Lecture notes, 9/27
Keys to Success in NTR150
•Come to class, and come prepared
•Ask questions and participate in class discussions
•Don’t just read the books--USE what you’ve learned
•Keep up with nutrition/health/
•food/supplement news
Nutrition is an Interdisciplinary Science that Incorporates
•Biology
•Chemistry
•Psychology
•Sociology and Anthropology
•Economics
•Statistics
Food
•Products derived from plants or animals that can be taken into the body to provide
energy and nutrients for the maintenance of life
•What is considered food differs between peoples & cultures
Why do we eat what we eat?
Nutrients-Chemicals in food required to sustain life.
Macronutrients
Used for energy
•Carbohydrates-sugars, starches
•Proteins-amino acids
•Lipids (Fat)-triglycerides
Energy is measured in kilocalories (kcal)
•1 kcal is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram (1 liter) of
water 1°C (1.8°F)
•What we normally talk about as calories
How to Calculate kcal in Food
•Multiply grams (g) of protein + g of carb by 4
•Multiply g of total fat by 9
•So a food with 10 g protein, 15 g carb, and 5 g fat would have (25 x 4) + (5 x 9) = 245
kcal
Energy density
•The total amount of kcal per given weight of food
•High fat foods are more energy dense than low fat or high fiber foods
Nutrient density is the amount of total nutrients per kcal
•Fruit juice is more nutrient dense than soda
•Milk is more nutrient dense than fruit juice or soda
Micronutrients
•Vitamins-water-soluble (B vitamins, C) and fat-soluble (A,D,E, & K)
•Minerals-macro- (Ca, Na) and trace (Fe, Zn, Cu)
Water
•“The Forgotten Nutrient”
“Why do I need to eat food, anyway? Can’t I get everything from pills?”
•Food contains other substances that may be beneficial to health (phytochemicals such
as lycopene and lutein, fiber)
•You’d have to pop A LOT of pills
•It’d take at least one pound of pills to get the nutrients—AND 2 quarts of water
“Why should I study nutrition?”
•Poor nutrition, including obesity, can increase the risk of chronic diseases like heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes
•Over half of American adults are overweight, and one third are obese
•15% of children between 6 and 19 years are overweight
On a Global Scale
(from UN, 3/04)
•Iodine deficiency causes 18 million children a year to be born mentally impaired
•Iron deficiency lowers work productivity in adults, and impairs mental function in
children
•Vitamin A deficiency makes children 25-30% more likely to die of infections, and is
the leading cause of childhood blindness
For Tomorrow…
•Start reading texts
•Look at the label project (in syllabus packet)