Nutrition

All living things need food to survive. It gives us energy for everything that we do. It also gives the body what it needs to repair muscles, organs and skin. Food helps us fight off dangerous diseases.

It is important to eat a wide range of food in order to stay healthy. Nutrition is the science that deals with food and how the body uses it.

How the body uses food

Food has nutrients in it— substances that give our body many important things that we need. They provide us with energy and also help control the way our body grows.

Before nutrients can go to work food must be broken down so that they can pass into our body. This is called digestion. It starts when we chew the food that we eat. When we swallow it it travels on to the stomach where it is mixed together with water and other fluids. Then the food is passed on to the intestine. Nutrients escape through the walls of the intestine into our blood. From there they are carried to all parts of the body.

Most food leaves waste that the body cannot use. Some of it goes to the kidneys and turns into urine. The liver also filters out waste. What is left over passes through the large intestine and leaves our body.

Nutrients

There are six main groups of nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. The energy that food gives us is measured in kilocalories, or one thousand calories. A calorie is the energy that is needed to raise the temperature of water by one degree Celsius.

Water

Although water does not give us energy it is the most important nutrient. We may be able to live on without the others for weeks, but we cannot go on without water for more than a few days.

Water has many functions in our body. It helps break down food. It also cools the body down when it becomes too hot. The body carries away waste products in a watery solution.

Our body needs about 2 –3 litres of water a day. We get it from the water and liquids we drink but also from fruits, vegetables and other food.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our body. Sugars and starches have carbohydrates in them.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It gives us energy very quickly. This form of energy can be found in dairy products, honey, syrup, jams and jelly.

Starches must be broken down into sugars before our body can use them. They are found in beans, bread , potatoes, cereals, corn, pasta, peas and potatoes. They provide our body with a constant supply of energy.

Fats

Our body needs fat in small amounts. Fats are made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. They store vitamins and produce fatty acids. We need these acids to produce cell membranes.

Fats can come from animals or plants. They are in meat and dairy products, like butter and cheese. Other types of fats are in vegetable oils, nuts or seeds.

Too many saturated fats produce a high level of cholesterol, a waxy material made by the body. It starts building up in the walls of blood vessels and may block blood as it flows through our body.

Proteins

Proteins are among the most important building blocks of our body. Muscles, skin and hair , for example, are made up of proteins.

Proteins are complex molecules made up of amino acids. The body can produce some of them itself, but we must get the others from food. Proteins are in cheese, eggs, fish, meat, milk, as well as in nuts, peas and beans.

Minerals

Minerals are needed for growth. They are inorganic, not made up of living things. Our body needs different amounts of various minerals. Calcium and magnesium, for example, are important for bones and teeth. We also need small amounts of iron. It is a component of haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to red blood cells. Fluorine or zinc are other minerals we need in very small amounts. They are called trace elements.

Vitamins

Our body needs a variety of vitamins to stay healthy. Each of them does a different job. Vitamin A, for example, helps skin and hair grow. Vitamin C is needed to fight off infections. Vitamin D helps the growth of bones and teeth

The right diet

The key to staying healthy is eating the right food. Nutritionists suggest eating according to the food guide pyramid. It has five sections. You should eat a lot of the bottom parts, but only a little of the upper parts.

Eating guidelines

Be careful of your weight. Obesity can lead to health problems.
Exercise every day. It helps the body burn calories and the fat you don’t need.
Eat a lot of grain products
Be careful not to eat food that has too much saturated fat and cholesterol
Do not eat too much sugar. High-sugar foods and drinks have a lot of calories but not many nutrients.
Don’t put too much salt on your food. This may lead to high blood pressure.
Include fiber in your diet. It helps food move along in your body.
Beware of alcoholic drinks. They have a lot of calories but no nutrients.
Store and cook foods properly so that they do not lose their nutritional value.

Nutrition and diseases

All over the world people suffer from illnesses that are caused by eating the wrong food or not having enough to eat.

In developing countries deficiency diseases arisewhen people do not get the right nutrients. Kwashiorkor is a disease that occurs if your body doesn’t get enough proteins. Marasmus occurs in young children who don’t get enough calories every day. They become weak, underweight and often die.

Diseases often occur if you suffer from a lack of vitamins. Not enough vitamin D, for example, may lead to bone illnesses.

In industrialized countries people often suffer from eating too much. Too much fat and cholesterol in your body can lead to heart diseases, obesity and cancer. High cholesterol levels may make your arteries narrow . The result may be high blood pressure , a heart attack or a stroke.

The lack of certain minerals may also lead to illnesses. Not enough iron in your food reduces the blood’s ability to make red blood cells, which are needed to transport oxygen through our body.

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Words

ability = power
according to = as shown by something or someone
acid = chemical substance that has a pH of less than 7; strong acids can burn your skin
although = while
amino acid =one of the substances that combine to form protein
amount =how much of something
arise = come up
artery = one of the tubes that carries blood around in your body
bean = seed that comes from a climbing plant and which can be cooked as food
beware = be careful of; watch out
block = stop ; not let through
blood pressure = the power with which blood travels through your body
blood vessel = tube through which blood flows
break down = here: to make smaller
building block = the parts that make it possible for something to exist
cancer = a very dangerous disease in which cells start to grow in an uncontrolled way
carbon = chemical that is in coal or diamonds
cell membrane = cell wall that separates the inside from the outside of a cell
cereal = breakfast food made from wheat or corn; mostly eaten with milk
chew = to bite food a few times before swallowing it
complex = complicated
component = part
constant = regular, stable
dairy products = food that is made from cows
deal with = is about
deficiency disease = illness in which you do not get enough of a certain kind of food or vitamins
developing country = poor country of the Third World
diet = the food that you eat
disease = illness
exercise = to do sport and move your body so that you stay healthy
fatty acid = an acid that the cells in your body need to use food
fiber = part of the plants that you eat but cannot digest; they move through your body quickly
fight off = to keep away
fluid = liquid, juice
grain products = food from corn, wheat or rice
growth = in order to grow
hydrogen = colorless gas that can burn ; if you combine it with oxygen you get water
illness = disease
industrialized countries = rich countries of the First World
inorganic = not from living things
intestine = the long tube in your body through which food passes after it goes through your stomach
jam = thick sweet food made from sugar and fruit; you eat it with butter on bread
jelly = like “jam”
key = solution, answer
kidney = one of two organs in your back that takes waste products out of your blood and makes urine
lack of = not enough
large intestine = the place where food is changed into waste
liquid = fluid ; something to drink
measure = the unit of something
narrow = not wide
nutrition = getting the right kind of food for your body
nutritional value =how good a type of food is for your body
nutritionist = someone who knows a lot about the right kind of food to eat
obesity = when someone is so fat that it is unhealthy
occur = happen
oxygen = gas that has no color or smell and is in the air that we breathe
pass = travel
pea = round green seed that is cooked and eaten as a vegetable
poultry = meat from birds like chickens, ducks and turkeys
provide = give
raise = to make something go up
reduce = become lower
repair = fix
saturated fat = type of fat from meat and milk products; it is not as healthy as fats from vegetables or fish
science = knowledge about something
seed = hard object that comes from plants
serving = portion ; the amount of food that is enough for one person
sparingly = only very little
starch = food that has carbohydrates in it and that gives your body energy; rice or potatoes have a lot of starch in them
store = keep in a place
stroke = if an artery suddenly breaks or is blocked so that blood cannot go through any more
substance = material
survive = to live on
swallow = to make food go down your throat
trace element = a chemical element that your body needs only a little of
urine = the yellow liquid that comes out of your body
variety = many different kinds of
various = different
vegetable oil = oil from plants and vegetables
waste = material that you cannot use any more
watery solution = a liquid like water
waxy = made of wax
weight = how heavy you are
wide range = many different types of

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