What is Nutrition? Do You Know the Right Meaning?
Nutrition Science of Nutrients: Meaning and Basics
Nutrition means science that belongs to the interaction of food nutrients. It involves the scientific interpretation of the following questions:
- What nutrients and other substances a food has?
- How do those nutrients and substances interact in food?
- What reactions happen with those nutrients in food?
- What are the consequences of those interactions and reactions?
Nutrients: Vastly Knowledgeable Nutrition Guide
All the above questions are being studied in this science of nutrition for knowing their relation with:
- Growth
- Health
- Disease
- Reproduction
- Other mechanical and functional organisms.
So, basically, Nutrition Science of nutrients suggests the effects of a food's nutritional status (Nutrition Facts or Nutritional Value) on growth and disease-free life, which can be said an ideally healthy life.
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The Significance of Knowing about Nutrition
The motto of studying nutrition is to provide a set of dietary advice that is completely research and evidence-based. This set of dietary advice through nutrition science includes a review on:
- What should be eaten?
- Personalized nutritional health
- Personalized plan for nutritional treatment
- Preventive program for proper nutrition
- Therapeutic program for proper nutrition
- Role of nutrition in chronic and other diseases
- Remediation as per deficiency of nutrition before resorting to a drug
Nutritional phenomena
Nutrition and related studies include phenomena, such as:
- Food intake in the body
- Absorption of food
- Assimilation processes for supplying nutrients to the body
- Biosynthesis of substrates for food conversion in more complex molecules
- Catabolism for sending those molecules through various metabolic pathways for breaking down the larger and complex molecules for energy release or anabolic reactions for growth
- Excretion
One of the most important and useful benefits of nutrition-related knowledge is avoiding Malnutrition or Nutritional Imbalance, which occurs due to supplying insufficient, extra, or imbalanced nutrients.
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Proper Nutrition
Proper nutrition means correct, adequate, and appropriate (suitable as per person) nutrition. Supplying a body with the right amount and quality of nutrition supports the growth and development of children. The ultimate effect of good nutrition is shown in economic growth advancement and poverty eradication.
Human Nutrition
Human nutrition belongs to the supply of essential nutrients to the body for leading a life with good health. A person can survive without food or nutrition for just about 40 days, which also depends on various factors like consumption of water, pre-stored fat in the body, the mass of muscles, and some genetic factors.
The term nutrition involves the complete set of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.
These nutrients are made of various chemical compounds such as water, carbon compounds, amino acids, fatty acids, nucleic acids, etc.
The chemical compounds are made of many basic elements such as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, nitrogen, iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese, etc.
The above chemical compounds and their elements are found in the human body in various combinations and forms such as vitamins, hormones, hydroxyapatite, and phospholipids.
Nutritional Status
In a study of nutritional status, the following aspects are being taken into consideration:
- The state of a body before and after the experiments
- The chemical composition of the entire diet
- The chemical composition of excreted and eliminated materials from the body, which includes feces and urine
- Comparison of food to waste material.
The food and waste are analyzed for an extended span of time. The above-mentioned considerations help in determining the compounds and elements which are absorbed and metabolized by our body.
The nutritional studies that are done in human nutrition science, involve a high number of variables in the experiments. The studies are considerably time-consuming and highly expensive which makes the process and growth of this science pretty slow.
Nutrition science involves studies to understand why and how different dietary aspects influence growth and health. It also puts light on the relationship of diet with health and diseases. The nutrition term involves the range from optimal health to malnutrition. The prevention and alleviation of many diseases or symptoms can be seen through the involvement of better or good nutrition.
Nutrients
If the word "nutrition" is taken in reference to food or diet, it can be seen as the combined entity of nutrient units. Or for easy understanding, all the nutrients make nutrition as a whole.
When someone says you need to take nutrition, it means you need to supply yourself with all the nutrients in the balanced and right amount.
Types of Nutrients
Nutrients that are
- Macronutrients that are needed in a larger amount, such as
carbohydrates The Carbohydrates: List of 3 Types of Energy Givers (sugar, starch, fiber),protein The Protein Guide: 5 Finest Writings Collected , andfats Fat: Superbly Effectual Nutrition Guide . - Micronutrients that are needed in a lesser amount, comparatively, such as vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K, P), Minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, sodium, etc), and trace elements
Food or diet that incorporates nutrition, that is, macro and micronutrients in the correct amount, is considered as healthy food or a healthy diet.
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