Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote your overall health.
Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote your overall health. The link between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced chronic disease risk, and overall health is too important to ignore. By taking steps to eat healthy, you'll be on your way to getting the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, active, and strong. Nutrition: the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses nutrients, and the relationship between diet, health and disease. Major food manufacturers employ nutritionists and food scientists. Nutritionists may also work in journalism, education and research. Hippocrates is also famous for having said Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.. Antoine Lavoisier (France, 1743-1794) - became known as the father of chemistry and also the father of nutrition. He became famous for the statement Life is a chemical process. Foods that contain a lot of protein are called body-building foods or growing foods. Foods that contain a lot of fat or carbohydrates and perhaps only a little protein are called energy-giving foods. Foods in which the most important nutrients are vitamins or minerals are called protective foods. Although most foods are mixtures of nutrients, many of them contain a lot of one nutrient and a little of the other nutrients. Foods are often grouped according to the nutrient that they contain in abundance (see Box 2.1). Macronutrients are nutrients that provide calories or energy. Nutrients are substances needed for growth, metabolism, and for other body functions. Since macro means large, macronutrients are nutrients needed in large amounts. This means that if you looked at the Nutrition Facts label of a product and it said 12 grams of carbohydrate, 0 grams of fat, and 0 grams of protein per serving, you would know that this food has about 48 calories per serving (12 grams carbohydrate multiplied by 4 calories for each gram of carbohydrate = 48 calories). Fats and oils are concentrated sources of energy and so are important nutrients for young children who need a lot of energy-rich food. Fats can also make meals more tasty and satisfying. Fat is found in meat, chicken, milk products, butters, creams, avocado, cooking oils and fats, cheese, fish and ground nuts. Although most foods are mixtures of nutrients, many of them contain a lot of one nutrient and a little of the other nutrients. Foods are often grouped according to the nutrient that they contain in abundance (see Box 2.1). Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food (e.g. phytonutrients, anthocyanins, tannins, etc.) in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism.  Some are found only in a few foods, so it is important that these foods are included in the diet on a regular basis e.g. the main providers of calcium in the diet are milk, cheese and yogurt. Some foods are also fortified with minerals, for example, iron is added to some breakfast cereals. Starch is found in foods such as bread, cereals and potatoes. Both starch and sugars are digested in the body and converted to simple sugars (mainly glucose), which are then used by the body to provide energy. Unavailable carbohydrate. Unavailable carbohydrate includes dietary fibre or NSP (non starch polysaccharide). Though they are a critical component of a healthy diet, many protein foods can also be high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Fatty cuts of meat should be limited for this reason. Lean meat, nuts, seeds and seafood are all good protein choices. Grains. One-quarter of your plate should be filled with grain foods. Foods predominantly made up of grains such as wheat, rice, oats or cornmeal include bread, cereal, pasta and tortillas. Dairy. Dairy products provide nutrients that are critical for bone health, including calcium, potassium and vitamin D. Dairy is also a source of protein. The benefit dairy provides for bones makes consumption especially critical for growing children, whose bone mass is developing. Grains. One-quarter of your plate should be filled with grain foods. Foods predominantly made up of grains such as wheat, rice, oats or cornmeal include bread, cereal, pasta and tortillas.
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food nutrients and their importance