Health, Nursing, and Nutrition Basics

Health and Nutrition

• Health is the extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations and satisfy needs and change or cope with the environment.
• Health is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but the complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

Nursing

• Nursing is a caring profession that practices with an earnest concern for the art of care and the science of health.

Nutrition

• Nutrition is the process by which an animal or plant takes in and utilizes food substances.
• A nutritionist is a professional who advises people on how to live a healthy lifestyle and achieve health-related goals.

Nutrients

• Nutrients are compounds in foods essential to life and health, providing energy, building blocks for repair and growth, and substances necessary to regulate chemical processes.
• Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism.

Nutrition Concepts

• Nutrition is the science that interprets the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health, and disease of an organism.
• It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism, and excretion.
• Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle, and can help reduce the risk of certain diseases.

Importance of Nutrition

• Nutrition plays a critical role in human resource development, as deficiencies in essential nutrients lead to malnutrition, affecting an individual's mental and physical state.
• A well-nourished, healthy workforce is a pre-condition for sustainable development.

History of Nutrition

• The concept of metabolism was discovered in 1770 by Antoine Lavoisier, the "Father of Nutrition and Chemistry".
• Carl von Voit is considered the "father" of modern dietetics.

Nursing Theories and Nutrition

• Abraham Maslow postulated the Hierarchy of Basic Human Needs, which includes physiologic needs, and nutrition is a key component of these needs.
• Virginia Henderson identified fourteen components of basic nursing needs, including nutrition.
• Faye Glenn Abdellah identified twenty-one key nursing problems related to health needs, including nutrition.

Classification of Nutrients

• Nutrients can be grouped into two categories: macronutrients and micronutrients.