Human Nutrition:
The food that we eat is called our diet. We need food for 3 reasons:
- To provide us with a ‘fuel’ for energy
- To provide materials for growth and repair
- To help fight disease and keep our bodies healthy.
A balanced diet is a diet that provides enough of the substances we need in the correct proportions to
keep us healthy. A nutrient is a substance that provides nourishment essential for the maintenance of
life and for growth.
Starch is a carbohydrate, and is a long, insoluble, molecule, made of repeating glucose units.(Contains :
oxygen, carbon,hydrogen)
Sugars are also carbohydrates, but they are smaller, soluble molecules, found in sweet tasting foods.
(Contains:oxygen, carbon,hydrogen)
ProteiNs are polymers, made of subunits called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids in the
body.
(Contains: oxygen, carbon,hydrogen and Nitrogen)
Fats (or lipids) are built from a molecule of glycerol, and 3 fatty acids. (Contains: oxygen, carbon,
hydrogen)
There are many different fatty acid molecules, which determine the type of lipid. Saturated fats only
have single bonds between the fatty acids. These are found in meat, along with cholesterol. Too much
saturated fat and cholesterol in our diet is linked to heart disease.
There are 5 nutrients a balanced diet includes:
Energy in food is measured in
kiloJoules (kJ) (or kilocalories)
Food labels tell us the mass of
any nutrients, vitamins and
minerals the food contains.
They also show the energy
content of food.
They usually provide
information per 100g of food.
Some foods contain more
energy than others.
Foods with a high fat content
generally have a higher energy
content.
1g of fat can release about 39kJ
of energy.
Carbohydrates and proteins
release similar amounts - 17kJ
and 18kJ respectively
The food that we eat is called our diet. We need food for 3 reasons:
- To provide us with a ‘fuel’ for energy
- To provide materials for growth and repair
- To help fight disease and keep our bodies healthy.
A balanced diet is a diet that provides enough of the substances we need in the correct proportions to
keep us healthy. A nutrient is a substance that provides nourishment essential for the maintenance of
life and for growth.
Starch is a carbohydrate, and is a long, insoluble, molecule, made of repeating glucose units.(Contains :
oxygen, carbon,hydrogen)
Sugars are also carbohydrates, but they are smaller, soluble molecules, found in sweet tasting foods.
(Contains:oxygen, carbon,hydrogen)
ProteiNs are polymers, made of subunits called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids in the
body.
(Contains: oxygen, carbon,hydrogen and Nitrogen)
Fats (or lipids) are built from a molecule of glycerol, and 3 fatty acids. (Contains: oxygen, carbon,
hydrogen)
There are many different fatty acid molecules, which determine the type of lipid. Saturated fats only
have single bonds between the fatty acids. These are found in meat, along with cholesterol. Too much
saturated fat and cholesterol in our diet is linked to heart disease.
There are 5 nutrients a balanced diet includes:
Energy in food is measured in
kiloJoules (kJ) (or kilocalories)
Food labels tell us the mass of
any nutrients, vitamins and
minerals the food contains.
They also show the energy
content of food.
They usually provide
information per 100g of food.
Some foods contain more
energy than others.
Foods with a high fat content
generally have a higher energy
content.
1g of fat can release about 39kJ
of energy.
Carbohydrates and proteins
release similar amounts - 17kJ
and 18kJ respectively
