The 6 Nutrients
Essential Compounds for
Health
Nutrients
 Nutrients are substances obtained from food and
used by the body to promote growth, maintenance,
and repair.
 Nutrients are essential for human survival.
 There are 6 classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats,
protein, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Energy Yielding Nutrients
 Carbohydrates, fats, and protein are energy yielding
nutrients.
 These three nutrients contain calories.
Fat
25%
Diet
 Carbohydrates= 4 calories/gram
 Protein = 4 calories/gram
 Fat = 9 calories/gram
Protein
15%
Carb
60%
 If your body does not burn the energy made by these
nutrients then your body stores the energy as fat for later use.
 Your diet should consist of about 60% carbohydrates, 15%
protein and 25% fat.
Energy-Yielding kcal
 Calories—A Unit of Energy
 Small calorie (cal) vs. Large calorie (kcal)
 A calorie(cal) is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one gram of water one degree Celcius.

For example, a carrot contains 30,000 calories (small calories)
 A large calorie (kcal), is the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celcius.

For example, a carrot contains 30 kilocalories (kcal)
To simplify for general population, we refer to kilocalories as “calories”
Non-Energy Yielding Nutrients
 Vitamins, minerals, and water do not supply
calories and are referred to as non-energy yielding.
 Vitamins are organic compounds (they contain
carbon) that help regulate the release of energy and
other aspects of metabolism.
 Vitamins are divided into two classes: water
soluble (the B vitamins and vitamin C) and fat
soluble (vitamins A, D, E & K).
Non-Energy Yielding Nutrients
 Minerals are inorganic compounds (do not contain
carbon) that make up parts of your body (like bones
and teeth) and perform various body functions.
 Water carries materials to and from cells. It provides
the warm, nutrient rich bath that cells need to
thrive.
 Vitamins and minerals are found in minute (very
small) amounts in foods. Food can contain very little
water (5% in almonds) to almost all water (96% in
lettuce).
My Plate (Pyramid) & Nutrients
 Most foods contain a blend of all the nutrients, however some
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areas of My Plate provide more of certain nutrients than
others.
Grains: good source of carbohydrates.
Vegetables: good source of vitamins, carbohydrates and water.
Fruits: good source of vitamins, carbohydrates and water.
Meat and beans: good source of protein, minerals, and fat.
Dairy: good source of protein, minerals, and fat.