Why is Nutrition Important? Know All about The Nutrients and Their Functions
Nutrition is the food taken by the body in relationship with its dietary needs. It plays a very important role in the growth, development, and maintenance of our body. Good nutrition enhances our quality of life and helps to prevent various diseases. It provides calories and nutrients for energy and wellness.
Nutrients or “food factor” is used for definite dietary constituents such as vitamins, proteins, and minerals. The practical application of diet in relationship with health as well as ill-health is said to be ‘Dietetics’. It involves planning and preparing a list of meals. Good nutrition means “eating a correct quantity from all kinds or groups of food to stay healthy.”
- Nutrients: substances in foods that the body needs to grow, to repair, and to provide energy.
- Calories: Units of heat that measure the energy used by the body and energy supplied to the body by foods.
Types of nutrients and why is nutrition important
There are different kinds of nutrients and all are required for Healthy body and life. Let’s learn in details about nutrients and why is Nutrition important?
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Fats
- Vitamins
- Minerals
1. Carbohydrates –
Provide the majority part of the energy to our body. Carbohydrates get changed into glucose (blood sugar) in our digestive system. The body uses glucose for energy for our cells, tissues, and organs, and the extra glucose gets deposited in the liver and muscles for use when it is needed.
Carbohydrates are classified as simple or complex:
- Simple carbohydrates are sugars which are present in foods such as vegetables, fruits, milk, and products made up of milk.
- Complex carbohydrates are present in cereals, whole grain bread, legumes, and starchy vegetables. Many of the complex carbohydrates are good sources of fiber.
- Fiber is an indigestible complex carbohydrate that helps move waste through the digestive system. To consume a healthy diet, reduce the quantity of added sugar that we eat and use whole grains over refined grains
2. Proteins
Proteins are the nutrients that help to build and maintain body cells and tissues. Protein plays a vital role in the growth and development in children and pregnant women. During digestion, protein is broken down into parts called amino acids. The human body requires a number of amino acids to stay healthy. Amino acids are found in milk, meats, fish, and eggs. These are also present in plant sources such as soy, beans, legumes, and grains such as wheat germ and quinoa. Amino acids are categorized into three groups:
- Essential
- Non-essential
- Conditional
Essential Amino acids
Essential Amino Acids are not produced in the body, it can be supplied by food. Balanced diet over the whole day is more important for our body to get enough amino acids.
Non- essential Amino acids
Non-essential amino acids are produced in our body from essential amino acids or breakdown of proteins.
Conditional Amino acids
Conditional Amino Acids are needed in times of stress and illness. The daily requirement of proteins by the body is greatly related to the age and health of a person, and to meet this requirement, it is considered to consume protein-rich foods two or three times every day.
3. Fat
Fat is a type of nutrient. It gives energy and also helps the body to absorb fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K). Fat also plays a major role in our cholesterol levels. We need some fat in the diet but not too much, if we eat a high-fat diet, cholesterol level in body increases. High cholesterol level causes the number of diseases such as hypertension, hardening of arteries, etc.
Avoid using fatty substances such as :
- Saturated fats like butter, cheese, and meat.
- Tran’s fats found in vegetable shortenings, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.
Try to use canola, olive, safflower, sesame, or sunflower oil. Eating too much fatty food will put on the pounds and causes obesity. Fat has twice as many calories as proteins or carbohydrates.
4. Vitamins
Vitamins are essential nutrients for our body’s growth and development. We get all the vitamins from the foods. Some vitamins like vitamin D and K can be made by the body. Supplement of vitamin B12 may be required for people who consume only a vegetarian diet. Each vitamin has a specific function. If we have low levels of certain vitamins, we may get health problems. For example, if we don’t get enough vitamin C, we could become anemic. Some vitamins may help to prevent medical problems. Vitamin A arrest night blindness. Eat a balanced diet or a variety of foods to get enough vitamins. In a few cases, we need to take vitamin supplements. High doses of few vitamins can create problems.
Types of vitamins
- Water-soluble vitamins
- Fat-soluble vitamins
Water-soluble vitamins
Water-soluble vitamins easily move throughout the body. The extra amounts are excreted by the kidneys. Water-soluble vitamins are required infrequent and small doses. These vitamins are not able to reach toxic levels as likely as fat-soluble vitamins. But there are high consumption limits of niacin (vitamin B3), folate (vitamin B9), choline, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. An excess consumption of Vitamin B6 for prolonged periods may sometimes cause irreversible nerve damage.
Why is Nutrition Important?
Here I have discussed in details about the benefits or why is nutrient important for our body. How nutrition makes our body fit and Healthy? What are the sources which provide all the required nutrients?
What are the Fat-Soluble Vitamins, Sources, their Function, and Why is Nutrition important?
Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body’s cells and are not excreted as easily as water-soluble vitamins. They do not need to be consumed as often as water-soluble vitamins, although adequate amounts are needed. If you take too much of a fat-soluble vitamin, it could become toxic. Your body is especially sensitive to too much vitamin A from animal sources (retinol) and too much vitamin D. A balanced diet usually provides enough fat-soluble vitamins.
5. Minerals-
Minerals are an important nutrient for our body to stay healthy. It plays an important role in building bones, making hormones and regulating your heartbeat.
There are two kinds of minerals:
- Macrominerals are required in larger amounts for our body. They include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur.
- Trace minerals are required in small amounts for our body. These include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium. The best way to get minerals by eating a wide variety of foods. In some cases, the doctor may recommend a mineral supplement.
I am sure that after reading this article you will have complete information about what is nutrients? why is nutrition important? What are the functions of nutrients?
More important, I am sure that after knowing why is nutrition important? You will try to add all the nutrients into your foods for Healthy life.
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