Getting & Using Nutrients

Getting & Using Nutrients Chapter 6

Simple Sugars Made from 1 or 2 sugar units Complex Starches Made up of many sugars, attached together Carbohydrates: Your Main Energy Source

Digestion • Your body breaks down starches into single sugars, that are taken into your blood to make energy • Skipping a meal or limiting carbs, you body may run short on energy • If you eat more than you need you get more calories than you need

Food Sources of Carbs • Sugars are a natural part of some foods • Fruit and milk contain sugar • Candy are high in added sugars and no other nutrients

Good Sources of Complex Carbs • Grain products • Breads, rice, and pasta • Vegetables such as squash, potatoes, corn • Dry beans, peas, lentils

Dietary Fiber • High in complex carbs = high fiber • Dietary fiber = plant material that can’t be digested • Helps your digestive tract work properly • May help protect from heart disease and cancer

Fats: Essential to Your Health • Fat is both a food and a nutrient • Gives meals flavor and texture • As a nutrient, it supplies energy and other important roles • Fat promotes healthy skin and normal growth • Partner with certain vitamins, carrying them to where you need them • Fat stored in your body acts as a cushion to protect vital organs such as heart and liver

Food Sources of Fat • Naturally present in meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, nuts • Vegetable oil is a liquid form of fat • Butter, margarine, cream, mayo is almost all fat • These are in gravies, dressing, cakes, cookies, ice cream

Saturated= are hard at room temperature Butter, stick margarine, fats in meat, poultry, and dairy products Unsaturated = are liquid at room temperature Vegetable oils, nuts, olives, avocados Fats

Cholesterol • Is a waxy substance that is part of every cell of your body • Our bodies produce all the cholesterol it needs • We also get more from our eating plan • Found in animal sources: • Meat, poultry, fish, egg yolks, dairy products • Plant sources have no cholesterol

High levels of cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart problems • Too much fat, (saturated) increases cholesterol more • Go easy on high fat foods

Proteins; Your body’s Building Blocks • Help your body grow, repair itself, and fight disease • Use protein to provide energy if needed • Amino acids = the many small units that make up protein • Your body arranges amino acids to make different proteins it needs

Our body makes some amino acids • Essential amino acids= what the body can’t make, you must eat them

Food Sources of Protein • From both animal and plant sources • Animal = meat, poultry, fish , eggs, and dairy • All are essential amino acids (complete protein) • Plant sources include dry beans, peas and nuts • Lack one or more essential amino acid • (incomplete protein) • Eat a variety to get complete

Most people get plenty of protein in normal eating plan • Extra protein won’t build bigger muscles ==only physical activity does that

Vital Vitamins • Vitamins needed in only small amounts • Pack a powerful punch • Don’t provide energy or build body tissue • Help regulate these processes as well as others • Help other nutrients do their jobs • See chart on pages 94 & 95

Vitamins A, C and E have special roles • Act as antioxidants (help to protect your body from cell damage that can lead to health problems • Eat plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grain breads & cereal, nuts

Water soluble vitamins Vitamins C & B Dissolve in water Not stored in body Need to eat them regularly Gets rid of excess in urine Taking large amounts as supplements can cause your kidneys to work too hard to remove excess Fat soluble vitamins Vitamins A, D, E, and K Stored in your body fat & in your liver When you need them your body pulls them out Excess amounts can build up to harmful levels in your body See page 94 & 95

Mighty Minerals • Promote good health • Regulate body processes • Others become part of your bones, teeth and blood • Need to pay special attention to calcium and iron in the teen years • See page 97

Healthy Bones • Grow with the help of calcium, phosphorous and magnesium • Highest need in teen years • Although we build and maintain lifelong • If you don’t get enough, your body withdraws what it needs from your bones • Osteoporosis –condition in which bones become porous and can break easily

Healthy Blood • Iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen to all your cells • Without iron, your blood can’t carry all the O2 your body cells need to make energy • anemia- lack of iron in body • Makes you feel tired and week • Women need more iron due to menstruation (especially teens)

Water is a Nutrient, Too! • Vital nutrient • Need a regular supply • Help body perform life supporting activities • Live many days without food • Live without water only a few days • Carries nutrients, eliminates wastes, helps regulate body temperature

Sources of Water • Each day you lose 2 – 3 quarts of water • Replace it by drinking 8 cups of fluid • Choose plain water, fruit juices, milk, soups • Caffeine products (coffee, tea, some sodas) not the best sources • Caffeine make you lose water • Many foods supply water ( fruits, veggies, bread and some meat)

Dietary Supplements • Most get all the nutrients they need by eating a variety of nutritious foods • Dietary supplement – provides extra nutrients in the form of pills, capsules, liquid, powder • May contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, herbs • Sometimes they are necessary

Doctor may recommend them for elderly, pregnant, nursing women, people on certain medications, recovering from illnesses • Special diets or very low calorie diets

Summary • Carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water each have specific functions to perform in your body • Each nutrient is supplied by many different foods, including some that are especially good sources

Dietary supplements, used appropriately, can provide extra nutrients for people in special circumstances

Getting & Using Nutrients