Understanding Nutrition: The Basics of Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins

1. Nutrition Health Mrs Farver

2. What is Nutrition? • The study of food and the ways in which the body uses food.

3. What are Nutrients? • Substances in food that provide energy or help form body tissues and are necessary for life and growth. • Six classes of nutrients in food: • Carbohydrates • Fats • Proteins • Vitamins • Minerals • Water

4. Carbohydrates (Technical name as used by the body – Glucose) • Main Job – Provide Energy • 3 Types - Includes • Sugars • Starches • Fiber • 65% of diet should be carbohydrates • Examples: • Fruit, milk, potatoes, bread

5. Carbohydrates continued • Types of Carbohydrates: • 1. Sugars: “Simple” Carbohydrates • The sugar in the blood that provides the body with energy is called GLUCOSE. • Other sugars include fructose, sucrose, lactose, etc. • Some sugars naturally occur in foods (ex: fructose in fruits and lactose in milk) – others are added into foods such as candy, etc. • The sugars added into foods provide energy but not many nutrients.

6. Carbohydrates continued • Types of Carbohydrates: • 2. Starches: “Complex” Carbohydrates • Made up of many sugars connected together. • The food is broken down into sugars by the body when eaten. • Most starches come from plants: vegetables (potatoes), legumes (beans and peas), and grains (rice, corn, wheat)

7. Carbohydrates continued • Types of carbohydrates: • 3. Fiber – also a “complex” carbohydrate • Provides little energy • Cannot be digested easily • Keeps you very healthy: improves intestines, prevents constipation, and now learning that it might prevent colon cancer and heart disease. • 2 types: • Soluble: dissolves in water (oat bran, apples, beans) • Insoluble: doesn’t dissolve in water (skins of fruits and veggies, hard/stringy parts of veggies/fruits – ex: celery

8. Carbohydrates continued • Storage of Carbohydrates: • If you eat more than your body needs – the carbs are stored as GLYCOGEN. • GLYCOGEN = your body’s quick energy reserve • Made of branched chains of glucose that can be quickly broken down into individual glucose units that the body can use. • If you don’t use the glycogen your body then converts it to body fat

9. Fats (Technical name as used by the body – Lipids) • Fat is unhealthy, isn’t it? • Yes and no • You need fat in your body for it to function properly • However, eating too much and the wrong kinds of fats can increase your risk of heart disease, cancer, and weight gain. • Main Job – Provide protection and cushioning for organs and bones • 3 Types – Saturated, Unsaturated, Cholesterol • Recommended portion of diet – no more than 10-15%

10. Fats Continued • Fats are made up of chemical compounds called LIPIDS • Lipids don’t dissolve in water • Fats are large molecules made up of 2 smaller types of molecules: • Fatty Acids • Glycerol • 3 fatty acids link to 1 glycerol making TRIGLYCERIDES • Fatty acids are long chains of carbon atoms linked with hydrogen atoms • The # of hydrogen bonds determine how “good” or “bad” the fatty acid is for your body

11. Fats continued • Types of Fats: • Saturated fats: • Carbon atom bonds with as many hydrogen atoms as possible • Most solidify at room temperature • Come from animal foods (meat and milk) • If you eat a lot of meats, whole milk, butter, & ice cream you have a high saturated fat diet – this can lead to obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease

12. Fats continued • Types of Fats: • Unsaturated Fats: • These fatty acids are unsaturated because they don’t bond with as many hydrogen atoms as possible • More common in plants • Usually remain a liquid at room temperature

13. Fats continued • Types of fats: • Cholesterol: • Found in human and animal tissues • Needed to make Vitamin D, some hormones, and bile • Your body makes cholesterol, but you can also get it through your diet – Too much will lead to heart failure and other diseases

14. Fats – How does cholesterol get to the heart and clog it? • LDL: low-density lipoprotein • Bad carrier of cholesterol • Brings cholesterol to body cells • HDL: high-density lipoprotein (cheerios ) • Good carrier of cholesterol • Carries cholesterol back to liver where it’s removed from the blood

15. Proteins Technical name as used by the body – Amino Acids) • Major Job – Build and repair cells such as muscles, skin, hair, and nails • Protein also helps form hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and other important molecules • 2 Types – Complete and Incomplete • Recommended % of diet – 25%

16. Proteins continued • Proteins are made up of chains of AMINO ACIDS. • Amino acids are chained together like beads of a necklace to make each type of protein • There are 20 kinds of amino acids • 9 amino acids are essential and needed for our body that our body CANNOT make so we must get them from sources of food. • 11 amino acids we do make in our body and we don’t necessarily need to eat them in our diet

17. Protein continued • Complete proteins: • Come from animal proteins such as meat, milk, eggs, and dairy products • Incomplete proteins • Come from plant sources such as vegetables, legumes, and grains

18. Vitamins • Contain carbon • Needed in small amounts • Vitamins are sometimes added to foods that don’t already contain vitamins – this affects how they are taken in by the body • They either dissolve in water or fats

19. Vitamins continued • Types of vitamins: • Fat-Soluble Vitamins – (figure 5.2 pg 120) • Dissolve in fat • Stored in fat tissue and remain in body for a long time • Examples: Vitamin A, D, E, and K

20. Vitamins continued • Types of Vitamins • Water-Soluble Vitamins –(Table 5.1 pg 119): • Dissolve in water • Not stored very well in the body • Most release energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins • Other functions as well: • Folate: prevents birth defects • Vitamin C: immune system, heart disease, cancer • Etc.

21. Minerals • 20 essential minerals • Chemical elements needed for tasks like enzyme activity and bone formation. • Examples: • Calcium • Iron • Sodium • Iodine

22. Vitamin and Mineral Supplements • Nutrient deficiency: • Not having enough of a nutrient to maintain good health • Supplements are available to those who cannot meet those needs – most can meet their needs from their diet • Take supplements that meet but don’t exceed needs – can result in malnutrition (improper nutrition

23. Problems with mineral intake • Sodium: • Recommended to have 2400 milligrams a day = 1 ¼ teaspoon of salt • Most Americans exceed that number • Causes high blood pressure that leads to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure

24. Calcium: Recommended amount = 1,300 milligrams a day (8 ounces of milk has 300 milligrams) Needed for healthy bones and teeth Lack of enough calcium leads to osteoperosis (weak and brittle bones) Iron: Recommended amount = ~18 milligrams a day Too much can be poisonous Too little causes Iron-Deficiency Anemia – a condition where there’s not enough red bloods cells and hemoglobin in the blood to carry oxygen to the body. Makes one feel tired and weak. Problems with mineral intake

25. Water • Can live many weeks without food, but only a few days without water. • How can a tasteless, colorless, no calorie substance be so important? • We are 60% water • Nearly every function in our body requires water to keep us alive.

26. Water continued • Every day we loose water through evaporation off skin, breathing, urine, and solid wastes. • We cannot store water in the body – therefore, we must continually replenish it every day. • Should be drinking 8 GLASSES A DAY! • Some of our water intake comes from food (ex: vegetables are ~90% water) • Water, 100% juice, and low-fat milk are good sources of water • Coffee and alcohol aren’t good sources of water because both cause more water to be lost through the excretion of urine

27. Water continued • Dehydration: • Occurs when the body loses more water than has been taken in. • Can happen by not drinking enough • You lose more water when ill – fever, vomiting, and diarrhea increase water loss • Exercising raises body temperature, so to cool back down, we sweat more • Mild dehydration interferes with mental and physical performance. As it gets more severe symptoms include thirst, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, dry eyes/mouth, and dark colored urine • A simple way to tell if you’re drinking enough water is barely tinted or clear urine