Nutrition and Health Quiz

Exam Information

• A calculator is required for midterms and final exams
• Midterm: 2 hours, 80 multiple choice questions
• Final: 3 hours, 100 multiple choice questions

Learning Goals

• Explain the importance of nutrition for health
• Describe factors affecting food choices
• Name and sub-classify the six major nutrient classes
• Calculate energy content of nutrients
• Define Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI), EER, and AMDR, and explain their purposes
• Explain how dietary ideals and Canada's Food Guide are used for healthy diets
• Understand how to evaluate food labels for dietary and health goals

What is Nutrition?

• The science of foods and nutrients (including phytochemicals)
• Foods provide energy and nutrients (macronutrients and micronutrients)
• Energy and nutrients support bodily functions (maintenance, growth, and repair)

Why is Nutrition Important?

• Nutrition is a key factor contributing to overall health
• Factors like exercise, environment (smoking, pollution, stress, alcohol) also affect health
• Nutrition can prevent diseases and reduce risks (e.g., colon cancer, osteoporosis)

Wellness Wheel

• A tool to assess all aspects of wellness
• Physical health: achieved through smart diet and activity choices
• Social health: connecting with others in the community
• Spiritual health: establishing peace and harmony in daily life
• Emotional health: understanding and managing emotions
• Occupational health: fulfilling in job/work

Nutritional Choices and Health

• Individual daily choices may have limited immediate impact
• Cumulative effects of choices over years have a large impact on overall wellness
• Positive choices enhance health, while poor choices increase the risk for disease

The Health Line

• A continuum of health states (from optimal wellness to death)
• Health can fall anywhere along this continuum based on external factors and personal choices

Diseases and Nutrition

• Certain diseases have a strong nutritional component (e.g., osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity)
• Nutritional deficiencies and toxicities can cause diseases, as seen in scurvy, iron-deficiency anemia, and hypercalcemia.

Health Care Professional Role

• Healthcare professionals have a unique role in promoting positive health behaviors
• Educating clients about positive health behaviors and choices is important
• Should serve as role models for healthy behaviors

Food Choices

• Many factors affect food choices, not just nutrition (e.g., taste, habit, emotions, ethics, religion, social interactions, marketing, convenience, age, body image, medical conditions)

Health and Nutrition

• Food manufacturers and restaurants respond to health concerns
• Utilizing naturally-healthy foods; processing to reduce sodium/fat
• Development of foods that offer health benefits (functional foods)

The Nutrients

• Six classes: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water
• Carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins produce energy for bodily functions
• Vitamins and minerals aid in metabolism and other bodily processes
• Water is essential for all bodily processes

Nutrient Subclasses

• Organic vs. inorganic
• Essential vs. non-essential
• Macronutrient vs. micronutrient
• Energy producing vs. non-energy producing

Organic vs. Inorganic Nutrients

• Organic nutrients contain carbon
• Inorganic nutrients do not contain carbon (e.g., water, minerals)

Essential vs. Non-essential Nutrients

• Essential nutrients cannot be made by the body
• Non-essential nutrients can be made by the body

Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients

• Macronutrients are needed in large amounts (grams)
• Micronutrients are needed in small amounts (mg or µg)

Energy-producing vs. Non-energy-producing Nutrients

• Energy-producing nutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins) produce energy through metabolism
• Non-energy-producing nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and water) aid in processes

What is Food Energy?

• Food energy is the chemical energy released from foods
• Measured in kilocalories (kcal)
• 1 kcal: amount of energy to raise 1 kg of water by 1°C

Wilbur Olin Atwater

• Pioneer in studying kilocalories related to food consumption
• Used caloric measurement to evaluate food quality and determine nutrient content

Macronutrient Energy Contributions

• Carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 kcal/g
• Fats provide 9 kcal/g
• Alcohol provides 7 kcal/g

Calculating Food Energy

• Calculation of the energy provided by different foods based on carbohydrate, protein, and fat content

Carbohydrates

• Primary energy source (particularly for the brain)
• Found in vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes

Lipids

• Another source of energy
• Important for other bodily functions
• Found in oils, butter, animal fats, dairy products

Proteins

• Essential for growth, repair, and maintenance
• Can be used as energy source
• Obtained from meat, poultry, fish

Vitamins

• Essential for regulating biological processes
• Water-soluble and fat-soluble
• Sensitive to heat or chemical changes

Minerals

• Essential for regulating many bodily functions
• Major minerals and trace minerals
• Indestructable (not sensitive to heat or chemical changes)

Vitamins and Minerals

• Involved in various bodily processes (e.g., metabolism, oxidative protection, blood health, bone health)

Water

• A nutrient
• Supports all bodily functions

Nutrition and Health

• Determining nutrient needs based on individual characteristics: energy balance, body composition, physical activity, pregnancy/lactation, and different developmental stages
• Importance of proper nutrition in healthcare systems and use of nutrition as treatment therapy

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)

• Table defining the desired range of amounts of energy and nutrients
• DRIs used to plan and assess diets

EAR (Estimated Average Requirement)

• Minimum amount to maintain body functions in half of the population
• Based on sex, age, weight, height, physical activity

RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)

• Set above EAR to ensure most of the population meets their dietary intake needs

AI (Adequate Intake)

• Used when scientific evidence is not sufficient to establish an RDA
• Represents the "best guess" based on scientific judgment

UL (Tolerable Upper Intake Level)

• Maximum amount deemed safe from toxicity
• Intake above this level could increase the chance of adverse health effects

Dietary Guidelines

• Health Canada’s Food Guide: simplified guidelines for eating healthy
• Organized by food groups

Food Labels

• Evaluate food information to make informed choices
• Reference Daily Values (DV) guide selections
• Recognize nutrient and health claims on food labels using Canadian guidelines

Using DRIs

• Application of the various DRIs to assess individual diets
• Information to evaluate individual needs for appropriate intake

Estimated Energy Requirement (EER)

• Predicts the amount of energy intake for healthy adults
• Based on age, sex, weight, height, and activity level

Practice Problems

• Several examples for applying formulas to estimate different individuals' EER (Estimated Energy Requirement)

Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDRs)

• Ranges of intakes for energy-producing nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, protein)
• Ensure adequate energy and nutrients and reduce risk of chronic disease
• Examples: carbohydrate 45-65%, fat 20-35%, and protein 10-35% of daily kilocalorie intake

Who to Trust for Dietary Advice?

• Registered dietitians, professionals with advanced degrees, and qualified medical/nursing professionals.
• Avoid self-diagnosing or treating any health concern with dietary advice alone