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Nutrition and Public Health
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What is food? What is food chemistry? What is the difference between Food Science and Nutrition? Who should have skills and knowledge of human nutrition? | ||||||||||||||||
What is food?
 Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth. The listing of items included as foodstuffs include any substance intended to be, or reasonably expected to be, ingested by humans. What is food chemistry? Food Science deals with the production, processing, distribution, preparation, evaluation, and utilization of food. Food chemists work with plants that have been harvested for food, and animals that have been slaughtered for food. Food chemists are concerned with how these food products are processed, prepared, and distributed. For example, to address consumer demands, some food chemists are involved with finding fat and sugar substitutes that do not alter food taste and texture. Basic food chemistry deals with the three primary components in food: carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Carbohydrates make up a group of chemical compounds found in plant and animal cells. They have an empirical formula CnH2nOn or (CH2O)n. Since this formula is essentially a combination of carbon and water these materials are called hydrates of carbon or carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the primary product of plant photosynthesis, and are consumed as fuel by plants and animals. Food carbohydrates include the simple carbohydrates (sugars) and complex carbohydrates (starches and fiber). Lipids include fats, oils, waxes, and cholesterol. In the body, fat serves as a source of energy, a thermal insulator, and a cushion around organs; and it is an important component of the cell. Since fats have 2.25 times the energy content of carbohydrates and proteins, most people try to limit their intake of dietary fat to avoid becoming overweight. In most instances, fats are from animal products meats, milk products, eggs, and seafood and oils are from plants nuts, olives, and seeds. We use lipids for flavor, to cook foods, and to improve the texture of foods. Proteins are important components of food. Every cell requires protein for structure and function. Proteins are complex polymers composed of amino acids. There are 20 amino acids found in the body. Eight of these are essential for adults and children, and nine are essential for infants. Essential means that we cannot synthesize them in large enough quantities for growth and repair of our bodies, and therefore, they must be included in our diet. Proteins consist of long chains of 100-500 amino acids that form into three-dimensional structures, their native state. When you change the native state of the protein, you change the three-dimensional structure, which is referred to as denaturation. Factors that cause denaturation include heating, acid, beating and freezing. Vocabulary Food Chemistry Amino acids contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sometimes sulfur and serve as the monomers to make peptides and proteins. Amino acids have a basic structure that includes an amino group (NH2) and a carboxyl group (COOH) attached to a carbon atom. There are 20 amino acids found in the body. Amylase an enzyme (protein) in saliva that breaks down starch. Antioxidant substance that prevents or slows down oxidation; inhibits reactions promoted by oxygen; often used as a preservative. Carbohydrate a compound of carbon and water. Carbohydrates are the most abundant of all carbon-containing compounds, composing nearly three-fourths of the dry mass of all plant life on earth. It is the product of photosynthesis. Examples: glucose, sucrose (table sugar), starch, and cellulose. Casein a protein from milk. Coagulation transformation of a liquid into a soft or solid mass. Denatured changed from its natural state. In a denatured protein, its characteristics or properties have been altered in some way, by heat, chemicals, or enzymatic action, resulting in the loss of its biological activity. Digestion the chemical breakdown of large food compounds into smaller molecules that can be absorbed by the intestines in humans and animals. The smaller food molecules travel in the blood and are used by cells to make other components or produce energy needed by the body. Digestion begins in the mouth as salivary amylase begins to break down starch into simple sugars. It involves the hydrolysis of proteins to amino acids. Emulsion a property where two liquids are evenly spread out in each other, yet not dissolved in each other. Oil and water form the most common emulsions, and milk is an emulsion of butterfat in water. Emulsions are important in the production of foods that contain water and fat, such as mayonnaise or margarine. These products require the addition of an emulsifier, to stabilize food emulsions. Enzymatic browning a biochemical process in which fruit or vegetable tissues turn brown when exposed to oxygen. This process is catalyzed by polyphenol oxidase. Enzymes protein catalysts, which control specific chemical reactions in living systems (plants and animals). Enzymes are active at low concentrations. Page 3 of 7 Ester bonds bonds between fatty acids and glycerol molecules. Fatty acid building blocks of fats, having hydrogen atoms attached to chains of carbon atoms and a oxygen containing carbonyl group (-C=O). Fatty acids are found in every cell of the human body. Glycerol backbone for fatty acid molecules. Glucose a simple sugar (C6H12O6) and the primary source of energy for all mammals and many plants. It is also known as dextrose, grape sugar, and corn sugar. It is about half as sweet as table sugar. Hormones substances that can influence enzyme action, metabolism, and physiology. Insoluble not capable of being dissolved. Fats are insoluble in water. On the other hand, sugar is soluble in water unless more is added than what a certain volume of water can dissolve, which means that the solvent has become saturated with sugar. Lecithin emulsifier found in eggs and soybean oil. Lipids compounds commonly of fatty acids and glycerol. Lipids are the most efficient source of fuel in living things. Food lipids are divided into 1) fats, which usually come from animal sources and are solid at room temperature; and 2) oils, which usually come from plant sources and are liquid at room temperature. Another type of lipid is cholesterol. Cholesterol is a sterol compound made by animals and is used to make certain steroid hormones in the body. It is not found in plants. Melanin any of a group of brown or black pigments occurring in plants and animals. Organic related to the branch of chemistry dealing with carbon compounds. Though all living things contain carbon and thus are considered to be organic, other carbon-containing compounds have been produced in the laboratory. Peptide bonds covalent bonds between two amino acid molecules. Peptides short chains of amino acids. Photosynthesis process by which a plant uses water and carbon dioxide to produce a simple sugar (glucose) and oxygen. Plants store excess sugar as starch. Polymers contain ten or more monomers. Starch is a polymer of the monomer glucose. A protein is a polymer of amino acids. Polyphenol oxidase a copper-containing enzyme, also called phenolase, that catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds contained in plant tissue. Example it speeds the process of browning of cut apple slices. Polyunsaturated fatty acids that have multiple double bonds. Proteins complex polymers composed of amino acid monomers. Some examples of protein are muscle, hair, skin, hormones, and enzymes. Rennin enzyme used to make cheese. Shortening crystalline form of a solid fat. Soluble capable of being dissolved. Gases or solids that dissolve are called solutes, while the liquid that does the dissolving is called the solvent. Like substances are usually soluble in like solvents. Starch a polymer of glucose. It is a complex carbohydrate found in green plants and an important source of energy for animals and humans. During the day, green plants store energy by converting glucose to starch. At night, plants convert starch back to glucose for growth. Triacylglycerol - a lipid compound consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule. This compound is an important source of energy for the human body. Vegetable oils come from plants like corn or soybeans and are an important source of polyunsaturated fats. What is the difference between Food Science and Nutrition? Food Science is the study of the biological, chemical, and physical nature of food components-and the technology to bring safe and wholesome foods from farm to fork. Nutrition is the study of how and why those foods (and food components) influence health and wellness. Who should have skills and knowledge of human nutrition? Medical doctors, head of the state, administrators, public health workers, and workers in various departments.
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Let's examine agriculture. Decades ago, there used to be ploughs or people used shovels and similar tools for agriculture. This used to take lots of labor and time as well. Many people were involved in this type of employment. Nowadays, there are tractors. Work done by thousands of people can be and is completed by single tractor. A single tractor has replaced thousands of people. Work done by thousands of people can be and is completed by a single machine or machines. Work done by thousands of people can be and is completed in a comparatively shorter time period. Fewer people and more technology is at work. Will the tractor operator exclude others from harvest? Should the tractor operator exclude others from harvest? Will those in control of machines exclude others from harvest? Should those in control of machines exclude others from harvest? Is it justified? No. Should the tractor operator exclude others not in the agriculture field from harvest? No. Are people who have been replaced with machines unemployed? Or are they skilled employees to be utilised as per need of economy? Who has the duty and responsibility to redirect their skill, knowledge, and experience? The same is true in other types of industries. Machines have and can replace thousands of workers. That doesn't mean those workers are going to be excluded from harvest. These are natural resources. These natural resources have to be utilised and exploited to their capacity while using the latest advances in science and technology. Their products have to be distributed fairly, equally, and uniformly. Their products have to be distributed fairly as per consumer affairs and public distribution system. How much food or nutrition does a human being need per day? The answer to this question depends on the age of the person, level of activity, air temperature, humidity, and other factors. | ||||||||||||||||
Normal Diets
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