NUTRITION: CLASSES OF FOOD

Food is the source of energy for all living things. Builds healthy
bodies Repairs and Replaces Damages tissues Importance of food Builds new cells Warms the body Provides energy For carrying Out work Growth

Food

can be classified into seven main classes.

Classes of food

Carbohydrate

Protein

Fat

Vitamin

Mineral salts

Dietary fibre (roughage)

Water

CARBOHYDRATE
Carbohydrate

is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are three types of carbohydrate: ( a ) starch ( b ) sugar ( c ) cellulose Food rich in carbohydrates include rice, potato, sugar, bread and banana. Carbohydrate is our main source of energy. Carbohydrate supplies us with the energy to carry out daily activities such as walking, breathing and working.

PROTEIN
Protein

is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Sometimes protein can also contain phosphorus and sulphur. Food rich in protein includes fish, milk, meat, egg white and nuts(groundnuts and soya bean) Proteins are required for building new cells: ( a ) for growth ( b ) to replace damaged tissue Growing children require a lot of protein. Lack of protein will cause a disease known as kwashiorkor ( stunted growth)

FAT

Fat is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but the ratio is different from that of carbohydrate. Food rich in fats includes palm oil, coconut oil, fish oil, butter and egg yolk. Fat produces twice the amount of energy compared with carbohydrates of the same weight. The functions of fat include: - supplying energy - as an insulator of heat to reduce heat loss from the body - protecting the internal organs such as kidneys and the heart. - dissolving some vitamins in the body like vitamin A, D, E and K.

Vitamins

only. Vitamins are classified into two groups: ( a ) vitamins soluble in water vitamin B and C ( b ) Vitamins soluble in fat vitamin A, D, E and K Vitamins protect the body from various types of diseases and maintains the health of the body.

are required in small quantities

VITAMINS

Main sources of vitamins and their functions

Main source

Function

Effect of deficiency

A B

Egg, milk, cord liver oil, For growth and to promote healthy skin Night carrot, papaya and for good vision at night blindness Yeast, egg, milk, tomato, liver, nuts Promotes the effective functioning of the Beri-beri nervous system Pellagra Controls the supply of carbohydrates to anaemia the muscle and nerve cells Scurvy Anaemia

Lime, citrus fruits, Increases immunity against diseases tomato,carrot,papaya, Promotes healthy skin green vegetables

Egg, milk, cord liver oil Helps in the absorption of calcium and Rickets phosphorus in the small intestines for the Tooth decay growth of strong bones and teeth Vegetable oil, palm oil, Maintains a healthy reproductive system Sterility egg, liver, milk Maize, sunflower seeds, Necessary for the clothing of blood tomato, green vegetables Blood slow to clot

E K

MINERAL SALTS

Our body requires small quantities of mineral salts Mineral salts help to maintain our bodys health
Main source
Milk,anchovies, cheese,

Mineral salts calcium

Function Formation of strong bones and teeth and helps in the clotting of blood Necessary constituent of blood plasma Builds hemoglobin of red blood cells

Effect of deficiency Rickets

green vegetables Common salt

sodium

Muscle cramps, tiredness, lack of appetite Anaemia

iron iodine
phosphorus

Milk, liver, meat, egg, green vegetables

Seafood such as fish and Necessary for the functioning of theGoiter prawn thyroid gland Milk, fish, egg, green vegetables Milk, egg Necessary for the formation of strong bones and teeth Necessary for muscle contraction Helps to maintain the balance of blood and tissue Rickets Muscle tiredness, muscle cramps

potassium

Dietary

fibre or roughage is made up of fibre, such as like cellusoe, present in food substances and is difficult to digest. The main sources of roughage are vegetables and fruit. Roughage helps to stimulate peristalsis and the muscle movement of the small and big intestines. Deficiency of roughage in our diet causes constipation ( difficult to pass motion )

DIETARY FIBRE

Food

and drinks supply the water necessary for our body. The functions of water include : ( a ) controlling the body temperature ( b ) removing excretory products like carbon dioxide ( c ) controlling the concentration of blood ( d ) transporting food during digestion ( e ) as a lubricant ( f ) as a medium for biochemical reactions in the body

WATER

IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCE DIET

Meaning of a balance diet A balanced diet is made up of food that has all the nutrients in the right quantity. A balanced diet is necessary for : Supplying the required energy. Balanced body growth. Maintaining the health of the body. Preventing deficiency diseases such as scurvy and rickets.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE A PERSONS NEEDS FOR A

BALANCED DIET An individuals total energy and nutrition requirements depen on the following factors :

Factor The group requiring more energy Reason a) Sex Men require more energy compared Men are more to women of the same age and active body size b) Age Babies, children and teenagers This group is require more energy compared to more active and adults or the elderly. Eg: The and the life hearbeat of a baby is 100 beats a processes are minute compared to an adult who faster. has 75 beats per minute.

c) Body size

Big-sized individuals require more Big-sized energy size compared to smallindividuals sized individuals. require more energy for their life processes.

d) PhysicalAn individual who does heavy work Heavy work actvity uses more energy compared to requires more another who does light work. energy to perform e) Individuals living in places with cold More energy is weather weather require more energy required to compared to individuals living in maintain the places with warm weather. body temperature in a cold place

CALORIFIC VALUE OF FOOD

calorific value of food is the total energy produced when one gram of food is completely burnt. The quanttity of energy in a food is measured in calorie or joule.

Amount of energy found in various types of food Types of food cucumber Spinach Mushroom/ tomato cabbgage onion papaya carrot orange pineapple apple milk guava kJ/100g of food 55 88 92 109 110 164 168 190 197 244 269 290 Types of food Boiled egg Dried anchovies Fried egg beef Wholemeal bread White bread cereal Coconut milk rice Groundnut oil Fine sugar cheese

kJ/100g of food foo 659 937 945 1010 1012 1134 1300 1306 1512 1590 1625 1672

potato banana Fresh prawn Fresh fish Sweet potato

344 357 380 433 491

mutton groundnut Potato chips butter ghee

630 2293 2386 3007 4200

Calorific value of carbohydrate, protein and fat Class of food carbohydrate protein fat Calorific value of food kJg-1 17.2 22.2 38.5

Calorific values of canned or package foodstuffs are stated on their labels. Calorific value of food in calories can be converted to joules if necessary. 1 calorie(cal) = 4.2 joule (J) 1 kilocalorie(kcal) = 4.2 kilojoules(kJ) Example : a) 5 calories = 5 x 4.2 = 21.0 joules b) If calorific value for each one packet serving of instant noodles = 451 kcal, therefore, the calorific value each packet serving of instant noodles in joules = 451 x 4.2 = 1894.2 joules

ENERGY REQUIREMENTS OF DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS

Individual Newborn baby Children(5 7 years) Pregnant women Office worker Factory worker Manual worker

Daily energy requirements (kJ/day) 2000 7500 10 000 11 000 12 500 15 000

DIGESTION 1. Digestion is the process of breaking down complex food to simple molecules for absorption into the blood circulatory system. 2. Digestion takes place in two stages : (a) physical digestion big pieces of food are broken down into smaller pieces by teeth. (b) chemical digestion enzymes break up complex food molecules into smaller molecules. 3. Enzymes are proteins that speed up the process of digestion. Enzymes break up complex food molecules to smaller and simpler molecules.

HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Human digestive system

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DIGESTIVE SYSTEM The digestive system consists of all the organs in the body that help in the digestion of food. The alimentary canal is made up of the mouth, eosophagus, stomach, small intestines, big intestines and anus (starts from the mouth and ends at the anus). Food is pushed along the alimentary canal by the muscular walls that contract and expand alternately through the process of peristalsis.

MOUTH
Food

is chewed and broken up into small pieces by the teeth. Small pieces of food have a wide surface area for the saliva to act upon. The salivary gland secretes saliva that is alkaline and contains salivary amylase enzymes(ptailin) Salivary amylase digests starch into maltose(sugar). Starch salivary amylase maltase

OESOPHAGUS
1.

Food is pushed through the oesophagus into the stomach by the alternating muscular contraction and relaxation of the oesophagus. 2. This process of the alternating muscular contraction and relaxation is as peristalsis. 3. No digestion takes place in the oesophagus because there are no digestive enzymes secreted.

Food is mixed with gastric juice in the stomach. Gastric juice is scereted from the cells of the stomach wall. Gastric juice contains (a) hydrocloric acid (b) enzymes (rennin and pepsin) The function of hydrocloric acid include: (a) providing an acidic medium for enzymic action. (b) killing bacteria found in food. (c) neutralising the alkaline property of saliva and stopping the action of salivary amylase enzymes. Pepsin digests protein into peptones. protein pepsin peptones Rennin coagulates milk in the stomach to help the enzymic action of pepsin. liquid milk proteins renin solid milk protein

STOMACH

SMALL INTESTINES
The

duodenum is the first part of the small intestine. The duodenum receives bile and pancreatic juice. Bile is produced by the liver and is stored in the gall bladder. The bile flows from the gall bladder into the duodenum through the bile duct. The functions of the bile are: (a) emulsification of fat,i.e breaking up large fatty globules into small droplets for enzymic action. (b) preparation of an alkaline medium for enzymic action. Pancreatic juice, which is produced by the pancreas cells, contains three types of enzymes, i.e. pancreatic amylase, protease and lipase.

The

pancreatic amylase digests starch into maltose. starch pancreatic amylase amylase The protease digests peptones into amino acids. peptones pancreatic protease amino acids
The

lipase digests digests fat into fatty acid and glycerol fat pancreatic lipase fatty acids + glycerol The small intestine(ileum) produces enzymes which digest maltose into glucose ( simple sugar) Digestion is completed in the small intestine. The digested food is then ready to be absorbed through the thin walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream.

BIG INTESTINE
Water

is reabsorbed in the big intestine ( colon ). food is expelled from the body through the anus as faeces.

Undigested

END PRODUCTS OF DIGESTION

intestine. The end products of digestion must be simple forms that can be readily absorbed into small intestine through the villi.
Final products of digestion of carborhydrate, protein and fat

of food is completed in the small

Class of food carbohydrate protein fat

Final product of digestion Glucose Amino acid Fatty acids and glycerol

Absorption

is the process when the end of products of digestion enters the bloodstream through the small intestinal walls. The inner surface of the small intestine is covered with millions of small projections about 1 mm long. Theseprojections are callled villi(plural for villus0. Food that has been digested into its most simple form is absorbed by the villi on the small intestinal walls into bloodstream. The efficiency of absorption of digested food at the small intestine can be increased by :
(a) more villi to increase surface areas (b) villus with very thin walls, i.e. as thin as one cell

ABSORPTION OF THE PRODUCTS OF DIGESTION

REABSORPTION OF WATER AND DEFAECATION

DEFAECATION
Undigested

food in the big intestine is expelled as faeces through the process of defaecation. The faeces that reach the rectum are made up of undigested food substances. The faeces accumulate in the rectum. When the rectum is full of faeces, the rectum undergoes peristalsis and assisted by abdominal contraction, will push the faeces through anus to be expelled. If an individual has problems passing motion, he or she is said to be constipated. Constipation takes place because of the lack of water in the diet.

HEALTHY EATING HABITS

Healthy eating habits will help maintain a healthy body. Unhealthy eating habits cause various health problems Excessive or lack of nutrients causes health problems

Excessive nutrient Sugar Salt Fat/oil Lack of nutrient protein roughage vitamins

Health problems Tooth decay High blood pressure, heart problems, kidney damaage Heart problems, high blood pressure Health problems Kwashiorkor in children Constpation Lower immunity to disease

FOOD PYRAMID
FAT, OIL, SUGAR MEAT, FISH, EGG, NUTS

VEGETABLES

FRUITS

BREAD, CEREALS

The

food pyramid shows the food groups that serve as a guide to a balanced diet. The foods that the base of the food pyramid are required in big amounts daily. The foods at the top are required in small amounts in our daily diet. A diet based on the food pyramid will give the required nutrients and energy to maintain a healthy body.

FOOD PYRAMID

HEALTHY LIVING PROCESS

live in a caring society. Therefore, we should be generous. We should donate surplus food to the poor and needy. We should respect each others cultures as Malaysia is a multiracial and multireligious country.