NUTRITION

• The study of the nutrients in foods and of the body’s handling of them.  This includes ingestion, digestion, absorption, transport, metabolism, interaction, storage, and excretion.

FOOD

• Material containing nutrients taken into the body for the maintenance of life and the growth and repair of tissues.

NUTRIENTS

• Substances obtained from food and used in the body to provide energy and structural materials and to regulate growth, maintenance, and repair of the body’s tissues.

SIX CLASSES OF NUTRIENTS

• CARBOHYDRATES
• FATS
• PROTEIN
• VITAMINS
• MINERALS
• WATER

ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS

• Those nutrients a person must obtain from food because the body cannot make them for itself in sufficient quantity to meet physiological needs

Examples:

ENERGY

• The capacity to do work
• In food: chemical energy
• Units: calorie

Kilocalorie – amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 kg of

water 1^oC

-1 kcal = 1000 calories

Joule – the amount of energy expended when 1 kg is moved 1 m by force

-work energy

Kilojoule – international unit of energy

• 1 g CHO = 4 kcal              1 g Protein = 4 kcal                 1 g Fat = 9 kcal

A PERSON’S DIET SHOULD CONTAIN A RELATIVE BALANCE OF CHO, FAT, AND PROTEIN:

• CHO: 55 TO 60%
• FAT: NO MORE THAN 30% (<10% SATURATED)
• PROTEIN: 10 TO 15%

NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CANADIANS

RNI – RECOMMENDED NUTRIENT INTAKES:

• The Canadian diet should provide energy consistent with the maintenance of body weight within the recommended range.

• The Canadian diet should include essential nutrients in amounts recommended.

• The Canadian diet should include no more than 30% of energy as fat (33 g/1000 kcal or 39 g/5000 kJ) and no more than 10% as saturated fat (11g/1000 kcal or 13 g/5000 kJ)

• The Canadian diet should provide 55% of energy as carbohydrate (138 g/1000 kcal or 165 g/5000 kJ) from a variety of sources.

• The sodium content of the Canadian diet should be reduced.

• The Canadian diet should include no more than 5% of total energy as alcohol, or two drinks daily, whichever is less.

• The Canadian diet should contain no more caffeine than the equivalent of four regular cups of coffee per day.

• Community water supplies containing less than 1 mg/L should be fluoridated to that level.

William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2024 | Creative Commons 4.0

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