Nov 4, 2021

Notes on Food and Nutrition

Notes on Food and Nutrition

Proper nutrition and food ingredients

Nutrition is very important for human life, because it represents its biological basis.
Hence, our health largely depends on how we eat.
Most people do not eat properly and because they do not have enough knowledge about nutrition.
The fact that almost half of all diseases are the result of improper diet indicates the importance of proper nutrition.
In other words, proper nutrition has a first-class preventive role in protecting a person from many diseases, and it has a positive effect on his ability to work, productivity and longevity.
Improper diet most often causes: retardation in physical and mental development, hypervitaminosis, reduced resistance to infectious diseases, malnutrition and obesity in children, and diseases of the stomach and intestines, heart and blood vessels, increased blood pressure, diabetes, liver and biliary tract diseases, sclerosis, obesity, and others in adults.
Proper nutrition means daily intake of foods that fully meet human physiological needs in nutrients and protective ingredients, depending on gender, age, type of work performed, climatic conditions, special physiological conditions, etc.

The group of nutrients includes: proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Proteins are the most important ingredients in food.

They have a building role, performing worn out and creating new cells.
According to their origin, they can be animal or plant.
Animal proteins are biologically much more valuable than vegetable proteins, and the most valuable is egg white.

fruits-nutrition — Notes on Food and Nutrition

Of the foods of animal origin, the richest in protein are:

— eggs

— meat

— fish

— milk

and dairy products.

The following are rich in plant foods:

— grains and cereal products (flour, bread, pasta, pastries)

— rice

— dried lentils (beans, lentils, peas, soybeans, beans)

Protein needs are different and depend on age.
The greatest protein intake needs are in children, the least in the elderly.
An adult weighing 70 kg should take about 70 g of protein daily with food.
It is best for half of the food to be of animal and half of plant origin.

Fats are nutrients that have primarily an energetic role.

Foods richest in fat are: lard, oils, butter, sour cream, cream, butter, margarine, tallow, bacon, lard, olives, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.
The basic principles of the diet are that equal amounts of animal and vegetable fats are present in the daily meal.
I recommend that the amount of vegetable fats be higher than animal fats in the summer, and vice versa in the winter, since energy needs are much lower in summer than in winter.
If someone performs heavier and physically, then his energy needs are higher, so they should be compensated with a slightly higher amount of fat.

Carbohydrates or sugars are, like fats, energy ingredients of food.

Most carbohydrates are found in foods of plant origin:

— sugar

— honey

— grain (flour and flour products)

— rice

— lens

— potatoes

— fruit and

— fruit products

These ingredients of our food meet most of a person's energy needs.

In our Serbian national diet, bread is mostly used as a source of carbohydrates.
Any excessive intake of nutrients, especially fats and carbohydrates, has a detrimental effect on our health.
That is why you should take only as many of these ingredients with food as you need.

Protective ingredients are called mineral salts and vitamins.

Their importance in nutrition is no less than nutrients, since they participate in many physiological processes in the human body.
Insufficient or excessive intake of these ingredients inevitably leads to disorders.

From mineral salts it is worth mentioning calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, and from vitamins: vitamin A, vitamins of group B (B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin) Vitamins: C, D, E, K

The largest sources of mineral salts and vitamins are:

Vegetables and fruits, then milk, eggs, grain and more.

Calcium and phosphorus are necessary for normal development and growth, because they participate in building bones.

Milk and dairy products are the most suitable sources of these ingredients - the body makes the best use of them.
Iron enters the composition of hemoglobin, and their insufficient intake with food leads to anemia.

The most famous foods rich in iron are:

— yolk,

— liver

— certain types of vegetables

— some types of fresh and dried fruit.

Milk is poor in iron, so predominantly consuming a milked diet can lead to anemia, which is common in children and the elderly.

Vitamin A also appeared as a pure vitamin as provitamin-carotene.

It is mostly found in fish oil, liver, egg, (yolks), milk, butter, some types of sea fish.

Provitamin, which is converted into a vitamin in the body (liver), contains colored vegetables and fruits; carrots, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, spinach, apricot kale, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.

Vitamin D is also used as a pure vitamin and provitamin-ergosterol.

Which under the action of ultraviolet sun rays (at sea, in the mountains) is converted into vitamin D. It is mostly found in fish oil, liver, butter, milk, and eggs.

Vitamin group B is found in the husk and grain of grain, baker's and beer yeast, pork, milk, etc.

Vitamins are divided according to their solubility into fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and water-soluble B vitamins and vitamins C.

According to the thermal effect, vitamins can be:

thermostable (A, D, E, K) i
thermolabile (vitamin C and partially B vitamins)

As vitamins are important ingredients of human food, it is necessary to preserve them as much as possible during its preparation.

Taking larger amounts of vitamins than necessary can lead to unwanted consequences.

The necessary amounts of nutrients and protective ingredients can best be provided by a varied diet, which is one of the basic requirements of a proper diet.

Another equally important requirement is that the daily meal be divided into 3–5 meals.

Basic meals are; breakfast, lunch and dinner, and lunch, morning and afternoon snacks.

All foods are divided according to the basic ingredients into 7 groups for easier composition of daily meals.

1. cereals, bread, flour, pasta (containing starch, proteins, minerals, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron)

2. meat, fish, and processed meat and fish, eggs (contain protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron.)

3. milk and dairy products (contains proteins, calcium, and phosphorus, vitamins B, A, and D.

4. Fats and oils (contains fats, vitamins A and D)

5. vegetables (contains vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates)

6. fruit (contains vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates)

7. sugar concentrates (contains carbohydrates)