 Macronutrients
 Carbohydrates
 Fats
 Proteins
 Micronutrients
 Minerals
 Vitamins
Essential and nonessential nutrients

 Essential nutrients are those the body cannot make

or cannot make in sufficient quantities to meet
needs (indispensable nutrients). A dietary
deficiency of any of these essential nutrient will
cause a deficiency disease ( vitamins and minerals)
 Nonessential nutrients are those the body can
produce them. You do not need to obtain them from
the diet. A dietary deficiency will not result in a
deficiency disease (cholesterol)
Composition of Human Body
 Energy -Yielding Nutrients
 Energy-Yielding Nutrients Carbohydrate, Fat and
Protein
 Carbohydrate yields 4 kcal/g
 Protein yields 4 kcal/g
 Fat yields 9 kcal/g
 Water, vitamins, and minerals do not provide energy
 Alcohol
 Not a nutrient
 Yields energy – 7 kcal/g
Roles of Energy in the body
 Energy for activity: Energy is released from
bonds within carbohydrate, fat, and protein.
The process by which food is broken down
into small molecules to yield energy are
called metabolism.
 Stored energy: excess is stored as fat
Energy Unit

 Food energy is measured in

Calories (calories, kilocalories,
kcalories, kcal).

 Internationally, food energy is

measured in joules.
 What is a calorie?

The amount of heat needed to raise 1 g of

water by 1C is one (small) calorie

The commonly used unit is kilocalorie

1 kilocalorie (kcal) = 1000 calories

 How to Calculate Energy Available
from Foods?
A soup contains 16 g carbohydrate, 7 g
protein, 9 g fat. Calculate the total calories
in the soup

16g Carbohydrate =16 x 4 = 64 kcal

7g Protein = 7 x 4 kcal = 28 kcal

9g Fat = 9 x 9 kcal = 81 kcal Total

calories = 173 kcal
Practice
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)
 Estimated Average Requirements (EAR)
 To maintain a specific biochemical /physiological
function in 50% of the people (age and sex)
 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)
 Covers 98% of the population

 Adequate Intakes (AI)

 Used when RDA cannot be determined

 Tolerable Upper Limits (UL)

 Maximum amount appears to be safe
Establishing Energy
Recommendations
 Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) in
maintaining energy balance

 Distribution Ranges (AMDR)

 Carbohydrate: 45% - 65%
 Fat: 20% - 35%
 Protein: 10% - 35%
Using Nutrient
Recommendations :
 apply to healthy people
 not minimum requirements or optimal levels
 consuming a variety of foods
 apply to average daily intakes
 appropriate for population groups
 develop and evaluate nutrition programs
Inaccurate versus Accurate
View of Nutrient Intakes
 Nutrition Assessment
 Deficiency or excess over
time leads to malnutrition
 Undernutrition and
overnutrition
 Symptoms of malnutrition
 Diarrhea
 Skin rashes
 Fatigue
 Others
 Nutrition Assessment – Individual
Level
 Creating a “total picture” of the individual
 Historical information
 Health status, SES, drug use
 Diet history – intake over several days; portion
sizes; computer analysis
 Anthropometric measurements
 Height and weight – track to identify trends
 Physical examinations
 Hair, skin, eyes, tongue, fingernails
 Laboratory tests: Blood tests
Stages in the Development of a Nutrient
Deficiency
 Diet and Health (1 of 2)

 Food’s role in health is vital

 Chronic diseases
 7 out of 10 deaths in US adults
 4 are related to diet (highlighted next slide)
 85 percent of US health care costs
 Risk factors
 Presence or absence in relation to disease
 Tend to persist over time
 Tend to cluster
 Diet and Health (2 of 2)

Percentage of
Total Deaths

1. Heart disease 23.5

2. Cancers 22.5
3. Chronic lung diseases 5.7
4. Strokes 5.0
5. Accidents 5.0
6. Alzheimer’s disease 3.3
7. Diabetes mellitus 2.9
8. Pneumonia and influenza 2.2
9. Kidney disease 1.8
10. Suicide 1.6
NOTE: The diseases highlighted in bold have relationships with diet
SOURCE: Deaths: Preliminary data for 2011, National Vital Statistics Reports. October 10, 2012.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [Link]/nchs.
 Highlight 1

Nutrition information
&Misinformation
— On the Net and in the News
Nutrition Information &
Misinformation
 Validity of information
 Who is providing information?
 Qualifications
 Internet
 Anyone can publish anything.
 No guarantees of accuracy
 Evaluate websites
 Who, When, Where, Why, and What?
Nutrition Information
&Misinformation
 Identifying nutrition experts
 Physicians & other health-care
professionals
Training in nutrition is limited
 Registered Dietitian (RD)
 Degree and clinical internship
Maintain up-to-date knowledge
 Dietetic Technician Registered (DTR)
Nutrition Information in the News
 News
 Often tell lopsided story
 Testimonials
 Tight deadlines
 Limited understanding
 Current and controversial
 Credentials

 Identifying fake credentials

 College accreditation
 Diploma mills
 Fraudulent businesses
 Red flags of nutrition
quackery
 Misinformation
 Consider the source
Red Flags of Nutrition Quackery