Nutrition Class Flashcards

Nutrition Concepts

• Nutrition: The organic process of nourishing or being nourished, essential for maintaining life and health.
• Foods: Substances derived from plants or animals that provide energy and nutrients for life maintenance, growth, and tissue repair.
• Diet: The specific foods and beverages consumed by an individual.

Nutrients and Their Nature

• Functional foods: Foods that offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
• Phytochemicals: Non-nutrient chemicals in plant-based foods that positively impact the body.
• Nutrients: Essential substances that provide nourishment necessary for growth and life maintenance.
• Essential nutrients: Substances that must be obtained through diet as the body cannot synthesize them.

Energy and Metabolism

• Energy: The capacity of a system to perform work; critical for bodily functions.
• Calories: Units measuring the energy provided by food and consumed by the body.
• Metabolism: The process through which nutrients are broken down to yield energy and support bodily functions and structures.
• Energy density: The amount of energy released per gram of food, measured in kilocalories.

Vitamins and Minerals

• Vitamins: Organic nutrients required in small amounts for health.
• Minerals: Inorganic elements that may be essential nutrients required in small quantities.

Research Methodology

• Blind experiment: Participants are unaware of their group assignment (experimental vs. control) to eliminate bias.
• Control group: The baseline group not receiving the treatment, used for comparison to gauge treatment effects.
• Double-blind study: Both participants and researchers are unaware of who receives the treatment or placebo, reducing bias.
• Experimental group: The group that receives the treatment, involved in assessing the effect of an independent variable.
• Peer review: A process where experts evaluate research proposals to ensure quality and credibility.
• Placebo: An inert treatment given to assess the psychological effect rather than physiological impact.
• Randomization: A method of assigning subjects to groups randomly to enhance the validity of the results.
• Replication: Testing the reliability of findings by repeating experiments under similar conditions.

Study Design and Variables

• Subjects: Individuals or animals observed in a study to gather data.
• Theory: A hypothesis supported by extensive data and testing.
• Validity: The degree to which research findings are based on accurate facts or evidence.
• Variables: Factors that can change or vary in the course of an experiment, impacting the results.

Nutritional Guidelines

• Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): A set of guidelines estimating nutrient needs, including Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and Adequate Intake (AI).
• Deficient: Describes a state of inadequate supply or amount of necessary nutrients.
• Adequate Intake (AI): The estimated average nutrient intake level considered sufficient when scientific data is limited.