The archaeologists, historians
and the researchers, all hold the same opinion that prehistoric Homo sapiens,
our remote kith and Kin, were hunter-gatherers. These nomads, living cheek by
jowl with nature and hardship, obtained their foods by collecting wild Plants
with the real smell of earth on them, and hunting wild animals, for that purpose
they learned the art of making stone tools and using those for hunting, for
many, it might had been because of an innate ability to hunt for the purpose of
obtaining food just to satisfy their hunger. Another explanation for their
consuming the food, could be because of the human instinct for survival, which
helped them through life. Then came a period when they started transitioning to
a new way of life, they were stopping the process of being hunter-gatherers and
were becoming farmers, since then agriculture has taken over the planet and
humans are growing fruits and vegetables and raising cattle and domesticated
fowl as food ,now more in a commercial way. We, the Homo sapiens of this advance
era, now know that food is not just to satisfy hunger but there is much more to
it... “Some live to eat, others eat to live.”... The fact is that the food is
the most important source of keeping body and soul together. But what is food ?
Food is any substance that we consume and is utilized by our body in the form of
energy, growth ,body repairing helped by the nutrients contained in the food.
Nutrients are the substances required by the human body to perform it’s basic
functions, we also need nutrients for normal growth and development, for
maintaining body muscles, for fuel as a source of energy to do physical and
metabolic work. Food must provide these nutrients because the body either cannot
make them or not make them enough. They are called “Essential nutrients”. What
is Nutrition: The word nutrition first appeared in 1551, originates from the
Latin word “nutrire”, meaning to “to nourish”, thus we can define nutrition as
the process of digestion and absorption of food (nutrients) and body’s use of it
as energy. The practical approach to nutrition: As far as healthy body is
concerned , it does know how to extract and assimilate the nutrients which are
available in the food eaten, so it is up to us to supply the body with required
nutrient. The science of nutrition helps us improve our food choices by
identifying the amounts of nutrients we need and the best food sources of these
nutrients. It also helps us make better choices and not only improve our health
but reduce our risk of diseases. Why people are compelled to switch to
nutritional food It holds true that “food is a very good servant but a very bad
master”. In the last few decades, the food science has advanced by leaps and
bound but in spite of all this it has it’s own pros and cons. New technologies
have compelled us to move away from nature, we now live in an artificial,
unnatural world of food desert, a world in abundance of food but lacking in
quality, unjust supply and with exemption to organic food, it is not like what
the mother nature intended. The food mostly is grown on nutrient depleted soils,
only to be replaced by artificial minerals, use of chemical pesticides, growing
more and more genetically modified foods (GMO’S). Commercial dairy and poultry
farms where animals and birds are kept and raised in an unhealthy, unhygienic
environments, indoor cages and shelters, devoid of natural sunlight and fresh
air, under artificial lights, breathe polluted air and on fattening food which
their body is not accustomed to, cramping for space, hardly able to move, use of
antibiotics to fight diseases and the use of growth hormones, to increase milk
production (luckily it’s banned in Canada and most of European countries), it is
very unlikely to get safe and nutritional food from these housings, everything
sub nutritional all the way from farm to table. All these scenarios have serious
consequences on health, because these foods fail to provide the proper nutrients
our bodies need, and when the illnesses strike, people try to switch to
healthier, nutrient-dense foods, mostly to unprocessed foods, to replenish the
missing nutrients, which give their body a new lease of life, so they must
separate the “wheat from the chaff”, they all come up with different aims and
fall in different groups, but two most common groups of people are 1.Healthy
group: this group consists of healthy people, who aim at maintenance of health
and prevention of diseases, by providing the nutrients which are consumed by the
body on daily bases. 2.Dificient group: people who already have some kind of
deficiency, of one or many nutrients leading to health issues ,due to above
mentioned reasons or the ones who burn the candle at both ends. They use “the
food as a medicine and medicine as food”, the body is capable of healing itself,
just feed the body with right nutrients and it will heal itself. This article is
about basic nutritional information, I hope at end of this you walk away a
better informed consumer. There are six classes of nutrients: The food mainly
consists of the following six nutrients: 1)Carbohydrates: energy and fibre
2)Protein: 3) Lipids: commonly known as Fats 4)Water: 5)Vitamins:
(2)
6)Minerals: According to their requirements, nutrients can be divided into two
main groups A) Macronutrients : which are required in large quantities these are
1) Carbohydrates 2) Proteins 3) Fats and 4) water. They all yield energy except
water. B) Micronutrients: which are needed in comparatively small quantities
5)Vitamins 6)minerals : these do not provide energy to body.
1) Carbohydrates: foods containing carbohydrates are the most important source
of energy, in the form of sugars, they are found almost exclusively in plant
foods such as fruits, vegetables and beans. Milk is the only animal derived
product which provides carbohydrate. It is interesting to know that
carbohydrates get this energy through a process called “photosynthesis.” In this
process, the leaves of green plants ,in the presence of chlorophyll, which they
contain, convert ① sunlight (from sun) ② carbon dioxide (from air) and ③ water
(from soil ,through roots) them into energy and store it as sugars, mostly
glucose. a) Simple carbohydrates or fast releasing b) Complex carbohydrates or
slow releasing a) simple carbohydrates: are of two types, single sugars as ①
glucose ② fructose (fruit sugar) ③ Galactose (milk sugar) and double sugars
which are made up of two single sugars ① Maltose (glucose + glucose) ② Lactose
(glucose + milk sugar) ③ Sucrose (glucose + fruit sugar), sucrose is the common
table sugar but is highly processed, sucrose occurs naturally in fruits and
vegetables also. You may have noticed that glucose is present in all three
double sugars, because it is the main source of energy. b) Complex
carbohydrates: (Long chains of simple sugars) include ① Starch: is the storage
form of glucose in plants ② Fiber: Fibre is a carbohydrate that passes through
the digestive system without being digested, fibre is of two types, insoluble,
keeps you regular, and soluble, helps lower cholesterol, maintain blood glucose.
③ glycogen: is the storage form of glucose in animals and human beings. As shown
above, the process of photosynthesis stores the energy as sugars (
carbohydrates), but to use this energy by the body, it is first digested and
then taken., via blood to the cells of tissues (muscles),this is here in the
cells the glucose is broken down to release energy by the process of ‘’cellular
respiration”.
2) Proteins: protein as a food is essential for the growth and development, it
also provides the body with energy, the body needs it for manufacturing
hormones, enzymes tissues, they are an important part of body’s immune system in
the form of antibodies, they identify and destroy the foreign invaders
(antigens), such as bacteria and viruses. Proteins are made up of different
building blocks called amino acids, when consumed ,body breaks all proteins
first into these amino acids and then re-manufactures different proteins exactly
according to the requirements.
3) Fats or Lipids: The early morning butter on the toast, olive oil in salad
dressing, sunflower oil for cooking, these all are lipids, but in different form
and sources. Fats, the third energy yielding macronutrient, after carbohydrates
and proteins, are the most concentrated form of energy, providing more than
double the amount per gram than the other two. Although fats tend to get a bad
reputation, but the fact is that they are equally essential for health in their
own way, but as with all other foods it depends on the usage, fat should not be
over consumed, other reason, not much realized is that most of the it’s usage is
in processed form, which is not in its natural state, common example is the
margarine or the hydrogenated oil, this oil, which is liquid at room
temperature, is made hard by a process of “hydrogenation” to look like butter.
Too much heat, in processing of foods not only destroys most of their nutrients
but also change their chemical state, for that same reason, some labels read as
“cold pressed oils” to show that heat is not used. These are the wake up calls,
we must understand where the problem lies, is it the “fat or the way it is
processed in the factories. Who to blame??. Lipids are also the only form in
which the body can store energy for a prolonged period of time, these stored
lipids In body tissues known as” adipose” also serve to provide insulation, help
to control body temperature, and afford some physical protection to internal
organs. Fats are mandatory for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins A,D, E and
K. Fats are made up of building blocks called fatty acids, there are three types
of fatty acids, saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids a)
Saturated fatty acids: mostly found in animal products such as whole milk,
cheese, butter, some vegetable products, palm and coconut oils. b)
polyunsaturated fatty acids : found in corn, soya, sunflower oils, certain fish
oils are high in this fatty acids. c) monounsaturated fatty acids: are found in
vegetable and nut oils, such as, olive, peanut and canola. Although most foods
contain a combination of all these fatty acids, one predominates and are named
after.
4) Water: The human body is two third water. Water is essential nutrient that is
involved in every function of the body. It helps transport nutrients in and
waste products out of the cells. it is mandatory for all body systems such as
digestive, circulatory, excretory also needed by water soluble vitamins for
their absorption, for maintaining body temperature. 5)vitamins and 6) minerals:
these both are micronutrients, which means they both are needed relatively in
small quantities, but like water they do not provide energy but have very
important functions in the body. Vitamins contribute to good health by
(3) helping specific chemical reactions that allow the digestion, absorption,
metabolism and use of other nutrients, they act as catalysts and co-enzymes to
help reactions take place but are neither changed themselves nor incorporated
into the products of the reactions, some of the vitamins occur in foods as a
precursors or pro-vitamins, which means they can be converted into vitamins when
needed. There are 13 different vitamins divided into two classes a) Fat soluble
: Vitamins A,D, E and K, which require fats for their absorption. b) water
soluble: Vitamin B complex and C are water soluble. Every vitamin has a specific
role Vit A: prevents night blindness, enhances immunity. sources: animal liver,
fish liver oil, green yellow vegetables Vit D: Necessary for normal growth of
bones and teeth in children, protects against muscle weakness. sources: Sunshine
is a major source, fish liver oils, diary products, eggs yolks, butter. Vit E:
improves circulation, sources: cold pressed vegetable oils, green leafy
vegetables, nuts, seeds eggs Vit K: Needed for blood clotting. sources: Green
leafy vegetables such a spinach, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, eggs yolks Vit B
Complex: In all, there are 8 Vitamin B’s which work together as a team. They are
also called as “ The energy team”. Vit B1 (thiamine): Enhances circulation and
assists blood formation, carbohydrate metabolism, general weakness. sources:
brown rice, egg yolk, fish, peanuts, most nuts B2 (riboflavin): Necessary for
red blood cell formation, anti body production, helps absorption of iron.
Sources: Cheese, egg yolks, fish, milk B3 (niacin): Involved in the metabolism
of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, niacin also helps normal growth and
development. Niacin lowers cholesterol and improves circulation. Sources : beef
liver, broccoli, carrots, cheese, potatoes. B5 (pantothenic acid): known as anti
stress vitamin, helps convert carbohydrate, fats and proteins into energy.
Sources: Beef, fresh vegetables eggs, nuts whole wheat. B6 ( pyridoxine): water
retention, is required by the nervous system and is needed for normal brain
function . Sources: chicken, eggs, fish, spinach, carrots, sunflower seeds. B7
(biotin): Important for the health of hair and skin. Sources: cooked egg yolk,
meat, milk, poultry. B12: Helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood
cells, needed to prevent anemia, helps folic acid in formation of red blood
cells, prevents nerve damage. Sources: fish, meats and dairy. Folic acid: This
is considered a brain food, it is used for energy production and formation of
red blood cells. Sources: chicken, dates, lentils, milk, Green leafy vegetables
Vit C: This vitamin is required for many metabolic functions , including tissue
growth and repair, healthy gum, it also aids the anti stress hormones, immune
system. sources: Citrus fruits, berries, green vegetables ,broccoli ,cantaloupe.
Minerals: all living cells depend on minerals for proper functioning and
structure, minerals are needed for composition of body fluids, formation of
blood and bones, for nerves, muscles. They are naturally occurring elements
found in soils which pass them to the plants and they further pass them to the
animals and humans who eat them. Minerals are of two types a) macro-minerals,
which are needed in larger amount than the, b) micro-nutrients or trace
minerals. Very briefly their names and important function sources.
Macro-minerals include,
1)calcium: makes bones and teeth, nerve transmission, muscle contraction,
Sources: Dairy (milk), green leafy vegetables, figs etc 2)magnesium: heart’s
most important mineral, mostly in bones, muscle weakness. Sources: Dairy, fish,
meat, seafood, bananas nuts 3)sodium: necessary for maintain proper water
balance and blood PH. Sources: almost all foods. 4)Potassium: important for
healthy nervous system and regular heart rhythm, proper muscle contraction works
with sodium to control body’s water balance. Sources: Dairy, fish, meat, High
amounts in apricot, bananas, dates, fig, potatoes. 5)phosphorus: mostly found in
bones and teeth, in blood helps maintain acid-base balance, normal heart rhythm
Sources: eggs, fish, dried fruits, dairy products, nuts Trace minerals: include
1)Boron: Needed for healthy bones and muscle growth, energy Sources: Apples,
carrots, grapes, raw nut, green vegetables 2)chromium: It is involved in
metabolism of glucose, so it maintains stable blood sugar. Sources: Cheese,
meat, chicken eggs. 3)copper: it aids in formation of bone, hemoglobin, red
blood cells. Sources: Almonds ,beets, lentils, nuts, oranges. 4)Germanium: helps
keep the immune system functioning and rid body of toxins and poison. Sources
:broccoli, garlic, milk. 5) iodine: Iodine is needed for the normal thyroid
function.. Sources: Seafood is rich in it iodine. 6)iron: The most important
function of iron is the production of hemoglobin and oxygenation of red blood
cells. Sources: Eggs, fish, liver, meat, poultry, green leafy vegetables,
almonds, lentils. 7)Manganese: for healthy nerves, healthy immune and blood
sugar. Sources: Avocados, nuts, seeds, pineapples. Some other trace minerals are
, 8) Molybdenum 9)Selenium 10) Silicon 11) Sulfur 12)Vanadium: is needed for
formation of bones and teeth, inhabits cholesterol synthesis. Sources: fish,
meat, radishes 13)Zinc: