UGEB 2362 NUTRITION FOR

HEALTHY LIVING
Understanding of Basic Nutrition: an overview
of nutrition and the key nutrients

Peggy Yip, MPH, RDN(US), RNutr(UKVRN)

Why do we eat?
Eating is a biological need. All people need to eat.

But…
meaning of food

…is different from person to person!

Examples
• A cup of coffee for breakfast
• Moon cakes for mid-autumn
• Family dinner for gathering
Diet - sounds easy, but in fact difficult
• Drug, cigarette, etc. can be totally eliminated.

• Diet can only be modified, meaning….

• we cannot totally eliminate fat, cholesterol (or others);

• we need to eat them, but in a right way!

What is the right way?

Food Pyramid
• Food intake guideline, which is the key to good health

• Purpose is to translate science into practice (simple and

memorable)

• Pictures to represent balanced diet

• Categorize foods into groups

• Give suggested daily servings for each food group

• What foods are included
in the food groups?

• What are the serving

sizes?

• What are the advantages

and disadvantages of the
food pyramid?
Food label
• Information that are required to be listed on the package
of pre-package food products by law in HK.

• Name of the food

• Name and address of manufacturer or packer
• Indication of durability (expiry date)
• Conditions for storage or instruction for use
• Ingredient list
• Count, weight, volume
Ingredient list
• What does it mean to you?
Nutrition label or nutrition Information
• The nutrition information that are
required to be listed on the
package of pre-package food
products by law in HK.

• E+7

• The public aware of it?

• Know how to read it?

Source: Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental

Hygiene Department, HKSAR
Energy / Calories / Kcal / KJ
• What are the differences?

• Should I look at Kcal,

calories, or KJ?

• 1 feet = 12 inches

• I kilogram = 2.2 pounds

• 1 kcal = 4.2 KJ

Source: Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental

Hygiene Department, HKSAR
Source: Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, HKSAR
What if serving size of F is 100g?

Source: Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, HKSAR
Healthier products = you can eat more of them?
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)
• RDA = Recommended Dietary Allowance
• intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all
healthy individuals

• AI = Adequate Intake
• assumed to be adequate (minimum level to prevent deficiency)

• UL = Tolerable Upper Intake Level

• highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of
adverse health effects. If above the UL, adverse health effects may
occur
… and others!

Note: recommended intake levels varies from countries to countries

Macro- and Micronutrients

Carbohydrate
Macronutrients
Protein
Fat
Large amount
Provide energy

Vitamins Micronutrients
Minerals Small amount
Do not provide energy
Macronutrients – food sources
• Carbohydrate (CHO)

• Grains, rice, bread, pasta,

• Potatoes, beans, fruit, starchy vegetables
• Milk & dairy products

• Added sugar: sugar that is being added during processing, cooking,

or before consuming.

• Free sugar: added sugar, plus sugars naturally present in honey,

syrups and fruit juices.
• Protein

• Meat, eggs, milk & dairy products

• Beans, soy, vegetables
• Therefore, vegetarians are not necessarily at a higher risk of
protein deficiency!

• Fat

• Animal products (i.e. fatty meat)

• Oils, butter/margarine, cream
• Fried foods, ice cream, cake, etc.
Macronutrients – energy

• CHO - 4 calories in each gram

• Protein - 4 calories in each gram

• Fat - 9 calories in each gram

Macronutrients – functions
• CHO
• main source of energy

• Protein
• build muscle, maintain cell structure, provides energy

• Fat
• provide texture, flavor, and aroma of food; stored fat acts like
cushion to protect internal organs; hormones; fat-soluble vitamins
digestion
Macronutrient – chemical structures
• CHO
• Monosaccharide = one single sugar molecule
• Glucose – blood sugar
• Galactose – part of lactose
• Fructose – fruit and vegetable
• Disaccharide = two
monosaccharides linked together

• Maltose – 2 glucose molecules,

made when starch broken down

• Sucrose – 1 glucose + 1 fructose,

white table sugar

• Lactose – 1 glucose + 1 galactose,

milk sugar
• Polysaccharide = many sugar molecules linked together (poly =
many)
• Glycogen – storage form of CHO in body
• Starch – storage form of CHO in plants, amylose and amylopectin
• Protein
• Made up of amino acids: 8 essential (must be obtained from food)
and non-essential
• A central carbon with an amino group (NH2), and acid group
(CHHO), a hydrogen (H), and a side group attached

• Side groups differentiates one amino acid from another

• Dipeptide, tripeptide, polypeptide
• Fat
• Made up of 3 fatty acids and a glycerol
• Bonding in fatty acids: saturated, trans, monounsaturated,
polyunsaturated
• trans fatty acids, hydrogen next to the double bone are on the
opposite side of the carbon chain

• Most are cis in nature, hydrogen next to the double bone are on the
same side of the carbon chain

• Small amount of nature trans-fatty acids found in milk and meat

• Example: Conjugated linoleic acids

How much do we need?

30%

55%

15%

CHO Protein Fat

If 2000 kcal is needed….
• CHO: 55%, 1100 kcal  275g per day

• Added/free sugar: less than 10% of kcal from total energy

• No more than 200 kcal  50g per day at the most. So, what is
50g?
• Protein: 15%, 75g per day

• Total fat: no more than 30%, less than 67g per day. So,
what is 67g?

• How about saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, fiber, etc.?

Macronutrients – too much & too little
Too much
• Weight gain, overweight & obese
• Heart diseases
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some cancers….and many others!

• Too little
• Weight loss, muscle loss & malnourishment
Macro- and Micronutrients

Carbohydrate
Macronutrients
Protein
Fat
Large amount
Provide energy

Vitamins Micronutrients
Minerals Small amount
Do not provide energy
Vitamins
• 4 fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K), required fat to digest,
store in body

• 9 water-soluble vitamins (Bs, C), not store in body

• Each vitamin has its own specific roles

• Deficiencies rarely occur alone; usually in alcoholics or

people without enough food
Vitamin A
• Function: maintain vision, an antioxidant

• Source:
• Retinol - liver, fish
• Carotenoids - carrot, leafy green vegetable

• Deficiency: night-blindness

• Excessive: jaundice (yellow skin)

Vitamin D
• Function: calcium
absorption, maintain bone
health

• Source: sunlight, liver, egg

yolk, fatty fish

• Deficiency: bone problem or

malformation

• Toxicity: rare, usually caused

by supplementations
Vitamin E
• Function: an antioxidant, protect cell membranes

• Sources: nuts, peanut, plant oil, leafy green vegetable

• Deficiency (rare): cell membrane damage

• Excessive: interferes with vitamin K, reduces blood

clotting
Vitamin K
• Function: blood clotting

• Sources: green leafy vegetable, some can be produced

by the bacteria in the GI tract

• Deficiency: abnormal blood coagulation

• Excessive (uncommon): interfere with anticoagulant drugs

Vitamin C
• Functions: form collagen, antioxidant that against
oxidative damage

• Sources: citrus fruits, broccoli, tomatoes

• Deficiency: scurvy, poor would healing due to unable to

produce collagen

• Toxicity: generally consider as non-toxic

B-vitamins

• Thiamin (B1) • Pantothenic acid

• Riboflavin (B2) • Vitamin B6
• Niacin (B3) • Folate
• Biotin • Vitamin B12
• Each B-vitamin has its own roles

• In general, DNA synthesis, nutrient metabolism

• Can be found in both animal and plants (except for vit

B12)

• Supplementation may be needed for vegans

Minerals
Major Minerals Trace Minerals
(>100mg/d) (<100mg/d)
• Sodium • Iron
• Zinc
• Chloride
• Copper
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Calcium
• Selenium
• Phosphorus • Iodine
• Magnesium • Chromium
• Sulfur • Fluoride
• Molybdenum
Sodium, chloride, potassium
• Electrolytes, maintain concentration of body fluid

• Potassium lowers blood pressure when adequate

• Too much sodium and chloride can cause high blood

pressure and other diseases

• Sodium & chloride: table salt, sauce, canned and

processed foods, pickled vegetables

• Potassium: fruits and vegetables

In Hong Kong
“…a salt (sodium chloride) intake of less than 5 grams
(approximately 2 grams of sodium) per adult person per day for
the prevention of cardiovascular diseases” – by World Health
Organization

“…mean intake of salt among persons aged 18-84 years was 8.8
grams per day.” – HK Department of Health

“...the average daily sodium intake of adult population in Hong

Kong then could be as high as 10 grams.” – HK Department of
Health

Sources: TOWARDS 2025 Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in
Hong Kong (Target 4 Reduce Salt Intake), HKSAR Department of Health
Calcium
• Maintain bone health together with vit D

• Found in milk and dairy products, tofu, fortified soy milk,

some vegetables (broccoli and choi sum)

• Think of the recommended daily serving of diary product!

Iron
• Makes red blood cell

• Source: meat, poultry, fish, lefty green vegetables

• Heme (from animal) and non-heme (from plants)

• Inadequate can cause iron-deficiency anemia

• Requirements for female is different from male

• Vitamin C boosts iron absorption. However, calcium,

polyphenol, oxalates, phytate inhibits iron absorption.
Key Messages
• No one food that provides all nutrients

• To obtain all nutrients, eat variety

• Food avoidance or food restrictions can cause

imbalanced diet.