Understanding Nutrition and Key Nutrients

• Nutrition is the science of how the body uses food for energy, growth, and function.
• It includes ingestion, digestion, absorption, transport, metabolism, and storage of nutrients.
• Nutrition helps maintain health, prevent disease, and promote well-being.
• Health is an individual's overall physical, mental, and social well-being.

Key Nutritional Terms

• Nutrients are substances needed for energy, growth, and bodily functions that are classified into six:
  • Carbohydrates: Organic compounds that provide energy that are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.
  • Proteins: Made of amino acids, for tissue repair, growth, and immune function that are found in meats, beans, nuts, eggs, and dairy.
  • Fats: Lipids that store energy, protect organs, and support cells that are present in oils, butter, avocados, and fatty fish.
  • Vitamins: Organic compounds required in small amounts for biochemical processes like A for vision, D for bone health, and C for immune support.
  • Minerals: Inorganic substances for functions like calcium for bones, iron for oxygen transport, and potassium for nerve function.
  • Water: Vital for hydration, temperature regulation, and as a medium for chemical reactions.
• Metabolism is all chemical reactions converting food into energy via digestion, absorption, and nutrient usage.
• Calorie is a unit of energy needed by the body for basic functions and activity.
• Caloric Balance is where calorie intake equals energy expenditure with an imbalance affecting health.

Effects of Nutrition on Health

• Adequate nutrition prevents chronic diseases like:
  • Cardiovascular Disease: Follow a balanced diet to maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, and reduce heart disease risk.
  • Diabetes: Good nutrition helps manage blood sugar levels and can prevent type 2 diabetes.
  • Obesity: Avoid diets high in fats, sugars, and calories to prevent obesity, which is a risk factor for many health problems
  • Cancer: Increase certain dietary choices such as fruits and vegetables for antioxidants.
• Adequate nutrition supports growth and development like:
  • Childhood: Proper nutrition for growth, cognitive development, and immune function.
  • Pregnancy: Follow a balanced diet for the health of the mother and developing fetus to provide vitamins, minerals, and energy.
• Essential nutrients support the immune system to fight infections and recover from illnesses.
• Diets with whole foods, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline.
• Good nutrition maintains a healthy weight by balancing energy intake and expenditure, with a balanced diet and regular activity.

Balanced Diet and Food Groups

• It includes a variety of foods from all main food groups to ensure adequate nutrients for health:
  • Fruits and Vegetables: Aiming for at least five servings a day supports health and reduces disease risk.
  • Grains (especially whole grains): Provides carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals and are preferred over refined ones.
  • Protein Sources: Lean meats, fish, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Essential for muscle repair and immune function.
  • Dairy or Alternatives: Important for bone health due to calcium and Vitamin D.
  • Fats: Focus on healthy fats while limiting saturated and trans fats from processed foods.

Nutrition Intervention

• Proper nutrition and intervention can improve health outcomes on a population level by:
  • Public Health Initiatives to promote healthy eating habits by reducing intake of sugar and to promote physical activity.
  • Dietary Supplements may be recommended when someone cannot meet their nutritional needs through food alone
  • Personalized Nutrition: Advances in genomics and biotechnology are leading to more personalized nutrition plans
• A balanced diet ensures necessary nutrients for growth, disease prevention, energy production, and proper function.

Nutrition and Health

• Nutrition plays a key role in maintaining health, preventing diseases, and promoting well-being through essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, vitamins and minerals.
• Pharmacists play a key role in advising patients on healthy eating habits and supplement usage because drugs and their efficacy can be influenced by body's nutrition.

Basic Nutrients and Their Role

• Carbohydrates: Provide the body's energy to fuel cells, tissues, and organs broken down into glucose.
  • Simple carbohydrates are found in fruits, dairy, and refined foods.
  • Complex carbohydrates are found in whole grains, legumes, and vegetables.
  • Imbalance of refined sugars can lead to obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
• Proteins: They are essential for cell growth, repair, and immune function and made up of amino acids.
  • Sources include meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, and nuts.
  • Inadequate intake can result in muscle wasting, weakened immunity, and impaired growth.
• Fats: Provide energy, store fat-soluble vitamins, and function in cell membrane structure and brain function.
  • Saturated fats are found in animal products and oils, with excessive intake increasing cardiovascular risk.
  • Unsaturated fats are found in plant oils, nuts, and fatty fish and are considered heart-healthy.
  • Trans fats are found in partially hydrogenated oils, which are harmful and should be minimized.
  • An imbalanced consumption may contribute to heart disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
• Vitamins: They regulate biochemical processes, including metabolism, immune function, and cell repair.
  • Water-soluble vitamins (B vitamins, vitamin C) are required in daily amounts.
  • Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are stored in the body's fat and liver.
  • Deficiencies lead to diseases like scurvy, rickets, or anemia.
• Minerals: Crucial for bone health, oxygen transport, nerve function, and electrolyte balance like calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
  • Sources include dairy, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and meats.
  • Deficiencies lead to diseases like osteoporosis or iron-deficiency anemia.
• Water: Necessary for hydration, maintaining body temperature, nutrient transport, and waste elimination.
  • Dehydration leads to kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and cognitive dysfunction.

Nutritional Guidelines

• Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are recommended nutrients for healthy individuals.
  • It includes Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Adequate Intake (AI), Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), and Estimated Average Requirement (EAR).
• The Food Pyramid and MyPlate.
  • The Food Pyramid emphasized balance among food groups.
  • MyPlate is modern and visually represents balanced eating with specific focus on portion sizes.
• A balanced diet includes macronutrients, micronutrients, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins while limiting processed foods, added sugars, and fats.

Nutrition and Disease Prevention

• Proper nutrition reduces the risks of chronic conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
  • Following a diet that is rich in fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants can reduce cholesterol levels, inflammation, and promote heart health.
  • A Balance carbohydrate intake and high-fiber diet can regulate blood sugar and prevents insulin resistance.
  • From fruits and vegetables antioxidants may protect cells from oxidative damage reducing cancer risk.
• The Gut Microbiome (bacteria and microorganisms in the intestines) plays an essential role in digestion, immune health, and disease prevention.
  • Gut bacteria break down undigestible food components, and the fermentation creates butyrate, an energy source.
  • A large portion of the body’s immune system is in the gut, interacting with gut bacteria like inflammation or infections.
  • Gut microbiome competes with harmful pathogens and produces compounds that kill microorganisms, lowering the chance of disease.
  • The gut influences how the body metabolizes food which affects weight, fat storage, and energy balance.
  • There is a gut-brain axis where neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine play a role in mood regulation.

Dietary Impact

• Promote a healthy gut microbiome by consuming a diet high in fiber and fermented foods.
• Nutrition, combined with physical exercise can prevent obesity and related complications and is key in maintaining a healthy weight.
• Metabolic conditions can managed or prevented through dietary changes.

Impact of Nutrition on Pharmacology and Drug Therapy

• There are drug interactions that can be either influenced or reduced by foods, medications and/or nutrients:
  • Nutrient-Drug Interactions can affect nutrient absorption, metabolism, or utilization.
  • Certain antibiotics interfere with vitamin K, while antacids reduce the absorption of iron and calcium. Conversely, high-fat meals may enhance statin absorption.
  • Vitamin K interacts with blood thinners to act as a key role in blood clotting, where warfarin inhibits Vitamin K, thus preventing excessive clothing.
  • Calcium and Antibiotics reduces antibiotic effectiveness when calcium binds to certain antibiotics, such as tetracycline, by not allowing its proper absorption in the digestive system
  • Folate and Methotrexate, folate deficiency increases higher risk of mouth sores or anemia.
  • Magnesium and Diuretics increases the excretion of magnesium, causing symptoms such as muscle cramps, weakness, or irregular heart rhythms which must be prescribed by a doctor.
  • Grapefruit and Statins the enzyme, CYP3A4, is inhibited by Grapefruit which results in an increase of statins concentration in the blood.
  • Iron and Coffee/Tea the tannins can interfere with absorption of iron, leading to lower levels.
  • Consuming Vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron which is found in plant-based foods such as citrus.
  • The use of supplements must be monitored to avoid overuse and interactions.
• Individual genetics can influence genetics, diet, and drugs which is important for personalized medicine.
• Healthcare providers need to be aware of diet and medication interactions, in order to prevent negative outcomes, or side effects.
• Nutritional supplements use must be monitored for safety, especially when vitamins, herbs, or minerals are combined with prescriptions.

Explore the science of nutrition, covering how the body utilizes food for energy, growth, and overall function. Learn about key nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and their roles in maintaining health and preventing disease. Discover the importance of vitamins and their specific functions in the body.