Importance of Proper Nutrition for Organisms

1. Unit Food Science

2. Problem Area Handling and Storing Plant Products

3. Lesson Testing for Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins

4. Student Learning Objectives • 1. Explain why proper nutrition is important for all organisms. • 2. List the six essential nutrients needed by organisms and explain their overall importance. • 3. Explain the importance of water in the body. • 4. Explain how minerals are important to organisms. • 5. Explain the importance of vitamins to organisms. • 6. Explain the importance of protein for organisms. • 7. Explain why carbohydrates are essential to the survival of organisms. • 8. Explain the importance of lipids.

5. Terms • Inorganic compounds • Lipids • Macrominerals • Minerals • Monosaccharides • Nucleic acids • Nutrients • Nutrition • Organic compounds • Polar compound • Adhesion • Amino acids • Capillarity • Carbohydrates • Catalyst • Cohesion • Disaccharides • DNA • Enzymes • Fat soluble vitamins

6. Terms cont. • Polysaccharides • Polyunsaturated fatty acid • Proteins • RNA • Saturated fatty acid • Steroids • Trace elements • Triglycerides • Vitamins • Water • Water soluble vitamins • Wax

7. Why is proper nutrition important for all organisms? • A. Three Needs of Humans/Organisms • 1. Food—Food provides energy. • 2. Water—Water is necessary for a variety of chemical reactions to occur and is the primary solvent in our bodies. • 3. Shelter—Our homes and clothing protect from the extremes of the environment.

8. B. Nutritionis the process by which animals eat food and use it to live, grow and reproduce. Proper nutrition allows us and all other organisms to function at optimal levels. Nutritional stress inhibits our ability to function. Early sailors learned to take limes with them to prevent scurvy due to a deficiency of Vitamin C even though we really have only known about Vitamin C for a few short decades.

9. C. Proper Nutrition for animals and plants causes: • 1. Increased feed efficiency for livestock as well as domesticated and wild animals. • 2. Increased rate of gain provides bigger financial yields for farmers. • 3. Decreased days to market weight enables farmers to increase their overall production and profit. • 4. Increased plant performance and efficiency again increases profit. • 5. Improved nutritional value of foodstuffs.

10. D. Poor nutrition results in lower production and returns because of: • 1. Slow plant and animal growth • 2. Poor reproduction • 3. Lowered production levels • 4. Poor health • 5. Increased death loss

12. What are the nutrients that organisms need and how do they help organisms function? • Nutrientsare substances that are necessary for the functioning of an organism. • A. Six Essential Nutrients • 1. Wateris the primary component of all organisms. It is the primary solvent in the body which contains all of the dissolved and suspended solutes providing the transportation system for the body. • 2. Mineralsare an important component of the skeleton, soft tissues, and fluids. • 3. Vitaminsact as a catalyst in body processes; vitamins help chemical reactions to occur in the body. • 4. Proteinsare used to build and repair cells. • 5. Carbohydratesprovide energy. • 6. Lipidsprovide and store energy.

13. B. These six essential nutrients are all equally important to the peak performance of all organisms including humans. • C. Water, minerals, and vitamins are all inorganic compounds and protein, carbohydrates, and lipids are all organic compounds. Organic compoundscontain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and come from living things. Inorganic compoundscan contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but they come from the earth rather than from organisms.

15. Why is water important to the body? • Water is the most important inorganic compound in living things. • A. Water is an excellent solvent and has a high heat capacity. • B. Water makes up about 70–80 percent of plants and about 75 percent or more of muscles and internal organs in animals.

16. C. Water serves many different purposes. • 1. Our body is made up a variety of solutions. A solution consists of solutes and solvents. A solute is the substance that is dissolved in the solution. The solvent is the substance that dissolves the solute. Using a glass of sweet ice tea as an example—the solutes are the tea and the sugar and water is the solvent. Water is the solvent in which all nutrients (solutes) are dissolved and suspended. • 2. Water reacts with many chemical compounds to break down food. • 3. Water provides rigidity for plants. • 4. Water regulates body temperature.

17. D. Chemical properties of water are unique and aid to its universal importance. • 1. Cohesionis the bonding of water molecules to each other. This can be evidenced in a puddle of water on a table. Water is a polar compound. Water has a net charge of zero (one hydrogen and two oxygen atoms bond resulting no charge). However, because of the molecular structure (how the atoms bond together), a water molecule has an imbalance in its charge resulting in a slightly negative pole and a slightly positive pole. Because of this, water molecules bond to other water molecules very easily. • Water’s high heat capacity is due to its polarity; it takes a great deal of heat or energy to break the bonds between water molecules. This is why it takes a pot of water a seemingly long time to boil; the heat must work to break the bonds before the water will boil. This characteristic is good for organisms because we would die if a small amount of heat were needed such as from the sun to cause us to “boil.”

18. 2. Adhesionis the bonding of water molecules to other substances. Again water bonds to other substances easily because of polarity, especially other polar compounds. A small drop of water will adhere to the side of your car or to the wall. • 3. Capillarityis the ability of a liquid to move upward against the force of gravity by molecular attraction to a surrounding surface. Water is able to move from the roots of a plant to the leaves because of cohesion and adhesion. Looking at a clear graduated cylinder will help to visualize how capillarity works in plants. The water bonds to the inside of the graduated cylinder due to adhesion. Water molecules bond to themselves due to cohesion. As the water moves up the sides of the cylinder due to adhesion, cohesion pulls more water molecules upward. The narrower the tube, the faster the liquid will move upward against the force of gravity.

20. Why are minerals important to organisms? • Minerals are found in rocks, soil, and water and are essential to the body for optimal performance. • A. The primary purpose of minerals is that they become part of the body making up bones, fluids, and tissues. • B. Macromineralsare needed in large quantities. Macrominerals include sodium, calcium phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. • C. Trace elementsare needed in smaller quantities, but are just as important to your health. Copper, tin, iodine, and iron are examples of trace elements.

21. D. Many ailments can be attributed to a low mineral intake. Thus, many doctors recommend that humans take vitamin and mineral supplements. • 1. Anemia or a feeling of tiredness can be attributed to low iron levels. • 2. Fatigue, rapid pulse, and increased appetite can result form low levels of iodine. • 3. Muscle tremors or shaking can result from insufficient levels of magnesium. • 4. Low calcium levels can result in poorly formed teeth and bones resulting in Osteoporosis or brittle bone disease. Calcium is needed for a variety of chemical reactions and muscle contractions to occur. Osteoporosis can result from the body’s compensation of a lack of calcium by removing it from the bones.

23. Why are vitamins important to organisms? • Vitamins serve as a catalystin the body meaning that they cause chemical reactions to occur. They do not provide energy or build the body. • A. Vitamins serve many purposes including: • 1. clotting of blood • 2. formation of bones • 3. aiding reproduction at both the cellular and multicellular levels • 4. keeping membranes healthy • 5. producing milk • 6. prevention of certain nervous system disorders

24. B. Vitamins can be classified as either fat soluble or water soluble. • 1. Water soluble vitaminsinclude vitamins C and B. This means that the vitamins must be consumed every day because your body uses C and B vitamins as they are needed. Excess amounts of these are excreted from the body. • 2. Fat soluble vitaminsinclude vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins are stored in the body and used as needed.

25. C. Vitamins are essential to the proper functioning of the body, but they are needed in very small amounts. The recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C is only 60 mg, but one ounce of Vitamin C contains 28,000 mg. Large doses of vitamins can have negative effects on the body as well. • D. Animals receive most of the vitamins that they need through their feed, but supplements can be purchased to add to their ration. • E. Vitamins are usually made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

27. Why do organisms need protein? • Living things are made up of many different chemical molecules. After carbohydrates, protein is the second most abundant nutrient found in plants. Proteins make up the bulk of all solid material within your body and the bodies of other animals. Your muscle, skin, hair, and inside organs are largely protein. Proteins are essential for body growth and repair. • They also make up some hormones which function in chemical control in the body and are found in enzymes and antibodies. There are many kinds of proteins found in plants and they are classified by their origin. Protein deposited in seeds is the major source for human consumption. Protein is essential for many of life’s biological processes.

28. A. The main purpose of protein is to build and repair cells. Three to five percent of the body’s cells are rebuilt every day. Protein is also the major component of the body’s genetic code. Proteins are an organic compound that is composed of one or more chains of polypeptides. Polypeptides are in turn made from amino acids. • B. Amino acidsare monomers (single chemical units) that form proteins.

29. 1. Each amino acid contains a central carbon atom and four other atoms or groups that bond covalently to the carbon atom. Different amino acids have different “R groups.”

30. 2. There are only 20 known amino acids, but there are thousands of different proteins. The human body can manufacture only 11 of the 20 amino acids. The other nine are called essential amino acids and must be consumed through the food that is eaten. • C. A dipeptide is two amino acids bonded together. A polypeptide is a long chain of amino acids. Proteins are composed of 2 or more polypeptides. • D. Enzymesare proteins that act as catalysts in intermediary metabolism which is a series of chemical reactions in which energy is released in slow controlled amounts so that cells will not be damaged. Enzymes lower the activation energy that is needed thus decreasing the amount of activation energy that is needed for a chemical reaction to occur.

31. E. Nucleic Acidsare complex organic molecules that store important hereditary information in the cell’s nucleus. • 1. DNAor deoxyribonucleic acid is hereditary information in the form of a large molecule. DNA stores all of the essential information that is needed for directing all of the cell’s activities. • 2. RNAor ribonucleic acid stores and transfers information that is essential for the manufacturing of proteins. RNA is found in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm of the cell. • F. Foods high in protein include beans, meat, nuts, cheese, and eggs. Feedstuffs high in protein include soybeans, peanuts, cottonseed, linseed, and urea (nonprotein nitrogen). Protein from animal sources is usually of a higher quality than plant protein. Nutritionists recommend that about 15 % of the human diet should be made up of protein.

33. Why are carbohydrates important for organisms? • Carbohydrates are organic compounds that are the main source of energy for organisms. If low levels are carbohydrates are consumed, the body will use fat and protein for energy. This can result in insufficient levels of fat and protein to perform other vital functions. • A. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The number of carbon atoms will vary, but the hydrogen and oxygen atoms will be found in a ratio of 2:1. Water is also found to have a 2:1 ratio.

34. B. There are three types of carbohydrates. • 1. Monosaccharidesare simple sugars or single molecule sugars. They contain 1 carbon: 2 hydrogen: 1 oxygen. The most common monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose; all have a chemical formula of C6 H12 O6 . Molecules that have the same molecular composition, but have different structures are called isomers. • a. Glucose is the main source of energy for plants and animals is created during photosynthesis (H2 O+CO2 + light à O2 +C6 H12 O6 ). • b. Fructose is found in fruits and is the sweetest of all the monosaccharides. • c. Galactose is found in milk.

35. 2. Disaccharidesare double sugars. • a. Lactose is found in milk and is formed from glucose and galactose. • b. Sucrose is created from fructose and glucose and is found in sugar cane and sugar beets. • c. Maltose is formed from two glucose molecules. • 3. Polysaccharidesare complex molecules containing three or more monosaccharides. • a. Glycogen is how animals store glucose. • b. Starch is how plants store glucose. Starch is found in potatoes, bread, vegetables, and rice. Plants are the primary producers of carbohydrates. • c. Cellulose is found in plants and is indigestible by humans. Ruminants are able to digest cellulose because of the presence of microorganisms in their stomach.

36. C. Nutritionists recommend that about 55% of the human diet be composed of carbohydrates. Humans should consume plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain breads. • D. Unused carbohydrates are converted to fat and are stored in the body for future use. • E. The storage form of carbohydrates found in tuber, bulbs and roots is starch. Two forms of starch are known: amylose and amylopectin. Carbohydrates in the form of starch are not used by the plant because starch is insoluble in water. However, plants manufacture the enzyme amylase which breaks starch down into soluble sugars for use by the plant. Amylase is an enzyme important in germination because it breaks down the starch present in seed to provide energy for the growing seedling. Starch is easily digested by animals and an important source of energy.

38. Why do organisms need lipids to survive? • Lipids are important chemical molecules that are present in living organisms. Lipids are a fatty compound made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They do not dissolve in water and thus are referred to as hydrophobic. • A. Lipids are used for storage of energy, to add flavor to food, for a healthy skin and hair, for the nervous system, and for a variety of chemical processes. Lipids can be added to animal feeds helping to improve flavor, palatability, texture, and energy levels. Lipids are also needed to carry and store fat soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K.

39. B. The three primary types of lipids include triglyceride, wax, and steroid. • 1. Triglyercidesare made up of three fatty acid molecules and one glycerol molecule. Examples of triglycerides include oils and fats. • a. Oils are triglycerides that are liquid at room temperature and are typically found in the seeds of plants. • b. Fats are solid at room temperature and are found in animals. • 2. Waxis a lipid consisting of a long fatty acid joined to a long alcohol chain. Because waxes are highly waterproof, they are found in the waxy coating of leaves and in ears. • 3. Steroidsinclude cholesterol and cortisone and are found in hormones, nerve tissue, and plant poisons.

40. C. Lipids are created when a molecule of glycerol is joined to any number of fatty acids. Examples of fatty acids include lauric acid, butyric acid, and caproic acid. • 1. Some fatty acids are made by the body. Essential fatty acids are not made in the body and must be consumed. Therefore, a no fat diet is not acceptable. • 2. Depending upon how much hydrogen is found in a fatty acid determines whether it is saturated or polyunsaturated. When the molecule is completely full of hydrogen, it is called a saturated fatty acid. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and are primarily found in meat and coconut. • 3. Fats that are liquid at room temperature are called polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are found in fish and in plants. • 4. Hydrogenation is a process where polyunsaturated fats can be made solid at room temperature. Whipped topping and margarine are examples of foods created through this process.

41. D. Most fats found in plants are deposited in the seed. For example, coconut contains 65% crude fat, soybeans 15–20% crude fat and corn contains approximately 59% crude fat. Fats are the most concentrated food energy source. • E. In the United States, fat contributes nearly 50% of the calories in the average diet. Recent studies linking high fat diets with cardiovascular disease and elevated cholesterol levels in the blood have caused people to cut back on their daily consumption of fat. Usually this has meant that persons eat less red meat and eggs, but it is also necessary to monitor intake of saturated fats from plant products as well.

42. F. Most doctors agree that an average person should consume about 30% of their daily caloric intake as fat and should have their body fat percentage be around 20% depending on various factors. Fats are an important part of the diet. • G. Foods containing lipids include margarine, butter, chips, plant oils, nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, milk, and ice cream.

44. Review/Summary • Why is proper nutrition important for all organisms? • What are the nutrients that organisms need and how do they help organisms function? • Why is water important to the body? • Why are minerals important to organisms? • Why are vitamins important to organisms? • Why do organisms need protein? • Why are carbohydrates important for organisms? • Why do organisms need lipids to survive?