What is Nutrition?

 The word nutrition is derived from French word

“nutrier” meaning breast feeding.
 “Lavoisier” a French physiologist is considered
the father of science of nutrition.
 Nutrition:
 Definition
 It is the science of food and its relationship
to health or
 the study of the part played by nutrients in
body growth, development and
maintenance
 Importance
 According to WHO, most important risks to
health are
o Under weight
o High blood pressure
o Tobacco consumption
o Alcohol consumption
o Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene
o Iron deficiency
o Indoor smoke from solid smoke
o High cholesterol
o obesity
 Importance
 In this four risks are related to nutrition
(under weight, iron deficiency, high
cholesterol, obesity) which can be
modified by intervention
 Nutrition is one of the components of
primary health care
 Also the three major killer diseases in
children are ARI, diarrhea and
malnutrition. These three conditions
complement each other
 Principles of Nutrition

1. Moderation: As per requirements neither

less nor more
2. Close to nature: consumption of natural
foods
3. Activity: Exercise and other physical
activities – sedantary life to be avoided
 Dietetics

 It is the practical application of the

principles of nutrition and includes the
planning of meals for the well and the sick
 Diet

 Diet: The daily food which we eat or on

which we live is called diet
 Balanced Diet:
o A diet that provides a sufficient but not
excessive quantity of each nutrient
required for health and protection from
deficiency diseases
o The diet that contains optimum
requirement of essential nutrients and
calories
 Nutrients

 Nutrient (food factor): Chemical (organic

and inorganic) substances that constitute
food and protect body from disorder.
 Main nutrients are proteins, fats,
carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals
 No substance can be called food unless it
contains at least one nutrient
 There are about 50 different nutrients
contained in the food
 FOOD
 It is a composite mixture of various
substances ranging from a fraction of a
gram to several hundred grams which
when eaten and absorbed by the body
produces energy, promotes growth,
maintains health and supplies wastage
 Food stuff: any thing which can be used as
food
 Types of Nutrients
1.MACRONUTRIENTS (Proximate
Principles)
o Requirement is more
o These are proteins, carbohydrates and fats
o Form the bulk of the food
o Contribute to the total energy intake as follows
 Proteins = 7-15%
 Fats = 10-30%
 Carbohydrates = 65-80%
2. MICRONUTRIENTS
o Required in small amount
o These are vitamins and minerals
 Functions of Food
 Growth and development
 Body repair and maintenance
 Energy provision
 Maintenance of body temperature
 Protection against diseases
GROWTH: Increase in the size of the body and
organs
DEVELOPMENT: Increase in the skills performed
by the body including brain
 Classification of foods
1. BY ORIGIN
o Animal origin: e.g meat, milk and eggs
o Plant origin: e.g vegetables, pulses, cereals
2. BY CHEMICAL COMPOSITON
o Proteins
o Fats
o Carbohydrates
o Vitamins
o Minerals
 Classification of foods (cont…)
3. BY PREDOMINANT FUNCTION
o Energy providing: cereals, sugars, roots,
tubers, fats, oils (fats, carbohydrates,
proteins)
o Body Building: milk, meat, poultry, fish,
eggs, pulses, ground nuts etc. (fats,
carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and
minerals)
o Functions regulating and protective:
vegetables, fruits, milk (proteins, vitamins
and minerals)
 Classification of foods (cont…)
4. BY NUTRITIVE VALUE
o Cereals
o Pulses (legumes)
o Vegetables
o Nuts and oil seeds
o Fruits
o Animal foods
o Fats and oils
o Sugar
o Spices
 Energy
 Needed for growth, maintenance of body
temperature, physical & metabolic activities
 Factors affecting energy requirements are age,
sex, weight, extent of physical activity, climate,
size of individual, physical status i.e pregnancy
and lactation
 In the first year of life energy requirement is 103
Kcal / Kg body weight
 Children up to 3years need = 1300Kcal/day
 Children up to 6years need = 1750Kcal/day
 Children up to 12years need = 2000-
2200Kcal/day
 Adults need = 2200-3500Kcal/day
 Energy (cont…)
 WHO recommends an additional
285Kcal/day during pregnancy
 During the first 6months of lactation, an
additional 550Kcal/day and from 6-12
months an additional 400Kcal/day is
required.
 Units of Energy produced by food
 Calorie/Kilocalorie:
o It is the unit of heat to measure energy produced by food
o A calorie (c or cal) is the amount of heat required to raise
the temperature of 1gram of water by 1°C
o A Kilocalorie (C or Kcal) is the amount of heat required to
raise the temperature of 1Kg of water by 1°C
o Fuel value of macronutrients is as follows
 Carbohydrates = 4Kcal/1gram
 Proteins = 4Kcal/1gram
 Fats = 9Kcal/1gram
 Units of Energy produced by food
 Joule/Kilojoules
o Amount of work done by a force of
1Newton to displace 1Kg mass by 1meter
o 1KJ = 1000joules
o 1cal = 4.2joules
o 1Kcal = 4200joules
 Basal Metabolism
 It is the energy necessary to sustain a
fasting individual at rest
 The basic requirement of an individual
1Kcal / hour /Kg of body weight
 PROTEINS
 By derivation means “of first importance”
 Complex organic nitrogenous compounds
 Composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and iron
 Constitute about 20% of the total adult
body weight
 Provide 15-20% of daily energy
requirement
 Cannot be stored in the body
 Amino Acids
 Smaller units which build proteins
 Can be essential and non-essential
 Essential: cannot be synthesized by the
body and must be obtained through diet
 They are leucine, isoleucine, lysine,
methionine, phenylalanine, threonine,
valine, tryptophan & histidine
 Proteins are said to be biologically
complete if they contain all EAA e.g animal
proteins
 Amino Acids (cont…)
 Non essential: can be synthesized

 Include arginine, asparaginic acid, serine,

glutamic acid, proline, glycine

 Biologically incomplete proteins lack 1 or

more EAA e.g vegetable proteins
 Functions of Proteins
 Repair and maintenance of body tissues
 Maintenance of osmotic pressure
 Synthesis of antibodies, enzymes,
hormones & coagulation factors
 Play an important role in immune
mechanism
 Supply energy when calorie intake
inadequate
 Body building mainly in young children and
infants
 Sources of Proteins
1.ANIMAL SOURCES:
 Milk, meat, eggs, cheese,
fish
 Among these best
proteins are egg proteins
(reference proteins in
nutritional studies)
2.VEGETABLE SOURCES:
 Pulses, cereals, beans,
nuts, oil seed cakes etc.
 SUPPLEMENTARY
ACTION
 Cereals lack lysine &
threonine and pulses lack
methionine
 Parameters for Protein Quality
1. Chemical Score (AA score)
mg of AA in 1gm of test protein × 100
mg of AA in 1gm of reference protein
2. Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER)
weight gain
protein intake in grams
3. Net Protein Utilization (NPU)
Proportion of ingested protein retained
in the body under specified conditions for
the maintenance and growth of the
tissues
 Assessment of Protein Nutrition
status

 Arm muscle circumference

 Creatinine height index
 Serum albumin should be more than 3.5g
/dl
 Serum transferrin
 Total body nitrogen
 Daily Requirements
 ADULTS: 1gm /KG body weight / day
 PREGNANCY: 15gm / day
 LACTATION: 25gm in first 6 months &
18gm during 6-12 months
 INFANTS:
 Up to 3months: 2.3gm /Kg /day
 3-6 months: 1.85gm /Kg /day
 6-9 months: 1.65gm /Kg /day
 9-12 months: 1.5gm /Kg /day
 Diseases associated with
proteins
 Protein Energy Malnutrition

 Neuro-degenarative disorders
 Fats
 Concentrated sources of energy
 Classified as
 Simple lipids e.g triglycerides
 Compound lipids e.g phospholipids
 Derived lipids e.g cholesterol
 Triglycerides & cholesterol can be synthesized
by the body
 Most fat is in adipose tissue which constitutes
about 10-15 % of body weight
 1Kg of adipose tissue corresponds to 7700Kcal
 Fatty acids
 Fats are made up of fatty acids & glycerol
 May be saturated FA and unsaturated FA
 Saturated FA: lauric, palmitic& stearic acids
 Unsaturated FA:
 Monoynsaturated e.g oleic acids
 Polyunsaturated e.g linoleic acid
 Polyunsaturated FA mostly found in vegetable
oils
 Saturated FA are mainly present in animal fats
 Essential FA: linoleic acid, linolenic acid,
arachadonic acid
 Sources of Fats
1. Animal Fats
Ghee, butter, milk, chese, eggs, fat of
meat and fish. Most are saturated except
cod liver oil & sardine oil
2. Vegetable Fats
Ground nut, mustard, sesame, coconut
etc.
3. Other Sources
Small amounts in cereals and pulses as
invisible fats
 Functions of Fats
 Fats are high energy foods (9Kcal/gm)
 Vehicles for fat soluble vitamins
 Support viscera (heart, kidney, intestine)
 Provide insulation against cold
 Give palatability to food
 EFA are needed for growth, structural integrity of
membranes & decreased platelet adhesiveness
 Diets rich in EFA lower serum cholesterol & LDL
 Polyunsaturated FA are precursors of prostaglandins
 Cholesterol is a precursor of steroid hormones and bile
acids
 Diseases associated with fats
1.Obesity : due to excessive intake of fat rich diet.
Adipose tissue may increase up to 30 %
2. Phrenoderma (toad skin): due to deficiency of
EFA in diet. Papular eruptions on
posterolateral aspect of limbs, back & buttocks
3. Coronary Heart disease: due to high fat intake.
LDL &VLDL are atherogenic, HDL is protective
4. Cancer: risk of colon and breast cancer due to
high fat intake
5. Skin lesions in Kwashiorkor: due to deficiency of
EFA
 Requirements
 WHO recommends 20-30% of total dietary
energy to be provided by fats
 At least 50% of fat intake should consist of
vegetable oils rich in EFA
Fatty acid content of different fats (%)
Fats Saturated Monounsat Polyunsatu
FA urated FA rated FA
Coconut oil 92 6 2
Palm oil 46 44 10
Cotton seed oil 25 25 50
Groundnut oil 19 50 31
Safflower oil 10 15 75
Sunflower oil 8 27 65
Corn oil 8 27 65
Soyabean oil 14 24 62
Butter 60 37 3
Margerine 25 25 50
 Carbohydrates

 Hydrates of carbon
 Main sources are starches, sugars and cellulose
 Starches are polysaccharides abundant in
cereals, roots & tubers
 Sugars can be monosaccharide (glucose,
fructose, galactose) and disaccharides (sucrose,
lactose, maltose)
 Cellulose has no nutritive value but adds to
dietary fibre
 Carbohydrates are stored in body as glycogen.
Reserve of an adult is about 340-500gms
 Functions of Carbohydrates
 A major and instant source of energy
(4Kcal/gm)
 Essential for synthesis of non-essential AA
and oxidation of fats
 RBC’s and brain cells use carbohydrates
as energy
 Ribose is a part of RNA and DNA
 Spare proteins as an energy source
 Essential for development of brain in
children
 Sources
1. Animal source
Largely from milk

2. Plant source
Cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts
 Requirements
 250-325gms /day
 50-70% of energy must be provided by
carbohydrates
 Pakistani foods in general contain 90%
carbohydrates
 Diseases associated with CHO
 Obesity
 Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
(NIDDM) ...
 Cardiovascular disease. ...
 Cancer (some evidence that there is an
increased risk of ovarian cancer in women
with mild galactosemia)
 Dental caries
 Dietary Fibre
 Non absorbable, non starch polysaccharide
 They are cellulose and non cellulose like pectin, inulin
 Found in vegetables, fruits, grains
 Increase the transit time of food from stomach to small
intestine
 In large intestine absorbs water and increases bulk of
stool
 Have a cholesterol lowering effect
 Decrease incidence of CA colon due to less carcinogenic
effects of food items
 Decrease the incidence of coronary heart disease,
diabetes, hypertension, gallstones
 Tend to bind iron and zinc and some vitamins hence
reducing their bioavailability
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