Nutrition

“You are, what you eat’’•quality of diet•five chemicals which make our food healthy.

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Types of chemicals areWaterCarbohydratesLipids or FatsVitaminsMinerals

Carbohydrates

It includes simple and complex sugars. simple sugars are glucose, fructose and complex sugars are sucrose, lactose and starch.

Lipids or Fats

Lipids or ‘‘fats’’ also provide energy for the body. Lipids include saturated and

polyunsaturated fats, as well as cholesterol.

Proteins

Proteins are important mainly in the body’s synthesis of new cell material. They are composed of organic molecules called amino acids. amino acids are essential for body development and functioning

Vitamins

Are organic chemicals that regulate metabolism and functions of body.

They are used in converting the nutrients to energy , producing hormones and breaking down waste products and toxins.

Minerals

Are inorganic substances such as calcium, phosphorus , potassium, sodium ,iron and zinc. each of which is important in body development and functioning.

Most people who eat healthfully do not need to supplement their diets with vitamins. A class of vitamins called antioxidants including vitamins A (carotene), C, and E reduce damage to cells from a process in metabolism called oxidation.

What People Eat

Diets vary by gender and culture and there are “biopsychosocial’’ factors behind why do people eat and what they eat.

Inborn process: newborn babies like sweet tastes and avoid bitter tastes. Similarly brain chemicals bias people to eat fatty foods and activate their brain pleasure when they do.

Person’s skills: the ability to regulate or manage one’s food buying or eating.

environment or experience with food is also another factor which has five perspectives as

• newborns can learn to like foods they might otherwise avoid

• some foods are more available than others at home, work, or school, depending on cultural and economic conditions and simply being exposed to a food may increase one’s liking of it.

• The more fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood, the more fast-food people eat.

• people observe in person and through TV commercials how others respond to a food and tend to become more attracted to it if they see others eat it and like it.

• portion sizes are often ‘‘supersized’’—the larger the portions, the more people eat.