NUTRITION:

Nutrition is essential for living. The tragedy s that a lot ignorance connection with nutrition and
diet, even in the minds of the educated. One can eat to live or live to eat, those who eat to live are
much healthier than the ones who live to eat. The idea is to eat a nourishing and well balanced diet in
order to remain at the optimum fitness level.
It is essential for a person to control the diet in a manner that the essential nutrients are
obtained by the body to keep it in optimum functioning level. At the same time, care has to be taken to
avoid abusing the systems by loading them with harmful food elements. We need to eat a variety of
food so that the body obtains all the vitamins, minerals and nutrient required by it.

Nutrition’s Broadly classified in to two categories:

Macronutrients: Carbohydrates (4 Calories), Proteins (4 calories) and Fat (9 calories)

Macronutrients:
Vitamins (Fat - solvable – ADEK and Water –solvable – B1,B2,B3,B5,B6,B12,C, Biotin, Folic
acid)Minerals.
Minerals: Risk elements (Calcium and Iron) and Trace Element (Magnesium, Zink, Iodine,
Potassium)
MACRONUTRIENTS:

 They are the foods that should form the bulk of our diet. All of the foods you eat are composed
of three macronutrients.
 Some food is primarily carbohydrates (bread); others are mainly protein, and some are pure fat.
Other foods are combinations of two or all three.
 A slice of pizza is a perfect example. The crust and tomato sauce provide the carbohydrate, and
the cheese provides protein and fat.
 In order to properly function, your body needs all three of these macronutrients in
approximately the following ration: 55% Carbohydrates, 15% protein and no more than 30%
total fat.

Nutrient Calories per gram Approximate Need

Carbohydrates 4 Calories 55% of Diet
Proteins 4 Calories 15% of Diet
Fat 9 calories 30% of Diet (73gram Per day)

Caloric Requirements:
 Most sedentary women and older people require just 1600 calaries every day. Pregnant women
require more calories.
 Most sedentary Men, children, teenage girls and active woman, 2200 calories is quiet enough.
 Very active men and women as well as teenage boys require 2800 calories.

CARBOHYDRATES:
Carbohydrates — fiber, starches and sugars — are essential food nutrients that your body turns into
glucose to give you the energy to function. Complex carbs in fruits, vegetables and whole-grain
products are less likely to spike blood sugar than simple carbs (sugars). 
Types of Carbohydrates:
A. SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES:
Simple carbohydrates are sometimes called "sugars" or "simple sugars." There are 2 types of
simple carbohydrates: monosaccharides and disaccharides.
1. Monosaccharides:
It contain just one sugar unit, so they're the smallest of the carbohydrates. (The prefix "mono-"
means "one.") The small size of monosaccharides gives them a special role in digestion and
metabolism. Food carbohydrates have to be broken down to monosaccharides before they can be
absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, and they also circulate in blood in monosaccharide form.
There are 3 monosaccharides:

1. Glucose
2. Fructose
3. Galactose

(Note that all three have the same chemical formula (C6H12O6); the atoms are just arranged a bit
differently)
1. Glucose:
 In humans, glucose is one of the most important nutrients for fuelling the body.
 It's especially important for the brain and nervous system, which aren't very good at using other fuel
sources.
 Muscles, on the other hand, can use fat as an energy source. (In practice, your muscles are usually
using some combination of fat and glucose for energy, which we'll learn more about later.)
 Food sources of glucose: Glucose is found in fruits and vegetables, as well as honey, corn syrup,
and high fructose corn syrup. (All plants make glucose, but much of the glucose is used to make
starch, fiber, and other nutrients.
2. Fructose:
 Fructose is special because it is the sweetest carbohydrate. Plants make a lot of fructose as a way of
attracting insects and animals, which help plants to reproduce.
 For example, plants make nectar, which is high in fructose and very sweet, to attract insects that
will pollinate it.
 Plants also put fructose into fruit to make it tastier. Animals eat the fruit, wander away, and later
poop out the seeds from the fruit, thereby sowing the seeds of the next generation. Animal gets a
meal, and the plant gets to reproduce: win-win!
 Food sources of fructose: Fruits, vegetables, honey, high fructose corn syrup
3. Galactose:
 Galactose is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose and about 65% as sweet as
sucrose. We rarely find it in our food supply in monosaccharide form.
 Food sources of galactose: Galactose is found in milk (and dairy products made from milk), but it's
almost always linked to glucose to form a disaccharide (more on that in a minute).
2. Disaccharides:
There are 3 disaccharides:
 1. Maltose (glucose + glucose)
2. Sucrose (glucose + fructose)
3. Lactose (glucose + galactose)
1. Maltose
 Maltose is made of two glucose molecules bonded together. It doesn't occur naturally in any
appreciable amount in foods, with one exception: sprouted grains. 
 Grains contain a lot of starch, which is made of long chains of glucose (more on this in a minute),
and when the seed of a grain starts to sprout, it begins to break down that starch, creating maltose.
 If bread is made from those sprouted grains, that bread will have some maltose. Sprouted grain
bread is usually a little heavier and sweeter than bread made from regular flour.
 Maltose also plays a role in the production of beer and liquor, because this process involves the
fermentation of grains or other carbohydrate sources.
 Maltose is formed during the breakdown of those carbohydrates, but there is very little remaining
once the fermentation process is complete.
2. Sucrose
 Sucrose is made of a glucose molecule bonded to a fructose molecule. It's made by plants for the
same reason as fructose -- to attract animals to eat it and thereby spread the seeds.
 Sucrose is naturally-occurring in fruits and vegetables. (Most fruits and vegetables contain a
mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose.) But humans have also figured out how to concentrate the
sucrose in plants (usually sugar cane or sugar beets) to make refined table sugar. We also find
sucrose in maple syrup and honey.
 The sucrose found in sweet potato is chemically identical to the sucrose found in table sugar
 The fructose found in a fig is chemically identical to the fructose found in high fructose corn syrup.
A
 When you eat a sweet potato or a fig, you also get lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals in that
package, whereas sugar and high fructose corn syrup only provide sugar, nothing else.
3. Lactose
 Lactose is made of a glucose molecule bonded to a galactose molecule.
 It is sometimes called "milk sugar" as it is found in dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese.
 These are the only animal foods that have significant amounts of carbohydrate.

B. COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES:
Complex carbohydrates are also called polysaccharides, because they contain many sugars. (The prefix
"poly-" means "many.") There are 3 main polysaccharides:
1. Starch
2. Glycogen
3. Fiber
All three of these polysaccharides are made up of many glucose molecules bonded together, but
they differ in their structure and the type of bonds.
1. Starch:
 Starch is the storage form of carbohydrate in plants. Plants make starch in order to store
glucose.
 For example, starch is in seeds to give the seedling energy to sprout, and we eat
those seeds in the form of grains, legumes (soybeans, lentils, pinto and kidney beans,
for example), nuts, and seeds. 
 Starch is also stored in roots and tubers to provide stored energy for the plant to grow and
reproduce, and we eat these in the form of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, and
turnips.
2. Glycogen:
 Glycogen is structurally similar to amylopectin, but it's the storage form of carbohydrate
in animals, humans included.
 It's stored in the liver and skeletal muscle.
 Liver glycogen is broken down to glucose, which is released into the bloodstream and can
be used by cells around the body.
  Muscle glycogen provides energy only for muscle, to fuel activity.
 Even though glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles of animals, we don't find it in meat,
because it's broken down soon after slaughter.
 3. Fiber:
 Fiber includes carbohydrates and other structural substances in plants that are indigestible
to human enzymes.
 Fiber is made by plants to provide protection and structural support.
 Stems that help a plant stand upright, tough seed husks, and fruit skin that protect what's
growing inside
 In our food, we find fiber in whole plant foods like whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits,
vegetables, and legumes.
 When we eat fiber, it passes through the small intestine intact, because we don't have
digestive enzymes to break it down. Then, in the large intestine, our friendly microbiota --
the bacteria that live in our colons -- go to work on the fiber. Some fiber can be fermented
by those bacteria.

FAT:

Fat and oil are high in calories. When eating the same amount of fat and carbohydrate or
protein, the fat we eat gives us double the amount of calories (9kcal per gram) compared to that of
carbohydrate or protein (4kcal per gram).

 Fat is also needed to: 

 Take in and transport fat soluble vitamins a, d, e and k in the body. 
 Provide essential fatty acids (such as omega 3 and omega 6), which cannot be made by the
body. 
 Protect important organs such as brain, heart, liver from sudden injury. 
 Keep the body temperature in the normal range. 
 Support the different functions of the body. 
Type of Fate:

 The four types have different chemical structures and physical properties. The “bad fats,”
saturated  and trans fats, tend to be more solid at room temperature (like butter).

 Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be more liquid (like canola oil).
  Fats can also have different effects on the cholesterol levels in your body. A diet high saturated
fats and trans fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood.

 Eating an overall healthy dietary pattern that is higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
fats can lower bad cholesterol levels.

Good (HDL) vs bad (LDL) Fats:   

There are bad fats and good fats.  Examples of bad fats are Trans fat and saturated fat.  Examples of
good fats are polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat.

Trans fat and saturated fat:

Trans fat is formed when vegetable oils are hydrogenated or hardened to make them more stable and
longer lasting. It increases low density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad” cholesterol) and reduces high
density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good” cholesterol) levels in the body, thus increasing the risk of
developing heart disease and stroke. Sources of trans fat in daily life are cookies, pastries and deep-
fried food.

Polyunsaturated fat can be classified into 2 main groups: 

 Omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce blood clotting in the arteries and protect arteries from
hardening. They also reduce the triglycerides in the blood and in turn, lower the risk of heart
disease. Good sources of Omega-3 fatty acids are salmon, sardine, and Spanish mackerel
(tenggiri papan), walnuts, canola oil and soybean oil.
 Omega-6 fatty acids improve heart health by reducing both LDL cholesterol and total
cholesterol levels in the blood.  Examples of omega-6 fatty acids are sunflower oil, corn oil
and soybean oil.
Monounsaturated fat: lowers both total and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels in the body.
Although monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for health, they should be taken
in moderation since all types of fat have the same calorie content. 

PROTEIN:
Protein is a hot topic in medical and wellness news today. From the amount of protein you should
be consuming, to the different types of plant and animal proteins,
Protein is a macronutrient (required by the body in large amounts) – along with carbohydrates and
fats – that provides the body with energy and is essential to building muscle mass.
 When the body breaks down protein into its amino acids, and those amino acids are synthesized
into muscle. Amino acids – the “building blocks of protein” –  are compounds that are responsible for
a variety of bodily processes, including neurological process and muscle synthesis. 80% of muscle is
made up of amino acids.
There are 20 different amino acids that make up each molecule of protein, and these are split into 2
categories: Non-Essential Amino Acids and Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) 
 Non-Essential Amino Acids – produced naturally by the body
 Essential Amino Acids – not produced naturally by the body and must be consumed through
food or supplementation
Sources of Protein:

There are two main categories (or sources) of proteins – animal and plant based.

Animal proteins include:
 Whey (dairy)
 Casein (dairy)
 Egg
 Chicken
Plant Based proteins include:
 Soy
 Pea
 Brown Rice
 Chickpea
The main difference between animal and plant proteins is their amino acid profile.
Most animal proteins are complete proteins, meaning they contain all 9 of the essential amino acids.
Most plant proteins are considered incomplete proteins, meaning they are missing at least one
essential amino acid. However, eating multiple plant proteins together can create the effect of complete
proteins.

9 OF THE ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS

How much protein do we need?

 The prevailing research says that you should strive to consume 1 gram per kilogram (1kg
= 2.2 lbs for us Americans) of bodyweight per day.
 This guideline will vary based on your goals. For example, if you are looking to put on muscle,
you should increase your protein intake to 2-3 grams per kilogram. 
 However, protein is not only important for body builders. If you are recovering from an injury
or surgery, your body will be in a higher metabolic state and require more energy and tissue
building nutrients, so you will want to increase your protein consumption to support the healing
process.
 Protein is also very important as we age. Beginning around the age of 40, you begin to lose up
to 3-5% of your muscle mass per decade, a condition known as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the
reason why falls and fractures are so common among the elderly. Increasing your protein
intake, as well as continuing to exercise, can help preserve muscle and fight off
sarcopenia. 

MICRONUTRIENTS:

They are composed of vitamins and minerals. They are key to all the complex reactions that take place
in your body. Although they don’t provide energy directly, vitamin and minerals work together to help
carbohydrate, protein and fat produce energy, to assist with protein synthesis and to help keep the body
functioning normally.

Vital Vitamins:
Fat-soluble vitamins- they are mainly found in oils and fat containing foods. Since the body stores
these in its fatty tissues, one does not need to eat them every day. Overdoses can be toxic.
 Water soluble vitamins are found in a variety of plant and animal foods. Because the body
stores them in small amounts and quickly excretes excesses, they need to be part of our diet nearly
every day.
Vital minerals
Calcium

Calcium is important in the activity of many enzymes in the body and is essential for building and
maintaining bones and teeth. The contraction of muscles, release of neurotransmitters, regulation of
heartbeat and clotting of blood are all dependent on calcium. Periods of growth, pregnancy and
lactation may require increased demand. Deficiency in children can result in rickets, while in adults it
can contribute to high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
 How can I get it?
Some useful food sources of calcium are dairy produce, small-boned fish such as sardines and
anchovies, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds such as almonds and sesame seeds, tofu and apricots.
You can also buy calcium-fortified bread, although it is much better to get it from natural sources.
Phosphorous

Phosphorous is one of the most essential minerals, playing a role in energy metabolism, calcium
absorption and converting protein for growth, maintenance and repair of cells and tissues. It is readily
available in most foods, including high-protein foods.

How can I get it?

The main food sources are meat, milk and wholegrains, nuts and seeds.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an extremely important mineral and works to activate many enzymes, muscles and
nervous functions. Symptoms of deficiency may include muscle cramps, headaches, loss of appetite,
insomnia and a predisposition to stress.

How can I get it?

Magnesium occurs abundantly in whole foods and the best dietary sources are kelp, seaweeds, citrus
fruits, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, nuts, wholegrains and tofu.
Chromium

Chromium is vital to the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) - a critical enzyme system that works with
insulin to absorb glucose into cells, regulating blood sugar levels. Chromium levels can be depleted by
over-consuming refined sugars and white flour products and lack of exercise.

How can I get it?

The best sources are brewer's yeast, wholegrains, potatoes, apples, parsnips and bananas.

Iron

Iron is critical to human life. It plays the central role in the haemoglobin molecule of our red blood
cells, where it works transporting oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and taking carbon
dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. In addition, Iron functions in several key enzymes in energy
production and metabolism including DNA synthesis. Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency
worldwide and may lead to anaemia.

How can I get it?

A portion of red meat or sardines served with a dark green leafy vegetable such as kale will help you
on your way to meeting the NRV. Other good sources include offal, egg yolk and fortified cereals.
Selenium

Selenium works with vitamin E in preventing free radical damage to cell membranes. It is important
for a healthy immune system, fertility and thyroid metabolism. It also helps to regulate blood pressure.

How can I get it?

A few Brazil nuts or a prawn sandwich made with wholemeal bread would provide the daily intake.
Other good sources include offal, shellfish, butter, avocados and wholegrains.

Zinc

Zinc is part of more than 200 enzymes in our bodies. In fact, zinc functions in more reactions than any
other mineral. Adequate zinc levels are needed for proper immune function and zinc deficiency results
in an increased susceptibility to infection. It is essential for the maintenance of vision, taste and smell.

How can I get it?

Zinc is found in fish, shellfish, lean red meat, seeds, nuts, legumes and wholegrains.

Potassium
Potassium can help your muscles and nerves to function properly, lower your risk of high blood
pressure and heart problems, ease fatigue, irritability and confusion. Older people are more at risk of
too much potassium in the body as their kidneys are less able to eliminate excess.

How can I get it?

Potassium is found in many foods, and is especially easy to obtain in fruits and vegetables such as
chard, mushrooms and spinach.

Sodium

Sodium is a component of salt, which is naturally present in the majority of foods we eat. Most people
eat more salt than is good for their health. It is recommended that adults eat no more than 6g of salt
(equivalent to 2.5g of sodium) per day and children less. Three quarters of our salt consumption comes
from packaged foods such as breakfast cereals, soups, sauces and ready meals.