Nutrition

dietgirl24

Full Member
Macronutrients
Macronutrients are nutrients required in large amounts: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Nutrients are substances needed for growth, metabolism and for other body functions. These nutrients provide calories and fat.

Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gramme.
Protein provides 4 calories per gramme.
Fats provide 9 calories per gramme.
(Alcohol provides 7 calories per gramme).

Protein
Function
  • Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
  • Tissue repair
  • Immune function
  • Making essential hormones and enzymes
  • Energy when carbohydrate is not available
  • Preserving lean muscle mass
Chemical Structure
Chemistry Tutorial : Protein Structure

Amino Acids-essential building blocks of protein
Chemistry Tutorial : Amino Acids
Chemistry Tutorial : Polymers and Polymerization

Essential and Non-Essential Amino Acids
Amino Acids Summary Table

Essential Amino Acids-your body can't produce them so you need a daily supply.

*Tryptophan
-aids sleep
-helps produce serotonin, calming neurotransmitter-helps depression and other mood disorders.
-found in oats, poultry, fish, seeds, chickpeas, yoghurt, dried dates

*Phenylanine
-pain relief-PMS
-helpful for depression-increases dopamine
-found unnaturally in diet drinks and aspartame, a sweetner
Healthy Sources: most foods that contain
protein. Beef, dairy products, almonds, fish, poultry, certain nuts and seeds, eggs, cheese


*Tyrosine
-anti-depressant
-Sources: chicken, turkey, fish, almonds, avocado, milk, cheese, yoghurt, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy products, bananas, lima beans, greens like spinach.


Carbohydrates
Function
  • Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
  • Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
  • All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
  • Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
  • Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
  • Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
  • Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.
Chemical Structure
Chemistry Tutorial : Carbohydrates (sugars)

Simple sugars=monosaccharides-glucose-fruit, fructose-fruit, honey, galactose and disaccharides-sucrose-table sugar, lactose-found in milk, maltose

Complex sugars=polysaccharides (3 or more) Starch-energy store in plants, glycogen-energy store in animals, cellulose-plant fibre

Types of Sugar Simple Complex


Fats
Function
  • Normal growth and development
  • Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
  • Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
  • Providing cushioning for the organs
  • Maintaining cell membranes
  • Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods
Chemical Structure
Chemistry Tutorial : Lipids

Hydrogenated/TransFats:
the WORST type of fats.
This is where a liquid fat is made into a solid fat at room temperature. This does not occur in nature, it is a synthetic/manmade process.
This happens to a lot of processed food as the manufacturers want to extend the shelf life of the food product-eg biscuits.
Glucose syrup, high corn fructose syrup are forms of it.

Omega 3 fatty acids:
-prevents dry skin, ketoris pilaris (red bumps on arms)-vitamin A is good for getting rid of ketoris pilaris too, plus no wheat, sugar and applying coconut oil to affected area daily
-good for depression and other mood disorders
-good for brain function and concentration

-Found in oily fish-salmon, sardines. Eat 2 portions of oily fish a week to get enough omega 3 fatty acids
Nuts and seeds-flaxseeds
Oils-flaxseed oil

Enzymes
Chemistry Tutorial : Enzymes

DNA
Chemistry Tutorial : DNA Structure

Blood
Chemistry Tutorial : Oxygen Transport in Blood

Vitamins and Minerals/Micronutrients

Micronutrients-only needed in small quantities

There are seven major minerals (needed in doses of 100mg or greater) (calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), phosphorous (Ph), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), chloride (Cl)) and 15 trace/minor minerals (manganese (Mn), fluoride (Fl), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) etc.)
Vitamin and Mineral Chart

Vitamins and Minerals: Good Food Sources

Fat soluble vitamins: A, D, E, K
Stored in the liver

Sources
Vitamin A (needed for eye vision)-eggs, dark green and yellow vegetables, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli, milk, peas, and yellow fruits such as mango, liver, beef, poultry, fish including cod
Vitamin D-dairy, 15 minutes in the sun each day, fatty fishes, fortified cereals, egg, fish liver oil
Vitamin E-nuts, seeds, sunflower oil, tomato, broccoli, papaya, avocado, asparagus. green leafy veg, pumpkin, rockfish. breakfast cereal, beet, turnip, olive, olive oil, sweet potato
Vitamin K-leafy green veg-spinach, swiss chard, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, fruit such as kiwi, avocado, grapes, parsley, vegetable oil-soy bean. eggs, dairy.

Water Soluble vitamins: B, C
The body can't produce them and are excreted so the body needs a daily supply of them. Therefore, deficiencies of water soluble vitamins are most common.

Sources
Vitamin B-different B vitamins
-wholegrains, eggs, pulses
Vitamin C-citrus fruit and vegetables eg broccoli, kale, oranges, kiwi, papaya, strawberries, cantaloupes, cauliflower

Minerals
Calcium
Dairy, salmon, nuts-almonds- and seeds including sesame seeds and flaxseeds, spices, leafy vegetables, basil, soybeans, beans, parsley, argula, dried currants, tofu, rhubarb

Selenium
nuts-brazil nuts-and seeds, cod, tuna, button mushrooms, halibut, salmon, shrimp, snapper.

Zinc
sesame seeds, liver, lamb loin, turkey, low fat yoghurt, green peas, shrimp. pumpkin seeds.

Chromium
onions, romaine lettuce, tomato, wholegrains, bran cereals, potatoes, oyster, liver. brewer's yeast.

Iron
-needed for production of red blood cells, to transport oxygen
-Iron deficiency-anemia. Women are at risk due to lack of iron consumption and menstrual cycle where they can lose iron.
-Animal sources can be absorbed more easily than vegetable sources-good to try to get mixture of sources.
-Iron gives you more energy and you're able to stay more active with it.

Fibre
Soluble: fruit and veg-bananas, fruit with the skin on, apple, celery-the stringy bit has fibre in it, ryvita, almonds, berries, prunes, dates and other dried fruits, oranges, orange juice, seeds, legumes, pears, strawberries. barley, citrus, cabbage

Insoluble:wholegrains-brown bread, brown rice, potatoes, couscous legumes, bran, wheat, wheatbran, oats wholegrain cereals-all bran is the best, weetabix is ok, pulse veg. White rice, pasta and bread doesn't have much fibre in it.

Psyllium husks is a natural fibre supplement but it's being linked to polyps developing so it could be carcinogenous.

Fibre is needed for digestion. We're meant to consume about 18 per day but most people consume about 14g.
High Fibre=6g fibre per 100g/ml.
Source of fibre=3g fibre per 100g/ml.

Drink lots of water too so the fibre is absorbed well

Really good foods
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus
Watery vegetables
Fish-white fish, oily fish, shellfish
Berries
Oats
Dairy-in moderation
Water-it's not a food but it's still super!
Nuts and seeds in moderation
Healthy oils in moderation-olive oil is good for the skin and hair.
Omega 3 fatty acids


Reading food labels
Sugar on the pack
Chemicals ending in -ose e.g. glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose
High fructose corn syrup
Anything syrup
Don't buy product unless sugar is 5th in ingredients list or further down. If sugar is 1st/2nd/3rd product, then it's full of sugar.
Asparatame etc are sweeteners-avoid them! Just make your hungrier and so you eat more. Avoid "diet" products.
Avoid processed food, jars of sauce like Uncle Bens, ready meals, diet products as they contain hidden sugars and sweeteners to add flavour.

Monosodium Glutimate/E623
Increases your appetite
Thickener in foods such as Pringles, chinese food.
Avoid!

Salt
Sodium/Na
Salt-Sodium Chloride/NaCl

To get salt intake, multiply salt number on label by 2.5.
A lot of manufacturers will list the sodium but not the salt/sodium chloride amount to trick you!

Low salt=0.1g salt per 100g or less
High salt=0.6g salt per 100g or more

Soy sauce can be high in sodium-get low sodium soy sauce
Stock cubes can be high in sodium too-get low sodium stock cubes or make your own stock.
Avoid ready meals and processed food as they contain a lot of hidden added salt for flavouring.

Low Fat
Food containing 5g of fat or less per 100g. Look at the saturated fat level on the pack.

Low Calorie Meals/kcal
kJ is the energy level
Ones containing 300 calories (4-5 Weight Watchers points on the old programme approx).

400-500 calorie-medium calorie meals
Over 500 calorie=high calorie.


Structure of Skin
Skin structure

skin structure

Function of Skin
skin function
 
Very informative :)

thanks!
 
you're welcome :) I'm sick of faddy diets and then I remembered the nutrition I learned in school in biology and home economics and decided to just stick with that as it's science!
 
Back
Top