Essential Nutrients and Healthy Eating Habits

• Objective is to explain the essential nutrients and why we need them and discuss common digestive and nutritional health concerns

Molecules

• Molecules are important, components are used to synthesize new molecules needed by the body.
• Food eaten, especially carbohydrates, supplies energy for cellular processes.

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) are important in small quantities for our metabolic needs.

Diet

• A diet must supply raw materials, energy, vitamins, and minerals.

Eating Habits

• Moderation in eating is the key.
• Vegetables, fruits, grains, and fiber-rich food should make up the bulk of the diet.
• Meat products should be eaten in controlled amounts.
• Limit sweets, sugary desserts, and sodas or avoid completely.

Healthy Diet

• A healthy diet must contain essential nutrients.
• Essential nutrients are molecules the bodies cannot make even with enough raw materials.
• They are called essential because they must be obtained in preassembled forms from the diet.

Essential Nutrients (Fatty Acids)

• Linoleic acids are necessary for phospholipid membranes.
• When obtained readily from vegetables, seeds, and grains, linoleic acid deficiencies are seldom recorded.
• Fat deficiency can accelerate several health problems and fat deficiency diseases.
• Most health problems from fat deficiency can be treated or managed with the supplementation of the essential fat.
• Fat deficiency effects can be seen in lipid profile, skin, mental, and heart health.

Essential Nutrients (Amino Acids)

• Proteins are built from 20 amino acids, but the body only synthesizes 11 of these by itself.
• The other 9 amino acids must be obtained from diet.
• Nine amino acids—histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine—are not synthesized by mammals.
• Nine amino acids are therefore dietarily essential or indispensable nutrients.
• A lack of amino acids can lead to problems creating proteins, resulting in protein deficiency.
• Meat and dairy products such as eggs and milk contain all amino acids to help assist with this problem
• Vegetarians can get all the essential amino acids by combining different food types, examples being beans and corn or legumes and grains.

Malnutrition and Undernutrition

• In today's age, a big number of people, mostly children, still die from hunger although food is readily available.
• Some people cannot afford to have healthy food, such as fruits and vegetables, even when food seems affordable.
• This is the reason for malnutrition and undernutrition
• Even obese people can be malnourished if the diet lacks or has excess calories or one or more essential nutrients.
• Malnutrition can be caused by a diet mostly consisting of carbohydrates from sodas and junk foods, which is not uncommon, has little nutrients.
• Malnutrition can occur in infants whose diet is switched from pure breastmilk to mostly starch or other carbohydrates.
• Malnutrition can cause developmental problems.

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamins are organic compounds needed by the body in minute amounts.
• Minerals are inorganic compounds needed in very small quantities.

Vitamin Examples

• Fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K
• Water-soluble vitamins: Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic acid (B5), Pyridoxine (B6), Biotin (B7), Folate (B9), Cobalamin (B12), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Mineral Examples

• Macro-minerals: Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus
• Trace elements: Sulfur, Iron, Chlorine, Cobalt, Copper, Zinc, Molybdenum, lodine, Selenium

Nutrition Label

• The 4 sections on a nutrition label are serving information and calories and nutrients and the quick guide
• Calories provide a measure of how much energy gained from a serving of food, for example, 280 calories in lasagna
• If the entire package of 4 servings is consumed, the total would be 1,120 calories.
• Limit nutrients such as Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars.
• Consume enough Dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron
• The % Daily Value (%DV) is the percentage of the Daily Value for each nutrient in a serving of the food
• It shows how much a nutrient in a serving of a food contributes to a total daily diet and can help determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient.