Chapter 1:
Government agencies
- The United States Department of Health and Human Services was introduced to
establish scientific-based, national objectives for promoting health. It includes many
nutrition-related goals pertaining to dietary intake, maternal, and child health, and
management of chronic disease.
- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a cabinet-level agency that oversees
the American farming industry. Their duties range from helping farmers with price
support subsides to inspecting food to ensure the safety of the American public. The
USDA also sets about our dietary guidelines, such as the DRIs.
- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public
health by assuring the safety, efficiency, and security of human/veterinary drugs,
biological products, medical devices, national food supply, cosmetics, and products
that emit radiation. This department regulates food safety and labels, and also helps to
educate the public of nutrition.
Guides
- The USDA issued its first food guide in 1940s, and food guides evolved over time
into various formats and shapes. The Food Guide Pyramid, modified to MyPyramid,
was the graphic used to encourage healthy eating. The relative amount of food to be
eaten from each food group was expressed by the width of that section of the
pyramid.
- MyPlate illustrates the five major food groups using a familiar mealtime visual – a
place setting. The general themes of MyPlate are (1) eat small portions, and (2)
choose lower calorie, nutrient-dense foods.
Evidence based practice (EBP)
- EBP is the use of current research and findings that has been backed up by scientific
evidence to make appropriate decisions. EBP guides are decisions in the nursing field.
Includes 3 steps, identify the evidence, review the evidence, and implement the
findings.
Function of nutrients
- Nutrition means to nourish and encompasses the food people eat and how it enriches
their lives physically, socially, and personally. Nutrients have three general functions:
to provide energy, to build and repair body tissues and structures, and to regulate
metabolic processes that maintain homeostasis.
Chapter 6:
What are vitamins? Vitamins are complex molecules that are needed in very minute
amounts, but are essential to certain tissues. To be classified as a vitamin, a compound
has to meet several criteria:
- It must be an organic dietary substance that is not energy producing.
, - It is needed in very small quantities to perform particular metabolic functions and
prevent an identified deficiency disease.
- It cannot be synthesized by the body, so it must be supplied in food.
Water – soluble vitamins – The water soluble vitamins are vitamin C and the B-
complex family. These vitamins are easily absorbed and transported, but unlike the fat-
soluble vitamins, they cannot be stored except in the general sense of tissue saturation.
The B vitamins function mainly as coenzyme factors in cell metabolism, while Vitamin C
works with enzymes that support tissue building and maintenance.
1. The discovery of Vitamin C is associated with the ancient hemorrhagic disease
scurvy. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and also functions to build and maintain
many body tissues including matrix, cartilage, dentin, and collagen. Vitamin C is also
found in greater amounts in metabolically active tissues such as the adrenal and
pituitary glands, brain, eyes, and WBCs. Clinical Applications include wound healing,
infection and fever, growth, and stress and body response.
The best know sources of Vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, salad greens,
strawberries, watermelon, cabbage, and sweet potatoes. Because vitamin C is easily
oxidized when exposed to air or heat, storage and preparation/cooking methods must
be chosen carefully.
Increased intake of Vitamin C has been shown to cure common cold, protect against
degenerative disease, and delay signs of aging. Some adverse interactions of
inappropriate supplement use can involve gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhea.
Fat-soluble vitamins – Fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K. They are closely
associated with body lipids and are easily stored. Their functions are usually related to
structural activities with proteins. All fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the small
intestine as part of the micelles.
1. Vitamin A is the generic name for a group of compounds with similar biologic
activity: Retinol, Retinal, and Retinoic Acids. The term retinoid refers to the natural
forms of vitamin A and its synthetic copy. There are two dietary forms of Vitamin A
(1) preformed vitamin A and (2) Provitamin A.
- Preformed Vitamin A (retinol): This is the natural form of vitamin A and can only be found in
animal foods that are usually associate with fat. You can get this vitamin through dairy foods,
egg yolk, liver, and fish.
- Provitamin A vitamins can be found in broccoli, carrots, spinach, cantaloupe, tomato juice, and
apricots.
The role of Vitamin A in vision is best known, but vitamin A also influences the integrity of body
coverings and linings (epithelial tissues), cell division, and differentiation, growth, immunity,
and reproductive function.
Government agencies
- The United States Department of Health and Human Services was introduced to
establish scientific-based, national objectives for promoting health. It includes many
nutrition-related goals pertaining to dietary intake, maternal, and child health, and
management of chronic disease.
- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a cabinet-level agency that oversees
the American farming industry. Their duties range from helping farmers with price
support subsides to inspecting food to ensure the safety of the American public. The
USDA also sets about our dietary guidelines, such as the DRIs.
- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public
health by assuring the safety, efficiency, and security of human/veterinary drugs,
biological products, medical devices, national food supply, cosmetics, and products
that emit radiation. This department regulates food safety and labels, and also helps to
educate the public of nutrition.
Guides
- The USDA issued its first food guide in 1940s, and food guides evolved over time
into various formats and shapes. The Food Guide Pyramid, modified to MyPyramid,
was the graphic used to encourage healthy eating. The relative amount of food to be
eaten from each food group was expressed by the width of that section of the
pyramid.
- MyPlate illustrates the five major food groups using a familiar mealtime visual – a
place setting. The general themes of MyPlate are (1) eat small portions, and (2)
choose lower calorie, nutrient-dense foods.
Evidence based practice (EBP)
- EBP is the use of current research and findings that has been backed up by scientific
evidence to make appropriate decisions. EBP guides are decisions in the nursing field.
Includes 3 steps, identify the evidence, review the evidence, and implement the
findings.
Function of nutrients
- Nutrition means to nourish and encompasses the food people eat and how it enriches
their lives physically, socially, and personally. Nutrients have three general functions:
to provide energy, to build and repair body tissues and structures, and to regulate
metabolic processes that maintain homeostasis.
Chapter 6:
What are vitamins? Vitamins are complex molecules that are needed in very minute
amounts, but are essential to certain tissues. To be classified as a vitamin, a compound
has to meet several criteria:
- It must be an organic dietary substance that is not energy producing.
, - It is needed in very small quantities to perform particular metabolic functions and
prevent an identified deficiency disease.
- It cannot be synthesized by the body, so it must be supplied in food.
Water – soluble vitamins – The water soluble vitamins are vitamin C and the B-
complex family. These vitamins are easily absorbed and transported, but unlike the fat-
soluble vitamins, they cannot be stored except in the general sense of tissue saturation.
The B vitamins function mainly as coenzyme factors in cell metabolism, while Vitamin C
works with enzymes that support tissue building and maintenance.
1. The discovery of Vitamin C is associated with the ancient hemorrhagic disease
scurvy. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and also functions to build and maintain
many body tissues including matrix, cartilage, dentin, and collagen. Vitamin C is also
found in greater amounts in metabolically active tissues such as the adrenal and
pituitary glands, brain, eyes, and WBCs. Clinical Applications include wound healing,
infection and fever, growth, and stress and body response.
The best know sources of Vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, salad greens,
strawberries, watermelon, cabbage, and sweet potatoes. Because vitamin C is easily
oxidized when exposed to air or heat, storage and preparation/cooking methods must
be chosen carefully.
Increased intake of Vitamin C has been shown to cure common cold, protect against
degenerative disease, and delay signs of aging. Some adverse interactions of
inappropriate supplement use can involve gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhea.
Fat-soluble vitamins – Fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K. They are closely
associated with body lipids and are easily stored. Their functions are usually related to
structural activities with proteins. All fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the small
intestine as part of the micelles.
1. Vitamin A is the generic name for a group of compounds with similar biologic
activity: Retinol, Retinal, and Retinoic Acids. The term retinoid refers to the natural
forms of vitamin A and its synthetic copy. There are two dietary forms of Vitamin A
(1) preformed vitamin A and (2) Provitamin A.
- Preformed Vitamin A (retinol): This is the natural form of vitamin A and can only be found in
animal foods that are usually associate with fat. You can get this vitamin through dairy foods,
egg yolk, liver, and fish.
- Provitamin A vitamins can be found in broccoli, carrots, spinach, cantaloupe, tomato juice, and
apricots.
The role of Vitamin A in vision is best known, but vitamin A also influences the integrity of body
coverings and linings (epithelial tissues), cell division, and differentiation, growth, immunity,
and reproductive function.
