What is Food & Nutrition?
Healthy life outcomes, normal growth, and development, including maintaining a healthy lifestyle are all supported by a diet rich in nutrients. A nutritious and healthy food lowers the risk of chronic disease and hence improves overall health and well-being. We consume foods made from grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, milk, water, honey, and other components.
Similarly, the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism (human) uses food to sustain itself is known as food and nutrition. It gives organisms nutrients that can be broken down into energy and chemical structures by metabolizing them. Malnutrition is caused by not getting enough nutrients.
Vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber are all found in food. In the end, these nutrients give us energy for activity, growth, and all body functions like breathing, digesting food, staying warm, repairing damage, and maintaining a healthy immune system.
All living things on Earth eat primarily from animals and plants. Fish, milk, meat, poultry, and cheese are the primary sources of protein in foods that come from animals. In contrast, fruits and vegetables, which are important sources of carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber, are produced by plants.
What are Vitamins?
Vitamins are organic molecules that are essential micronutrients that an organism requires in small amounts for its metabolism to function properly. Vitamins are mostly obtained through diet, but some are obtained in other ways. For instance, vitamin K and biotin are produced by microorganisms in the gut flora. Additionally, when skin cells are exposed to sunlight, they produce vitamin D. Other vitamins include A, C, E, choline, and the B vitamins (Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Biotin) including vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and Folic acid.
What are Proteins?
Living things contain organic molecules called proteins. They are used for a lot of things, like transportation, defense, and organization. Amino acid chains make up the structure of proteins, which can have up to four levels of structure. Collagen, insulin and anticorps are examples of specific proteins.
Proteins' most well-known function in the cell is as enzymes that initiate chemical reactions. Most of the time, enzymes are very specific and only speed up one or two chemical reactions. In addition to manipulating DNA in processes such as DNA replication, DNA repair, and transcription, enzymes carry out the majority of metabolic reactions.
The primary function of an adaptive immune system's protein components known as antibodies is to bind and destroy foreign substances—also known as antigens—in the body.
What are Minerals?
Minerals are essential to the health of your body. Minerals are used by your body for many things, like keeping your bones, muscles, heart, and brain health. Enzymes and hormones are also made with minerals. Minerals fall into two categories: trace and macromineral elements.
There are three main reasons minerals are necessary: constructing healthy teeth and bones, controlling body liquids inside and outside cells, and transforming food into energy. Several minerals are necessary for health: manganese, selenium, cobalt, copper, fluoride, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, sulfur, and manganese.
What are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are one of the three main nutrients found in foods and beverages, along with proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are broken down by your body into glucose. The primary source of energy for your body's cells, tissues, and organs is glucose or blood sugar. The majority of carbohydrates are found in plant foods.
They also exist in dairy products such as lactose, a sugar found in milk. The body is put under a significant metabolic load when it consumes too many carbohydrates. Over time, the body has to deal with high levels of blood sugar, which is the end point of food sugar and starch, which causes weight gain, poor metabolic health, and an increased risk of heart diseases.
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What are Fats?
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Fats are also known as "lipids" or "fatty acids."The three molecules that make up fat in our bodies are joined together. This three-particle structure is known as a "fatty substance".Essential fatty acids, which the body cannot produce, can be found in fat. Vitamins A, D, and E, which are fat-soluble and can only be absorbed through fat, are helped by fat in the body's absorption.
Fat is the primary energy storage form in the body, and the body uses fat as a fuel source. In addition, the body uses fat for a lot of other important things. A healthy diet should include a healthy amount of fat. There are saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats present in food.
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What is Fibre?
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Fiber is one of the types of carbohydrates (sugars) that our bodies mostly can't digest. We need prebiotic fiber, soluble fiber, and insoluble fiber for our health and well-being. Each of the three types of fiber is necessary for our survival. The body cannot digest fiber, a type of carbohydrate.
Fiber cannot be broken down into sugar molecules, so it passes through the body undigested, whereas the majority of carbohydrates are broken down into glucose molecules.
Constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulitis, heart disease, and some cancers (including bowel) are among the health problems linked to a low-fiber diet. It is not recommended to consume an excessive amount of fiber, particularly rapidly or over a short period of time. It is not recommended to consume more than 70 grams per day and can have negative effects.
Consequences of Improper Food & Nutrition Intake
Acute food insecurity puts the lives and livelihoods of approximately 345 million people worldwide in immediate danger. The World Food Programme says that every night, more than 828 million people around the world go to bed hungry. Millions of pregnant women die every year as a result of deficiencies in essential nutrients like iodine, iron, folate, calcium, and zinc.
Poor food intake causes a variety of dangerous diseases in women, including premature birth, and maternal death. Problems with children's mental and behavioral health are also linked to improper food intake. Similarly, stunted fetal development, low birth weight, and maternal weight loss, inadequate nutrition during pregnancy have been linked with improper food and nutrient intake.
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Food Loss, Poverty, & Hunger Problems
Millions of tons of food are being wasted on daily basis in the world. Similarly, all of the resources used to produce food, such as water, land, energy, labor, and capital, are also lost when food is lost or wasted. In addition, food waste and its disposal in landfills result in emissions of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change.
Above all, a huge waste of food in developed and advanced countries causes hunger and poverty in less advanced countries of the world particularly in Africa continent. Five-star hotels are one of the major causes of food loss including spoilage of food due to temperature and weather conditions. similarly, improper food storage techniques and the careless attitude of humans cause food waste in the world.
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