Why the knowledge of food & nutrition is
important?
Nutrition is related to health and disease
OBJECTIVES

1.
2.
At the end of the lecture students should be able to:
Define food & nutrition.
Classify food groups.
DEFINITIONS

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Define:
Food
Nutrition
Nutrients
Diet
Healthy diet
INTRODUCTION

Food is a substance that living beings eat to satite their
hunger.

Diet is the kinds of food that a person, animal, or
community habitually eats.

Dietics is “the practical application of the principles of
nutrition”; It includes the planning of meals for well and
sick.

Community nutrition is the “practical application of the
nutritional knowledge to promote health and wellbeing of
individuals, groups or community”.
What is Healthy Diet?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fulfills energy needs (macronutrients)
Provides sufficient amounts of essential nutrients
(micronutrients)
Reduces risk of disease
Is safe to consume (low contaminants or potentially harmful
added substances)
NUTRITION

Nutrition is defined as “the science of food and its
relationship to health”.

The science of human nutrition deals with all the
effects on people, of any component, found in food.
NUTRITION

1.
2.
3.
The science of nutrition include:
The physiological and biochemical processes
involved in nourishment—how substances in food
provide energy or are converted into body tissues,
The diseases that result from insufficiency or excess
of essential nutrients (malnutrition).
Nutrition is also about why people choose to eat the
foods they do, even if they have been advised that
doing so may be unhealthy.
FOOD GROUPS
WHAT ARE THE BASIC FOOD GROUPS?
Breads, Cereal, Rice & Pasta
 Vegetables
 Fruits
 Milk & dairy products
 Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Nuts & Legumes
 Fats, Oils & Sweets

FOOD GROUPS
CEREALS & GRAINS

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible
components of their grain; composed of the endosperm,
germ, and bran.

Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and
provide more food energy worldwide than any other
type of crop; they are therefore “staple crops”.
TYPES OF GRAINS
1.

1.

Whole Grains refer to grains that have all of the parts
of the grain seed, (bran, germ & endosperm).
Examples: Brown bread & rice, maize, oat, barley,
millet
"Refined Grain” is processed grain when some of the
dietary fiber and other important nutrients are
removed.
Examples: Refined grains (white bread & rice, pasta,
noodles)
CEREALS AND GRAINS
TYPES OF GRAINS

Whole grains are a rich source of carbohydrates,
protein, fiber, fats & oils and a wide range of
vitamins and minerals including folate, thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin and iron.

However, when refined by the removal of the bran
and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly
carbohydrate and lacks the majority of the other
nutrients.
VEGETABLES

Vegetables comprise any plant part, other than fruit
which is used as food. They include;
i.
Roots and tubers (potatoes, turnips, carrots)
Bulbs s(onions)
Stems (Celery)
Leaves (Lettuce and cabbage)
Flowers (broccoli and cauliflower)
Peas and beans are legumes but when immature and
green are treated as vegetables.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
VEGETABLES
CELERY
VEGETABLES
FRUITS

In its strict botanical sense a ‘fruit’ is the fleshy or
dry ripened ovary of a plant enclosing the seed.

Fruit forms from the flower and contains the seeds of
the plant.

Some vegetables like tomatoes and pumpkin are the
fruit of the plant, but they are used as vegetables.
FRUITS

Fruit is a good source of vitamins, including vitamin
C and folate, carotenoids as well as useful amount of
potassium.

It also provides carbohydrates, in particular natural
sugars and fibre, especially in the edible skins.

The sugar that makes them sweet provides energy.
FRUITS
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

Milk, yoghurt and firm cheeses are the three
important foods in this group.

The foods in this group are an excellent source of
calcium.

Milk carries B group vitamins, particularly riboflavin
& vitamin B12, and the fat soluble vitamins A & D.
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

These foods are also a good source of fats and
protein, but is low in iron.

Lactose is the principal sugar in milk, and milk is
the only source of lactose in nature.

The lactose enhances the absorption of calcium and
phosphorus from the intestine.
MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS
MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS
NUTS & LEGUMES

There is a wide variety of foods in this group.

It consists of all kinds of meat, poultry, fish, eggs,
nuts and nut pastes such as peanut butter, legumes,
and some seeds such as sunflower and sesame seeds.

The foods in this group are a good source of protein,
iron, niacin and vitamin B12.
MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS,
NUTS & LEGUMES
NUTS AND SEEDS

Nuts and seeds have been valued for their oils as
much as for a food in itself; their high content of
energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals makes them a
very nutritious food.

The energy content of nuts is mostly due to their high
fat content.

Common types of nuts include almonds, walnuts,
Brazil nuts and hazelnuts. Sunflower, sesame, and
pumpkin are the most common seeds eaten as foods.
Some common "nuts", including walnuts, hazelnuts,
Brazil nuts, pecans, and almonds.
LEGUMES

Legumes are the edible seed from the Leguminosae
family and include dried peas, beans, lentils, pulses and
chick peas.

Of all foods, legumes most adequately meet the
recommended dietary guidelines for healthful eating.

They are high in carbohydrate and dietary fibre, mostly
low in fat, supply adequate protein while being a good
source of vitamins and minerals.
LEGUMES
FATS, OILS AND SWEETS

Fats, oils and sweets give us calories.

Fats, oils and sweets add flavor and variety to our
diets.

Most of these foods do not contain many vitamins or
minerals. So they are called "empty calorie" foods.
FATS, OILS AND SWEETS
CONCLUSION
The phrase "we are what we eat“ signifies that the composition of
our bodies is dependent in large measure on what we have
consumed.
THANK YOU