Human Nutrition Essentials Quiz

Nutrition Class Notes

• September 6th, 2024: 4 master chef activities, first due October 1st; 2 midterms, 15% each.

Introduction to Nutrition

• Nutrition: How an organism acquires and uses food to survive.
• Human Nutrition: Study of nutrients and how the body uses them.
• Nutritional Genomics: Sister discipline of human nutrition.

What is Food?

• Food: Nutrients and substances supporting organismal functions, but an amalgam of nutrients, not just vitamins/minerals.
• Essential Nutrients: Nutrients the body can't synthesize in sufficient quantities, and deficiency can lead to disease or death.
• Non-Nutrients: Substances in food with health benefits (e.g., antioxidants).
• Energy-Yielding Nutrients: Carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.

The Challenge of Choosing Food

• Processed vs. Whole Foods: Choices influenced by social networks, convenience, emotions, beliefs, and cost.
• Cooking Skills: Lack of knowledge hinders healthy eating choices, despite good intentions.

Cooking

• Decline in Cooking: A trend toward less home cooking due to time constraints.
• Importance of Cooking: Food safety, discipline, and organization in cooking are important.

Nutrient Standards and Guidelines

• Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI): Quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes, used for planning and assessing diets for health.
• Food Guides: Support DRI and help make informed food choices.
• DRI Objectives: Prevent deficiencies and chronic diseases, and ensure safe supplement use and food fortification.

Estimated Average Requirements (EAR)

• Defined: Average daily intake that meets the needs of half of the people in a gender or age group, based on body diagnostics.
• Requirement, not Recommendation: Not a suggestion, rather a measurement of adequacy.

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)

• Defined: Average intake to meet the needs of 98% of people in a gender or age group.
• Calculation: Based on the EAR multiplied by a factor.

Adequate Intake (AI)

• Defined: Intake level of healthy people in a certain age and gender group.

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

• Defined: Maximum daily intake considered safe for most healthy people.
• Purpose: Avoid overdosing and mitigate risks from high intake.

Energy and Macronutrients

• Estimated Energy Requirements (EER): Individualized caloric intake necessary to maintain energy balance.
• Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR): Range of intakes for energy-yielding nutrients, aiding in preventing chronic diseases.

Who Uses DRIs?

• Registered Dietitians: Nutrition experts who advise clients.
• General Practitioners: Refer patients when needed.
• Food Industry: Provides information regarding nutrition fact labelling.

Major Food Groups

• Grains: Include cereal grains, such as wheat, corn, oats, rice, and barley. The germ, endosperm, and bran are the main parts of the grain.
• Milk & Alternatives: Foods rich in calcium, protein, and other nutrients.
• Meat & Alternatives: Rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, including beans, peas, lentils, and other related foods.
• Vegetables & Fruits: Rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, including vegetables, fruits, and 100% fruit juice/ vegetable juice.

Basic Chemistry and Organ Systems

• Matter: Anything that occupies space.
• Atoms: Smallest unit of matter.
• Molecules: Combination of atoms.
• Compounds: Molecules with two or more different elements.
• Solutions: Homogenous mixtures of solute and solvent.
• Solubility: Ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent.
• Enzymes: Proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions in the body
• pH Scale: Represents acidity/alkalinity (scale from 0-14).
• Digestive System: Breakdown and absorption of nutrients needed by the body.
• Circulatory System: Transports digested nutrients throughout the body.

Digestions and Absorption of Carbohydrates

• Steps: Digestion starts in the mouth, continues in the small intestine where various enzymes break down carbohydrates, into monosaccharides, mainly glucose.
• Disorders: Lactose intolerance is inability to digest lactose, that leads to gas and abdominal discomfort.

Carbohydrates and Disease

• Hyperglycemia: Increased blood glucose after a carbohydrate-rich meal and is a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Types, Digestion, and Absorption of Lipids

• Fatty Acids: Basic structural units of lipids.
• Triglycerides: Most common form of lipid in food (fat) and in the body.
• Phospholipids: Important components of cell membranes.
• Cholesterol: A sterol important for various bodily functions.
• Digestion/Absorption Steps: Begins in the mouth, where fats are melted and broken down. Continues in the small intestine aided by enzymes released by the pancreas and gallbladder to break down lipids into fatty acids that can be absorbed into the blood stream.
• Disorders: Cardiovascular disease, a major health problem linked to elevated LDL cholesterol levels.

Lipoproteins

• Lipoproteins: Transport particles containing lipids, protein, and cholesterol.
• Types: chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL, and HDL, each carrying various lipid and protein proportions.

Lipids, Diseases, and DRIs

• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD): Inflammation of blood vessels, leading to plaque and possible heart attacks/strokes.
• Reducing CVD Risk: Limiting fat intake, increasing omega-3 intake, and managing lifestyle.

Proteins:

• Amino Acids: Building blocks of proteins.
• Peptide Bonds: Chemical bonds that connect amino acids.
• Protein Synthesis: Making proteins based on genetic instructions from DNA.
• Protein Functions: Structural, enzyme, hormone, transport, etc.
• Protein Turnover: Constant recycling of proteins within the body.
• Nitrogen Balance: Intake - Losses, with equilibrium ideal for healthy adults.

Protein Digestion and Absorption

• Stomach: initial break down of proteins to peptides.
• Small Intestine: Enzymes released to break down peptides into single amino acids and absorption.

Protein Turnover and Nitrogen Balance

• Protein Turnover: Recycling of protein; essential for daily functions;
• Nitrogen Balance: Maintaining protein equilibrium; important indicator of health, especially during growth or periods of injury/illness.

Protein and Diseases

• Allergies: Immune response to certain proteins in food (or environment).
• Celiac Disease: Immune response to gluten (certain proteins in grains); involves damage to the small intestines.

Protein in Food and DRIs

• EAR/RDA: Recommended amounts of protein based on body weight and individual needs.
• Intake Increases: During pregnancy, breast-feeding, childhood, recovery from illness, and injuries.

High Quality Protein

• Amino Acid Content: Must have sufficient amounts of all 9 essential amino acids needed by the body

Vitamins

• Water-Soluble Vitamins: Dissolved in water, not stored; required daily intake.
• Fat-Soluble Vitamins: Dissolved in fat, stored in the body; less need for daily intake.

Minerals

• Major Minerals: Needed in larger quantities; regulate crucial bodily functions; e.g., Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, & Potassium, etc.
• Trace Minerals: Needed in smaller quantities; important for metabolism/structure/regulation; e.g., Iron, Zinc, Fluoride, Iodide, etc.

Water

• Importance: Crucial for metabolism, nutrient transport, temperature regulation, and waste elimination.
• Balance: Controlled through fluid intake/loss, electrolytes, and kidneys.
• Osmosis: Movement of water through a semi-permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to high.

Test your knowledge on essential nutrients, energy-yielding nutrients, and the role of non-nutrients in human nutrition. This quiz explores the relationship between nutrition and psychology, digestion processes, and modern cooking habits. Evaluate your understanding of how the digestive and circulatory systems work together along with other key concepts in nutrition.