notes/education/nutrition/Nutrients.md
2024-09-04 10:43:39 -06:00

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Nutrients are the life sustaining substances found in food.
- Necessary for growth, maintenance, and repair.
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
## 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.
# 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 | Fat |
| 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) |