Author: Leah Vex, 5 July, 2024

Introduction

According to 2015-2016 NHANES studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), subjects made up to 45% of Vitamin A, 95% of Vitamin D, 46% of Vitamin C, and 84%

of Vitamin E deficiencies within the States (Reider & et al., 2020). The report conducted in 2020

aimed to raise people’s awareness in light of their inadequate balance in daily diets. It is

prominent to address multifunctional properties, catalytic, as well as application of each

nutritional component to nourishment intake.

What are sources of nutrition?

Sources of nutrition extensively range from foods to supplements, they are categorized into two

major groups - macronutrients and micronutrients. While macronutrients are essential

components that a human’s body needs to absorb in large portions, micronutrients can be

ingested in smaller amounts.

Four groups namely water, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins make up macronutrients

The percentage of water takes up to more than 60% of an individual’s body, thus, it is

unquestionable to claim that water is tremendously crucial to our vitality. With the chemical

formula H20, its hydrogen bond was found to facilitate the fluid discharge, temperature

regulation, and formation of chemical reactions.

The class of carbohydrates is apportioned into two groups, simple sugar and complex

carbohydrates. Simple sugar is constituted of sucrose, sourced from sugar cane and sugar beets

(The Sugar Association, 2024); and glucose, a free sugar distributed in our blood flow. Glucose

is either utilized to generate energy or construct macromolecules to shape complex

carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are mainly comprised of long-chain simple sugar, fiber,

and glycogen (starch in plants). Although sugar brings forth certain health profits to neurons, the

cardiovascular system, and kidney metabolism; it alarmingly raises concerns about its adverse

impact on overall health if it is taken excessively. Big meals of carbohydrates daily contribute to

the risk of having heart attacks, diabetes mellitus, and obesity (Havard Health Publishing, 2022).

Lipids demonstrate their water insolubility whilst chiefly discovered in nuts, oils, different meat

sources, and so on. They perform not only as a powerhouse but also as a protective agent for the

cells and organs. Lipids are defined as a broad range of nutrients that will be broken down into

some instances including phospholipids, triglycerides, and sterols (e.g. cholesterol).

Spring from the formations of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen; amino acids are built to

generate macromolecules known as proteins. Tissue growth, cell repair, and the synthesis of
hormones and enzymes all depend on proteins. It is fundamental for immune system health and

the development of powerful muscles. According to their importance in improving people’s

physique, it is inevitable to obtain ample protein supplies from meats, veggies, and marine foods.

Two key categories of micronutrients – minerals, and vitamins bring about benefits no

lesser than macronutrients

Sixteen types of minerals are divided into macro and trace while thirteen vitamins are

characteristically stratified as H2O soluble and fat soluble. Vitamins are essential for maintaining

healthy bodily systems and regulating bodily functions. Minerals make up body tissue and

control bodily functions. Additionally, consuming a sufficient amount of minerals is vital to

maintain healthy cellular activity.

Alterations in lifestyles affect dietary patterns

Undoubtedly, along with preventive medicines; proper nutritional ingestion guarantees more or

less optimistic results in disease prevention. Nevertheless, regardless of nutrition understanding

among people, our dietary plans are mostly influenced by diverse factors such as geography,

beliefs, religions, social status, culture in general, and so on. As a Buddhist, I neither find desire

in devouring grams of beefsteak at a fancy restaurant nor do I add meat sources into my daily

nutrition plans. Since meat-consuming is reasoned as a form of slaughtering innocent living

creatures in my religious teaching, I hardly ingest meats or seafood like people around me.

Moreover, my country is located in Southeast Asia, which is well-known for possessing a health-

giving selection of food. Hence, we lean towards restricted meals with limited fat intake and

frequent vegetable absorption.

Indicate individuals’ well-being based on nutritional measurements

Taking a deeper look into how to conduct nutritional assessments, they are addressed by

mechanisms namely clinical, biochemical, anthropometry, and dietary. By assessing elements

such as height and weight, anthropometry technically allows physicians and parents to monitor

offspring’s physical well-being, which means it cannot be applied solely to the entire population.

In addition to that, the biochemical approach implemented by laboratories simultaneously

benefits test-takers by indicating nutrient insufficiencies and preventing chronic health

conditions. As stated by Bharadwaj & et al. (2016), the PAB blood test has been widely taken

into account to predict malnutrition. Nonetheless, its limitations in biomarker values made it

complimentary to a mass malnutrition indication. On top of the two above nutritional

assessments, clinical assessments depict a great contribution to nutritional deprivation thanks to

their specific care for certain organs while healthcare providers check for any related symptoms.

Nonetheless, treatments can be delivered behind schedule as the method mostly relies on a

symptomatic base. Dietary modus operandi offers a prognosis of a person’s nutritional deficits

based on their eating history. However, patients’ declarations can be inaccurate due to their short-

term memory or the diversity of ethnicity’s traits. To sum up, it is vital not to depend on a sole

nutritional mechanism, but broad applications of assessment should be appreciated.

Correlation between excitement and eating habits

As a late-diagnosed ADHD adult, I frequently struggle with following diverse diets since I have

hyper-fixations on certain types of food. For instance, I cannot count how many cabbages and

noodles I have taken since they give me a great sense of reward after ingesting. As the nutritional

values of those two dishes are generally low, it results in an imbalance in my bodily functions

and well-being decline. My awareness of maintaining balanced nourishments containing omega-

3 or proteins reminded me to keep track of healthy plans, however, it is tough to fight the

dilemma between gastronomical pleasure and health-satisfied nutrition.

Conclusion

Proper nutrition, influenced by various factors, is essential for health, requiring comprehensive

assessment methods that are feasible to make gradual overall health changes.

Word count. 1000

 References

University of Hawai‘i (2020). Human nutrition.

Human Nutrition: 2020 Edition – Simple Book Publishing (hawaii.edu)

Reider, C. & et al. (2020). Inadequacy of Immune Health Nutrients: Intakes in US Adults, the

2005–2016 NHANES.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7352522/

Havard Health Publishing (2022). The sweet danger of sugar.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar

Bharadwaj, S. & et al. (2016). Malnutrition: laboratory markers vs nutritional assessment.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193064/#:~:text=Historically%2C%20serum

%20proteins%20such%20as,to%20determine%20patient%20nutritional%20status.

The Sugar Association (2024). What Is Sugar?

https://www.sugar.org/sugar/what-is-sugar/