What is Nutrition?

What is Nutrition? A “new” science that borrows from other sciences (chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology) that looks at the relationship between the foods you eat and your health. Nutrients: substances found in food that help promote the growth and maintenance of the body, i.e. cell rebuilding and repair 6 Essential Nutrients “Essential” means the body can’t make on its own, must obtain via food/drink. 1. Carbohydrate 2. Lipids 3. Protein 4. Vitamins 5. Minerals 6. Water The top three are referred to as the Macronutrients (needed in larger amounts) while the bottom three are referred to as the Micronutrients (needed in smaller amounts). The top three are also referred to as the “energy yielding nutrients.” WHY? The top 3 contain “calories” which provide energy. Energy not in the sense of “Rah, Rah I have a lot of energy right now because I just drank a Red Bull” but energy in the sense of “the capacity or ability to do work” like go to class, go to work, do the things you need to do. In order to have adequate “energy” there are 4 key components: 1. Quality diet 2. Adequate rest 3. Stress/anxiety management 4. Exercise What is a calorie? Technically, a calorie approximates the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 °C For our purposes, know that a calorie is the measurement of a food’s energy value. Know the following values: 1g carbohydrate = 4 calories 1g lipid = 9 calories 1g protein = 4 calories Gram for gram, lipids contain over twice as many calories as a comparable measurement of carbohydrate or protein. Lipids are energy dense! The Micronutrients are calorie free. As a result, they DO NOT provide you with energy. They’re essential and very important, but they, themselves, do not provide us with energy. They are more like spark plugs on a car’s engine. The engine (macronutrients) does the work while the spark plugs (micronutrients) help. 1g of alcohol contains 7 calories! But, is alcohol a nutrient? No. Why? Because it does not meet the definition of a nutrient: does not promote the growth and maintenance of the body! 3 Factors that Determine how many Calories a Person Needs Each Day: 1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): Calories needed to sustain the body in a state of rest Factors that affect BMR: Height (the taller you are, the higher the BMR generally. A tall body requires more fuel!), growth (children, adolescents, building muscle) pregnancy (~300 extra calories/day), lactation (~500 calories/day), physical activity, gender (Men from an evolutional perspective have more muscle tissue than women, women have more adipose – fat – tissue. The more muscle a person has, the higher the BMR. BUT, this does not mean every man has a higher BMR than every woman. Active women can have higher BMRs than men), body temperature (for every 1 degree F above normal, BMR increases by ~ 7%) 2. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The number of calories burned through the involuntary acts of digestion and absorption. ~5 calories for every 100 consumed will be burned through TEF. 3. Physical Activity: The more active a person is, especially through weight training, the higher the BMR generally. What does a Nutrition Diet Look Like? 4 Characteristics: 1. Adequate: An adequate diet is one that includes enough: dietary fiber, healthy fats, whole grains, fruits and veggies and lean protein sources. 2. Balanced: Unless a person has a disease state, all food groups should be consumed. 3. Varied: Including a wide selection of foods. If you normally eat a red apple, switch things up and eat a green one! Doing so only increases the nutrient profile of your diet. 4. Moderation: Probably the hardest concept. Moderation is about eating until you hit satiety which means you eat until you’re satisfied, not full. If you are able to do this, weight should fall to what’s “normal” for your body type and genetics. It takes practice though as many of us were raised to be members of the “clean plate club!)