notes/education/nutrition/Nutrients.md

Nutrients are the life sustaining substances found in food.

• Necessary for growth, maintenance, and repair.
• Source of raw elements the body uses to carry out activities (oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and calcium).

There are 6 nutrients:

• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Carbs
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Water

A macronutrient is a nutrient the body requires in large quantities, whereas a micronutrient is a nutrient the body requires in small quantities.

Macronutrients	Micronutrients
Carbs	Vitamins
Lipids	Minerals
Proteins

Nutrients are used for:

• Growth and development
• Energy
• Regulation of processes

Nutrients will typically have more than one role in the body.

Essential Nutrients

A nutrient is classified as essential if:

• It must be supplied by food, because the body cannot create it in sufficient quantities
• If the nutrient is missing, it results in a deficiency disease
• When added back to the diet, the disease corrects
• Explanation exists as to why the abnormalities occurred when the substance was missing.

Phytochemicals

Phytochemicals are substances in plants that may have healthful benefits. Examples of phytochemicals include:

• Caffeine
• Beta-carotene
• Nicotine

Calories

In nutrition, the term Calorie typically refers to a kilocalorie, or 1000 calories, where a calorie is the amount of energy needed to heat up one gram of water one degree Celsius.

Kilocalories are used to measure the amount of energy that can be gained from food.

Food	Energy Gained
1 gram of carbs	4 kcal
1 gram of protein	4kcal
1 gram of fat	9kcal
1 gram of alcohol	7kcal
No other nutrients provide energy.

Chronic Disease

Chronic disease takes years to develop and typically have no discrete source. Examples of chronic disease include:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer

Eating Habits

Biological and physiological factors influence eating habits. Examples of factors include (but are not limited to):

• Age
• Taste, smell, texture
• Internal sensations of hunger and thirst
• Relationships
• Income

Physiological Composition

The proportions present in males and females varies, but between 50 and 70% by weight of the body is composed of water. Women tend to have less water and protein, with more fat.

Definitions

Term	Definition
Nutrients	The life sustaining substances found in food. Necessary for growth, maintenance, and repair.
Nutrition	The study of how nutrients affect our body.
Diet	A person's usual pattern of food choices. Everyone has a diet, and you don't begin and end diets, you just make changes to your existing diet.
Lipid	Fats and oils.
Organic	An organic substance contains carbon, and can be degraded.
Essential nutrient	A nutrient is considered essential if it must be supplied by food, because the body cannot create it in sufficient quantities. If an essential nutrient is missing, it results in a deficiency disease.
Deficiency disease	A deficiency disease occurs when an essential nutrient is missing. Examples include anemia (iron) and scurvy (vitamin c)
Lifestyle	A routine way of living
Metabolism	Metabolism is the term for all chemical processes that occur in living cells. This includes: - Breaking larger molecules down into smaller molecules (supplying energy) - Building larger molecules (like protiens or long-chain fats) - Eliminating waste products