UNIT 2.

Food and nutrients

Food, nutrients, diets and health

 Food and nutrients
• Food is our source of nutrients:
• NUTRIENTS: BIOMOLECULES OUR BODY NEEDS TO
SUSTAIN VITAL FUNCTIONS
NUTRIENTS ARE THE
CHEMICAL COMPONENTS
OF FOOD

NUTRIENTS ARE THE

BUILDING BLOCKS AND
ENERGY SOURCES OUR CELLS
NEED TO LIVE
 Food and nutrients
• Cells need nutrients to satisfy 3 basic requirements:
• ENERGETIC: Some nutrients are broken down in our mitochondria to
extract energy (movement, temperature, etc..): LIPIDS, GLUCIDS.
• STRUCTURAL: Some nutrients are building blocks of body structures:
membranes, bones, cartilage, etc. PROTEINS, LIPIDS, MINERAL SALTS
• REGULATORY: Some nutrients are necessary in small quantities to
regulate body metabolism: VITAMINS, MINERAL SALTS
 CARBOHYDRATES or GLUCIDS
• Biomolecules present in bread, cereals, potatoes,
pulses, pasta, fruits, vegetables, sweets, pastry,…
• Provide energy to cells and some of them have to
be consumed in a regular daily basis.
 SIMPLE and COMPLEX GLUCIDS
SIMPLE (“SUGARS”): Sweet taste, small molecules:
• 1) MONOSACCHARIDS (Glucose, Fructose) or
• 2) DISACCHARIDS (Sucrose in fruits, Lactose in milk).
INMEDIATE SOURCE OF ENERGY in Brain and muscle.

COMPLEX (“POLYSACCHARIDS”): Big macromolecules made up of many

monosaccharids. Sweetless.
• 1) GLYCOGEN (animals, stored in the liver)
• 2) STARCH (plants, stored in leaves, roots, tubers, etc.),
• CELLULOSE o “Dietary Fibers” (plants, structural function)
• CHITINE (skeleton of invertebrates)
• 1 & 2: When broken down in digestion, they provide a steady and long-
term supply of energy to the cell as simple sugars
 SIMPLE SUGARS
• Are quickly metabolized to release energy.
• Excess of simple sugars is converted into fat!!.
 COMPLEX SUGARS
Made up of monosaccharides joined together
Stored in the liver as complex GLYCOGEN, which is then
broken down into simple sugars
They give a slow release of sugar (energy) to cells,
preventing uncontrolled rise of sugar in blood
 LIPIDS
• Group of very diverse substances with a few things in
common: water insolubility and oily appearance

• 3 TYPES:
• FATS: Rich in energy, can be
SATURATED or INSATURATED:
Triglicerids
• MEMBRANE LIPIDS: Make up
cell membranes: (Phospholipids,
Cholesterol)
• REGULATORY LIPIDS: Control
metabolic processes VITAMINS
(A,D,K,E) and HORMONES,
 SATURATED FATS
• Animal origin, solid. Contribute to rise “Bad
cholesterol” (LDL) levels. Excess is a factor of
cardiac disease and brain stroke.
 INSATURATED FATS
• Plant origin, and sometimes animal. Liquid (OILS)
and easily digestible. Prevent LDL levels to rise.

Insaturated fat-
rich foods: Blue
fish, dry fruits,
olive oil,
avocado, olives,..
 “TRANS” FATS= HYDROGENATED
• Artificially saturated plant fats with hydrogen to
obtain solid, durable and tastier foods. Serious risk
of LDL LEVELS RISE

PROCESSED FOOD
(MEAT, BAKERY
SAUCES,..), FRIED
FOOD, JUNK FOOD,
ICE CREAM, SNACKS
 PROTEINS
• Half of our dry body weight is made up of proteins: They are the
most important structure-building molecules in our body: bones,
cartilage, conjunctive tissue, muscles, etc..)
• Proteins are MACROMOLECULES made up by joining numerous
smaller molecules called AMINO ACIDS

PROTEIN-RICH
FOOD: Meat,
fish,eggs, milk,
cheese, pulses,
soy, seafood, etc.
 PROTEINS AND AMINOACIDS
• Proteins are made up of a chain of aminoacids
(called a PEPTIDE) with a specific 3D structure that
brings the protein its function
 PROTEIN FUNCTIONS AND TYPES
• Forming body structures (Bones, teeth, cartilages,
ligaments: COLLAGEN, KERATIN……
• Oxygen transport in blood: HAEMOGLOBIN
• LIPID transport in blood: Lipoproteins (LDL, HDL)
• Defense and inmmunity: Antibodies
• Muscle/Cardiac contraction: ACTIN & MYOSIN
• Metabolic regulation: INSULIN
 Mineral Salts
• They are esentially regulators of our vital functions,
but some form bones and teeth
• Fruits, vegetables and dry fruits are rich in salts.
• The lack of some salts like Fe (Iron), Ca (Calcium or I
(Iodine) can cause serious illnesses and deficiencies:
(anemia, hipothyroidism)
Sales minerales

• Macrominerals; require
in large quantities
• Microminerales;
required only in minor
amounts, but always
essential
 water
• Drink 8 glasses of
water a day (2 L.)
 Vitamins
• Needed in very small quantities. Lack of vitamins
produces serious illnesses.
• Regulate a huge number of body functions.
• Easily destroyed by light, heat or O2 exposure, so
they are more abundant in fresh food.
 Vitamins, classification
• WATER SOLUBLE: Soluble in water. Easily eliminated
through urine; do not accumulate. Problems when
they are absent or in low levels
• FAT SOLUBLE: Stored in the liver, when there is
excess of these vitamins, there are health problems.
• VITAMIN B1: THIAMIN
• VITAMIN B2: RIBOFLAVIN
• VITAMIN B3: NIACIN
• VITAMINA B12: CIANOCOBALAMIN
• VITAMINA A: RETINOL
• VITAMINA D: CALCIFEROL
• VITAMINA E: TOCOFEROL
• VITAMINA K: FILOQUINONA
Vitamins: functions and dietary sources
 A healthy diet
• A healthy and BALANCED diet prevents
many disorders and deficiencies associated
with nutrition: OVERWEIGHT, OBESITY,
MALNUTRITION, DEFFICIENCIES, …
• Must contain ALL NUTRIENTS in ADEQUATE
AMOUNTS. It should provide with the
adequate daily energy needs; according to
our age, sex, weight and physical activity.

• CARBOHYDRATES: 55%
• FATS: 30%
• PROTEINS: 15%
• https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/
• https://youtu.be/5DhFQpEPqcY https://youtu.be/8aWqZd9RScQ
 The food wheel
• Divides foods into 5 major groups based on
nutrient content and their function in our body:
• 1: Fruits and vegetables (Regulatory, fiber, vit)
• 2: Starchy foods (Energetic, Carbohydrates)
• 3: Oils, spreads (Energetic, Fats)
• 4: Dairy products (Energetic, Structural. Prots, Fats)
• 5: Meat, pulses, eggs, poultry. (Structural, Prots)
• ¾ of our daily diet have to be based on groups 1
and 2. 1/3 of it on
• Try a plant-based diet
Daily energy needs
 ¿How much protein to consume?
• Combine animal protein coming from low
saturated fat meat (chicken, rabbit, turkey) with
vegetable protein (pulses, soy, vegetables, etc…
 WHO recomendations
• According to the World Health
organisation, a healthy diet
protects us against illnesses
like diabetes, cardiovascular
conditions as High Blood
http://www.who.int/
Pressure, mediacentre/factshee
hypercholesterolhaemia, ts/fs394/es/
cardiopathy, cancer, fatty liver,
renal lithiasys, gall bladder Let’s see what are those
lithiasys and other illnesses recomendations…..
we could get if we don’t take
care about what we eat every
day.
 1. Eat fruit and vegetables daily
• 5 pieces or portions AROVIDE US WITH THE
DIETARY FIBER NEEDED TO ENSURE A HEALTHY
INTESTINE AND CANCER PREVENTION.

• Include fruits and vegetables

in all your meals
• Had a variety of F&V at home
• Have them as appetizers
 2. Reduce FAT ingestion
• A maximum of 30% fat in our daily diet is OK. Try to reduce
SATURATED to a maximum of 10% and TRANS to a 1%
(Reduces cardiovascular risk). Remember: to control
cholesterol levels means reducing PROCESSED FOOD; EAT
FRESH FOOD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
• Use VEGETABLE OIL (olive,
sunflower) instead of animal fat
(butter, lard)
• REDUCE FRYES!!.
• Reduce ICE CREAM, CHEESE, RED
MEAT, SAUSAGES, etc.
• Reduce processed food: soups,
sauces, pre-cooked.
 3. Avoid salt!!!!!
• Sodium (Na) in Sodium Chloride rises blood
pressure permanently increasing haerth attack and
stroke risk. Processed foods and beberages (sodas)
contain a lot of Na.
• Do not add any extra salt to food
• Reduce salty appetizers
• Choose low salt beverages
(mineral water) and processed
(packaged) food
• Use lemmon juice in salads
 3. Control simple sugars!!!!!
• No more than 5-10% of simple sugars in our daily
calorie consumption. Sugar, sweetener in processed
food, sausages, sweets, sodas, pastry,..in excess
your blood sugar levels will get unbalanced (Risk of
TYPE II DIABETES and accumulate in the form of fat
• Limit sodas and processed food.
• Eat fruit instead of sweet
appetizers.
• Read the nutrition facts in food.
• https://youtu.be/CIfZmShViok
• https://youtu.be/yDNwio9pt_c
 Food pyramid
Represents what types of food should be taken daily,
weekly or just occasionally

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/2
504561841

Indicates how many portions of each type of food

should be included every day or week
https://www.sinazucar.org/material/
ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR DIET...

• Be based on FRESH VEGETABLE FOOD

• Reduce FOOD FROM ANIMAL ORIGIN

• Drink MOSTLY WATER

• Limit PROCESSED FOODS

 AS LESS AS POSSIBLE OF THIS:
• ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
• SODAS, SPORT AND ENERGETIC DRINKS
• Simple-sugar rich foods: CHOCOLATE,
PIES, COOKIES, CANDY………
• JUNK FOOD: BURGER, FRYES, SNACK,
PIZZA, PRE-COOKED FOODS
• COLD AND PROCESSED MEAT, INLAY
• SALT!!!!!!!!!