The Nutrients
Nutrition and Wellness
Fall 2009
** Attached Vocab List and notes
What are they?
• Nutrients: are chemical substances from
food, which the body uses to function
properly.
• Your blood stream absorbs nutrients after
consumption.
The Nutrients
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
Minerals
Vitamins
Water
Why do we need to know about
them?
• Each nutrient performs a special function in
the body.
• You get different nutrients from different
foods.
• Need to learn how to eat a variety of foods
to get all nutrients.
Carbohydrates.
Carbs in a Nut Shell!
• Major source of energy
• Most come from plants
• 3 kinds of carbs:
– Sugars
– Starches
– Fiber
Simple Carbohydrates
• Sugar!
• Found in milk, fruit, candy, and cookies.
• Your body can use some right away for
energy….stores excess sugars to later use.
– IMPORTANT! This is why too much sugar can
cause weight gain…storage=excess body
Complex Carbs - Starch
• Starches and Fiber
• Cereals, bread, rice, pasta, and starchy
vegetables (potatoes for example) all
contain starch.
• You body has to convert these items into
simple sugars before digestion.
• Nutrition experts say that people should get more
than ½ of their daily calories from complex carbs!
Complex Carbs - Fiber
• Body cannot digest fiber
• Needed in your diet!
• Provides “roughage” that stimulates the
normal activity of your intestines.
• Fiber moves food through your body!
Some EXCESS info…
• Extra carbs are stored as glycogen.
• Glycogen is stored in your body for times
when you need a quick burst of energy
• Excess carbs that are not stored as glycogen
then turn into fat
• You need to eat carbs EVERYDAY! A diet low in carbs
will not provide you with the energy that you need!
Assignment
• Worksheets 9, 10, and 11!
Proteins
Proteins in a Nut Shell!
• Proteins: nutrient found in every cell in your
body.
• Needed for: growth, maintenance, and
repair of body tissues
• Made up of amino acids
More info!
• Body uses proteins to produce enzymes and
hormones
• Help maintain chemical balance in body
• Builds antibodies to fight infection
How much protein do I need?
• Need extra when you are recovering from
an injury or illness
• Need extra when you are growing
• Without enough protein growth is stunted!
• As you leave growth spurts you will need
less protein
• Never outgrow the need for protein!!
Complete Protein
• Complete Protein: supply all the amino acids
your body needs.
• Usually found in foods that come from
animals.
• Meat
• Poultry
• Fish
• Milk
• Cheese
• Eggs
Incomplete Proteins
• Incomplete proteins: contain some but NOT all
of the amino acids your body needs.
• Usually found in plant sources.
• Dried beans
• Peas
• Nuts
• Use a combo of foods to complete amino acids
• EX. Pasta with cheese
Assignment
• Worksheets 12 and 13
• Also read vegetarian article and do
assignment attached.
• Vegetarian Article
Fats
• Fats are concentrated sources of food
energy.
• Belong to a larger group called lipids
(includes fats and oils)
– Provide twice as much energy per unit of
weight as carbs and proteins
– Stored not only for energy but also for
insulation and protection
Fats Continued….
• All lipids contain Fatty Acids.
• Fatty acids- Chemical chains that contain,
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
• Different types of fatty acids contain
different amounts of hydrogen atoms.
• Saturated Fatty Acids
• Unsaturated Fatty Acids
Saturated Fats
• The “Bad Fats Brothers”
• http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jh
tml?identifier=3055399
• Solid at room temperature.
• Usually food from an animal source. (meat,
cheese, ect.)
• Take a look at common foods and the amount of fat
in them!!!
Unsaturated Fats
• “The Better Fats Sisters”
• http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml
?identifier=3055399
• Liquid at room temperature.
• Mostly food from plant sources.
– Unsaturated because doesn’t have as many
hydrogen atoms as it can possibly hold
– Monounsaturated fats =missing 1 hydrogens
– Polyunsaturated fats= missing 2 or more hydrogens
More Info about Fats
• Hydrogenation- adds hydrogen atoms to
unsaturated fatty acids.
• This process turns the liquid oils into more
highly saturated solid fats.
• This creates Trans Fatty Acids (Trans Fat)
– These are fatty acids with odd molecular
shapes.
– Usually found in shortening and margarine.
• What products would contain a lot of trans fat?
Cholesterol
• Cholesterol – Fatlike substance found in every
cell in the body.
• Serves several important functions:
– Part of skin tissue
– Aids in transportation of fatty acids in the body
– Helps produce hormones
– 2 Types: Dietary, and Blood Cholesterol
– Dietary = food of animal origins
– Blood cholesterol circulates through your body in the
bloodstream
– High levels of Blood cholesterol can be dangerous!
Deficiencies and Excesses
•
•
•
•
Deficiencies are very rare in the US.
Excesses are VERY Common in the US!!
Leads to being overweight
Which then leads to numerous health
problems!
The Minerals
• Minerals- Inorganic substances that make
up 4% of your body weight.
• Become part of the bones, soft tissue, and
body fluids.
• Body needs at least 21 minerals for good
health
Macrominerals
• Minerals needed in the diet in amounts of
100 or more milligrams each day
Calcium
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Sodium
Potassium
Chlorine
Calcium
•
•
•
•
The body’s most common nutrient
Mostly found in bones and teeth
Calcium helps make bones stronger
Also helps with blood clotting and keeps
heart and nerves functioning properly
• Milk and milk products provide the best sources of
calcium
• Supplements may be used but experts recommend
getting calcium intake through food is best.
Calcium Deficiency
• Osteoporosis- when bones are weakened
from the lack of calcium intake and become
porous and brittle.
• Afflicts millions in the US.
• Women are most commonly affected
because they have less bone mass then men
Phosphorus
• 2nd most common nutrient in the body
• Works with calcium to give strength to the
bones
• Helps build bones and teeth, aids the body
in storing and releasing energy, helps the
body use other nutrients
• Found in meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and soda
• An excess can pull calcium from the bones causing
problems
Magnesium
• Helps the body use proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates to produce energy
• Helps regulate temperature and keeps
nervous system functioning properly
• Helps muscles contract
• Whole grains, nuts, beans, meat, and dark
leafy vegetables supply magnesium
• Magnesium deficiencies often occur in alchoholics,
because of low functioning kidneys
Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium
• These minerals work as a “team”
• Most of these minerals are found in blood
plasma, and other fluids outside the cells.
• They work together to control osmosis.
– Osmosis- process whereby fluids flow in and
out of the cells through the cell walls.
**Write in vocab list!!
Deficiencies and Excesses
• Sodium and chloride deficiencies are rare
• Potassium deficiencies are quite common,
but symptoms are not always seen.
Cramping is a common symptom of
deficiencies.
– Excesses of sodium can lead to hypertension or
high blood pressure
The Trace Elements
• The body contains very small amounts of
trace elements. Some are very import for
good health but most Americans don’t have
a problem getting enough.
Iron
Zinc
Iodine
Fluorine
Iron
•
•
•
•
Body contains about 4g of Iron
Usually in the blood
Combines with protein to form Hemoglobin
Takes oxygen from the lungs and carries it to
cells throughout the body
• Women and young babies most commonly
suffer from Iron deficiencies -- Anemia
• Found in liver, meat, and egg yolks, leafy green
vegetables, legumes, and enriched grains
Zinc
• Helps enzymes perform their functions.
• Helps wounds heal and aids the functioning of
the immune system
• Helps with the development and growth of
children
• Deficiencies can lead to poor night vision, poor
wound healing, impaired taste. Can be
overdosed.
• Meat, poultry, seafood, legumes, and whole grains are a
good source of zinc.
Iodine
• The thyroid gland stores 1/3 of the body’s
iodine – helps regulate the rate at which the
body uses energy
• If a diet does not contain enough iodine can
lead to goiters.
– Needed also for development, may lead to
mental retardation of infants if there is a
deficiency
– Seafood, seaweed, and iodized salt are good
sources of iodine.
Goiter picture
Fluorine
• Found mostly in the bones and teeth
• Commonly eaten foods contain little
fluorine
• Found mostly in toothpaste, and naturally in
water in some geographical areas.
Assignment
• Worksheet 21 and Twister 15
Vitamins
• Vitamins- Complex organic substances.
• Need them in small amounts for normal
growth, maintenance, and reproduction.
• Your body does not usually produce the
vitamins that you need, so you must get
them through your diet to maintain your
health.
• 2 main types of vitamins are:
– Fat-Soluble vitamins
– Water-Soluble vitamins
The 2 Types of Vitamins
• Fat-Soluble: Dissolve in Fats
– Carried by the fats in foods and can be stored in the
fatty tissues of the body.
– Can build up and may reach dangerous levels in the
body.
• Water-Soluble: Dissolve in water.
– Body does not store them.
– Excesses are released in your urine.
– Still may be harmful to consume too many vitamins!!!!!
– May lead to Toxicity 0r poisoning
Vitamin A
• Fat – Soluble vitamin
• Used to make a chemical compound the
eyes need to adapt to darkness.
• Promotes normal growth of bones and
teeth.
• Vitamin A aids in the health of skin.
– Found in: liver, egg yolk, whole milk, fortified
dairy products, butter, fish oils, and dark
colored vegetables.
Excesses and Deficiencies
• Rare to have and excess, but taking too
many vitamin supplements may lead to
fatigue, headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
• Too little Vitamin A can lead to night
blindness.
• Night blindness is a reduced ability to see in
dim light.
Vitamin D
• Promotes growth and proper
mineralization of bones and teeth.
• Is a “team” with calcium and phosphorus
• Found in eggs, liver, and fatty fish, also
fortified in most milk, cereals, and
margarine.
• Body can also produce Vitamin D when exposed to
sunlight
• Some actually call Vitamin D the “Sunshine Vitamin”
Deficiencies and Excesses
• If the body doesn’t get enough Vitamin D
the body may not be able to use calcium,
and phosphorus as it should.
• Children with a Vitamin D deficiency may
develop Rickets.
• Rickets includes crooked legs and odd
shaped breast bones
• The body will store extra Vitamin D and if allowed to
build up over time then could cause problems to
kidneys, lungs, and damage bones
Vitamin E
• Mostly known as Dietary Antioxidant.
• Substance in foods that significantly reduces the
harmful effects of oxygen on normal body functions.
• Acts as a barrier for mucous membranes.
• Found easily in everyday food consumption. Usually
found in fats, oils, whole grain bread, cereals, liver, eggs,
whole milk, dairy foods, and leafy green vegetables.
• Not many people are at a risk for deficiencies. There is a chance
that premature babies may not have developed enough and my
have problems.
• Excesses are rare, but people that use too many supplements may
have a higher risk of hemorrhaging.
Vitamin K
• The blood-Clotting Vitamin
• Bacteria in the intestinal tract can make
vitamin K
• Leafy green vegetables, cauliflower,
vegetables, organ meats, and egg yolks.
• Deficiencies and excesses are not common.
Vitamin C
• Water – soluble vitamin
• Ascorbic acid
• Formation and maintenance of collagen (part
of connective tissue)
• Helps the body fight infections
• Found in fresh fruits and vegetables
• Need a daily supply because excesses are
washed out through system
– Deficiencies may lead to scurvy – weakness,
bleeding gums, tooth loss, and internal bleeding
B-Complex Vitamins
• Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6, Folate,
Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, and Biotin.
• All are water – soluble
• All work as a team to perform specific jobs
in the body.
Water
• The body must have water to function.
• People can only live about 2 days without
water
• Between 50 and 75% of your body is made of
water
• Aids in digestion and cell growth, and
maintenance
• Water lubricates the joints and body cells
Water Intake
• Take your weight…divide that by 2
• That is how many ounces of water you need
each day
• People who are ill need to drink more water
and if you are sweating or in the sun you
need more water.
ASSIGNMENT
• Worksheets 20, 27, 36
The End!!!!