What is Nutrition
The word Nutrition means different things to different people.
Family meal times, tradition, children health and nutrition, culture, education and the regional climate, has generally determined what food types were present, what was favored, what was available and the amount of food laden energy required (more so in the previous generations). As time went by the negative eating habits became known initially by lack of motivation/energy, overweight, pains, aches, complaints and at times fatal heart attack or illness of malnutrition. As Science grew legs to stand on, and there was general consensus of the human anatomy, and the many systems and organs, then nutritional education became more acceptable in the society. People generally are grateful when their health is optimized and the state of their mind is positive with strong will to live a happy healthy productive life.
Nutrition at the discipline group is known as the metabolic and physiological responses of the body to diet, the sequences of biochemical steps, which substances in living things change from one form to another. Advanced research in molecular biology, biochemistry, nutritional immunology, molecular medicine and genetics, the study of nutrition are increasingly concerned with metabolism and metabolic pathways.
What is Nutrition, there are six main classes of nutrients:
These are essential building blocks to the human body, without them the body is not optimized to perform, live, regenerate cells or sustain full strength under workloads.
Different systems functions of the human body use different types or quantities of nutrients, the skeleton system has different nutritional needs to that of the eyes and vision, also the nervous system has different nutritional needs of the cardiovascular system.
There are two different group of nutrients; those needed in large quantities, is called the Macronutrients, and those needed in smaller quantities is called the Micronutrients.
- Macronutrients; contain carbohydrates (including fiber), fats, protein, and water.
- Micronutrients; are minerals and vitamins.
Carbohydrates: Classified into three classes; Mono-saccharides, Disaccharides, Polysaccharides, majority of foods such as;
o Rice,
o Noodles,
o Breads,
o Other Grains-based products.
Monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides contain one, two, and three or more sugar units, respectively. Polysaccharides are often referred to complex carbohydrates because they are typically long, many branched chains of sugar units.
Fats: A molecule of dietary fat typically consists of several fatty acids (containing long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms) bonded to a glycerol.
Fiber: Dietary fiber is a carbohydrate (or a polysaccharide) that is incompletely absorbed in humans and in some animals
Minerals: Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen that are present in almost all organic molecules.
Proteins: Proteins are the basis of many animal body structures (e.g. Muscles, skin, and hair). They also form the enzymes that control chemical reactions throughout the body.
Vitamins: As with the minerals discussed above, some vitamins are recognized as essential nutrients, necessary in the diet for abundant health.
Water: Water is excreted from the body in multiple forms; including urine and feces, sweating, and by water vapour in the exhaled breath. Therefore, it is necessary to adequately rehydrate to replace lost fluids.
Antioxidants:
Antioxidant. As cellular metabolism/energy production requires oxygen, potentially damaging (e.g. Mutation causing) compounds known as free radicals can form.
Macromineral. Many elements are essential in relative quantity; they are usually called “bulk minerals”. Some are structural, but many play a role as electrolytes.
Trace minerals. Many elements are required in trace amounts, usually because they play a catalytic role in enzymes.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition
Why Nutrition?
The human body is made up of eleven organ systems that depend on nutrients to maintain the system alive.
i. musculoskeletal system,
ii. cardiovascular system,
iii. digestive system,
iv. endocrine system,
v. integumentary system
vi. urinary system,
vii. lymphatic system,
viii. immune system,
ix. respiratory system,
x. nervous system
xi. reproductive system
We as people often don’t respect the complicated system of what makes up the many human system. There are many systems that desperately need nutrients to stay active and alive. It is easy to lose track of healthy nutrition when living with a busy schedule in a busy world, and when there is so much junk food being dished out and available at the market place, or even just getting the food quantities wrong, and back to front, e.g. replacing a nutritious main course with a dessert, eating snacks, sugar loaded sweets, a shake with donuts, cigarettes and cicars. When it could have been substituted by a pre-planned trip to the Fruit & Vegetable markets, where there are fresh raw carrots, apples and avocados, oranges, pears and pine apples. Fresh fruit and vegetables prepared and packed into a lunch pack or a backpack. The old saying, prevention is better than cure. Consider something like the essential human vision or hearing.
The eyes are connected to many other systems. “The brain processes the raw data from the eyes to make sense of what you see compared to your knowledge of the world around you. The brain interprets what it receives from the eyes. You do not directly “see”. (A wild concept, “we don’t actually see”, a virtual vision? reliable, yes, but what a interface). – http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:Human_Body/Eyes
In a way the eyes and the brain working together as system can be compared to a computer system, with many components. Computers don’t work by accident, the OS is very critical to the protocol, the internet also is reliant a types of protocol for communication. The message from the human systems to the accumulative self conscious knowledge, (of self preservation) is to provide abundant nutrients that cover all of the human 11 systems.
What is Nutrition?
Nutrition as a single word only has only 8 letters, to appreciate the full scale of the sequences of the biochemical steps, plan a regular visit to your local Fruit & Vegetable markets.
To plan and to purchase 8 fresh ingredient types; e.g. carrots, apples & oranges, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onions, celery. Also use fiber loaded and healthy cereals and milk for breakfast, nuts, lentils, beans, eggs, lean meats and fish for your protein needs, and don’t stop there. Drink plenty of fresh clean water, 1-2 L per day, use common sense. Avoid deep fried junk foods whenever possible, choose healthy over junk foods. If you drink lots of fizzy drinks, ask yourself would drinking clean fresh water be better for your many body systems? And if you need a energy boost consider a berry conserve or a fresh fruit/vegetable juice.
Also consider using supplements for Omega 3 needs and Vitamin B+, or maybe Zinc, depending on your eating habits, and what you are eating at the time. It does make sense to me, to consider using capsules over purchasing fresh fish every day, to ensure the Omega 3 and vitamin B needs are covered.
List of Nutritional Guides (international).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nutrition_guides