#HEALTHTALK 02: The Food Nutrients

Did you know that 'nutrient' is the foundation of 'nutrition'? Without nutrients, there will exist no word as nutrition.

Nutrients are the components of food. We get nutrients from the food we eat and these nutrients determine the effect(s) of food consumed.

Nourishment comes with the nutrients housed by the food we eat. Nutrients help to maintain a healthy and active life. Food nutrients are needed to maintain body temperature, promote life, supply energy, repair body tissue, stimulate growth and build new cells.

When the food nutrients are not taken in the right proportion, it leads to malnutrition either in form of undernutrition or in form of overnutrition.
These food nutrients are known with the following names in the world:
1.   Carbohydrates
2.   Protein
3.   Fats and oil
4.   Minerals
5.   Vitamin
6.   Water and
7.   Dietary fiber (Most times grouped with carbohydrate)

These food nutrients are further grouped into two according to how they are needed in the body. Those that are needed in large quantities are called macro nutrients and those needed in small quantities are called the micro nutrients.

THE MACRO NUTRIENTS
Macro nutrients are needed in large amounts in the body. They include: Carbohydrates, protein and fats.
Inadequate consumption of protein and energy-giving food over a period of time leads to marasmus in children. Also, if a child consumes inadequate amount of protein, it leads to kwashiokor.

Sources of Carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate is a class of food that is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrate is formed by green plants during photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and water.

The end product of Carbohydrate digestion is glucose which is the most absorbable form of carbohydrate. Excessive consumption can lead to Diabetes Mellitus. It is risky to your health if you maintain a diet that consists of only carbohydrates all-week long or more.

Carbohydrate is necessary in the production of infant formula and food for all age groups. Carbohydrate-rich foods include: cereal crops like rice, maize and millet; tubers like yam and cassava; plantain and banana; some vegetables, etc.

Functions of carbohydrates
1.   Provide energy to the body cells.
2.   Used in the breakdown of fatty acids and in preventing ketosis.
3.   Carbohydrates spare the use of protein for energy.
4.   Contains dietary fibre which aid in proper bowel movement.
5.   They have sweet taste and flavour used to produce flavours and sweeteners.

Sources of Fat and Oil

Fat and Oil
Fat is needed in large quantities in the body to maintain good health by giving energy, protecting the health of the heart and brain cells and to absorb Vitamins.

Excessive consumption can lead to over weight and obesity, arteriosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.

Did you know that your body needs natural fats in form of unsaturated fats than saturated fats, and trans-fat (which is artificial)? Saturated fats raise cholesterol levels in the body, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart disease. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that's found in all the cells in your body.

However, cholesterol has been shown to be sometimes good as it helps in production of sexual hormones and adrenal hormones. It also helps to digest fat and produce vitamin D.

We can get enough saturated fats in animal products like meat, milk and cheese,
as well as tropical oils, including coconut and palm oil. These should be taken in low quantities, in order to avoid possible negative health effects as mentioned above, especially in adults.

Unsaturated fats can be sourced from avocado, salmon and mackerel fishes, nuts like peanuts and walnuts, and low-cholesterol vegetable oils. These are healthier food choices.

Functions of a good Fat
1.   Provides warmth to the body
2.   Reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke
3.   Fats makes chewing of food easy
4.   Makes the skin to glow
5.   It provides energy.

Flinks Soya Pap is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fat and oil, as well as vitamins. To place an order (wholesale or retail) within Nigeria, please call 08073841704. 

Proteins
This is the building block for other cells in the body. It is made up of amino acids.
Protein is essential in the body for growth and repair of tissues.
It can be gotten from legumes, meat, egg and milk.

Protein functions
1.   Proteins provide structure and repairs warn-out tissues.
2.   Building blocks for growth. It is necessary in infants and young children's diet.
3.   Helps to maintain proper body PH.
4.   Protein transports and stores other molecules like oxygen.
5.   Proteins are hormones which act as chemical messengers.
6.   Proteins are known as enzymes that aid in biochemical reactions.

Water
Water is made up of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen.
It is known as a universal solvent. The human body needs water for proper functioning.
Water is taken out of the body through sweat and urine which are products of excretion.

Functions of Water
1.   Water aids in proper digestion.
2.   Water keeps the body temperature normal.
3.   Transports urea which is synthesised from ammonia and carbondioxide.
4.   Adequate water makes the skin moist and shine.

1-litre Eva bottled water

Water is essential to the body cells. So, it is advised to drink a minimum of 2.5 litres of water a day to avoid dehydration. That's equivalent to drinking at least two (2) and a half of the large-size Eva water bottle quantity of water daily.

Did you know that your level of water-intake is also your level of water output in a day?
Did you also know that you take-in water through the food you eat, fruits and vegetables and through drinking?

MICRO NUTRIENTS
These are nutrients needed in little quantity in the body. They are the vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins
Vitamins are needed in body metabolism. They help to fight diseases and support the immune system. They are co-factors in metabolic pathways.

Sources of Vitamins

Some vitamins are needed daily while others can be synthesised by the body.
Vitamins occur in two types according to their level of solubility. They are:
1.   Fat-soluble vitamins: The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins are needed in the body but in little quantities. They are not meant to be taken regularly because they can be synthesised by the body when needed.

Vitamin ADEK are not usually lost like the water-soluble vitamins. They can be gotten from oils, carotenoids (sweet potatoes, carrot, spinach), fruits and vegetables, sunlight, wheat germs, sunflower seeds, almond, fish, milk and other food sources.

2.   Water-soluble Vitamins: This type of vitamins can easily be lost in the body. The water-soluble vitamins are vitamins B and C. They are easily lost in the body and need to be replaced daily. Vitamin B and C can be gotten from fruits and vegetables. Also, from other sources like tuber crops.

Functions of Vitamins
1.   Vitamins help to fight diseases. For example, vitamin E has an antioxidant ability to fight free radicals—it has the ability to stop or inhibit the growth of cancerous cells.
2.   Helps in bone formation.
3.   Vitamins protect vision.
4.   Supports the immune system.

Minerals
Minerals are micro nutrients that are needed so sparingly in the body.
We have major and trace minerals in the body. They maintain fluid balance.

The major minerals are more important to the health than the trace minerals; so the body needs and stores them for future use. Minerals help to maintain water balance in the body and also keeps the protein structure stable. Major minerals are as follows: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, chloride, sodium, sulfur.

Trace minerals carry oxygen. They strengthen bones and help to block damages to body cells. They also help to form enzymes.
Trace minerals are, fluoride, iron, copper, manganese, chromium, zinc, selinium, molybdenum, chromium.

Cyanide in cassava tubers is best removed either by sun-drying, or soaking then boiling, or fermenting then roasting. 

Vitamins and minerals are also known as co-factor/co-enzyme in metabolic pathways

Note: There are anti nutrients. They are found in some edible food crops. An example of an anti nutrient is cyanide found in cassava and cabbage.

NUTRITIONAL DISEASES 
Nutritional diseases are any of the nutrient-related diseases and conditions that cause illnesses in humans. They may include deficiencies or excesses in the diet, obesity and eating disorders, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes mellitus.

Nutritional diseases also include developmental abnormalities that can be prevented by diet, hereditary metabolic disorders that respond to dietary treatment, the interaction of foods and nutrients with drugs, food allergies and intolerances, and potential hazards in the food supply.

Undernutrition is a condition in which there is insufficient food to meet energy needs. Its main characteristics include weightloss and increased susceptibility to diseases.

Flinks Soya Pap is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fat and oil, as well as vitamins. To place an order (wholesale or retail) within Nigeria, please call 08073841704. 

Chronic undernutrition manifests primarily as protein-energy malnutrition (PEM)—which is the most common form of malnutrition worldwide. At one end of the continuum is kwashiorkor, characterized by a severe protein deficiency mostly found in infants. Breast feeding is one of the most important ways to develop vigorous immune system.

Malnutrition is the impaired function that results from a prolonged deficiency—or excess—of total energy or specific nutrients such as protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, or minerals. This condition can result from fasting, impaired digestion, limited food availability, unwise food choices, or overzealous use of dietary supplements.

Infections and malnutrition have an enhancement relationship called synergy. Malnutrition may cause infectious diseases and infectious diseases cause malnutrition also. To prevent or counter infections, one must complement the energy and nutrients lost.

Xerophthalmia

Some common vitamins and diseases associated with their deficiency are:
1.   Xerophthalmia (vitamin A)—blindness from chronic eye infections.
2.   Poor liver rickets (vitamin D)—bone deformities.
3.   Curvy (vitamin C)—delayed wound healing, internal bleeding.
4.   Iron-deficiency anemia (iron)—decreased work output, increased health risk in pregnancy.
5.   Goitre (iodine)—enlarged thyroid gland.

Persons with eating disorders, cancer, AIDS, and other illnesses where appetite fails or absorption of nutrients is hampered may lose muscle and organ tissue as well as fat stores.


Lilian Uchechi Eze is a Nutritionist-Dietitian in Lagos, Nigeria. She is a teacher, writer and content developer at The Paul Anunaso Blog, and can be reached at lilian.thepaulanunasoblog@gmail.com

Chisom Deborah Ogbonna, a biologist in Lagos, Nigeria, also contributed to this article.