For the body to operate effectively, nutrients are required.
Eating a balanced diet is essential for good health and well-being, as it provides the body with the essential nutrients it needs to function properly. While many vitamins and minerals make up a healthy diet. the three main nutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
Each nutrient in the diet has an important role. Recognize this role and apply it to your daily meals.
Three functions of nutrients
The human body consists of muscles, fat, bones, etc., and these tissues are composed of nutrients. And humans, from birth to death, need to continue to consume the nutrients contained in food to maintain vital activity. Strictly speaking.
.nutrition. refers to a series of processes in which .nutrients. ingested from outside the body are digested, absorbed, and metabolized to maintain life and produce the necessary components for growth.
Nutrients are essential components for the human body among the various substances contained in food.
Nutrients in food have three main functions as a result of their absorption by the body.
- 1. Become a source of energy
- 2. Creation of body tissues (muscles, blood, bones, etc.)
- 3. Tone your body
Types of nutrients
Nutrients that are sources of energy include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, these are called the three main nutrients.
In addition, the addition of vitamins and minerals, which are trace elements, to the three main nutrients is called the five main nutrients, and these are also nutrients necessary for the living body.
The three main nutrients create energy sources and body tissues in the body, and vitamins and minerals prepare the body. Let's examine each nutrient's actions in more detail.
from nutrients the Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the most accessible energy source and are used as a fast-acting energy source to move the body and brain.
When there is a shortage of carbohydrates, the nutrients necessary for the brain cannot reach you. and the muscles and fats of the body are broken down to compensate for the lack of energy. On the other hand.
if you consume too much sugar. it will not be used as energy and will be converted into triglycerides and become fat.
In addition, vitamin B1 is necessary for the conversion of carbohydrates into energy, so consuming it with foods rich in vitamin B1, such as pork and liver, will increase metabolism.
from nutrients the Protein
Protein is a component that consists of muscles, internal organs, hair, nails, etc., and also plays a role in making hormones. enzymes, and immune cells.
Amino acids are made up of proteins in the body. the basic components of cells and the DNA of hereditary information are also made of amino acids.
Amino acids may be produced by the body and those that cannot are the two basic categories of amino acids.
The latter are nine particular amino acids that must be ingested from food and are called essential amino acids. If even one essential amino acid is deficient in food, its nutritional value as a protein will decrease.
The amino acid score
is an indicator for assessing the quality of protein in foods. The amino acid score is the degree of balance of essential amino acids in food. The closer this result is to 100, the more good quality protein.
Eggs, chicken, salmon, milk, etc. have an amino acid score of 100, while soybeans have a slightly lower amino acid score of 86. Rice. which is a staple food, has 65 points, and wheat. a component. such as bread, which has 37 points.
For example, cereals are deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid,. but consuming it with animal foods such as chicken, rich in lysine, can improve the amino acid balance and increase the amino acid score.
Fats from nutrients
Fats are used as an energy source, become components of cell membranes, organs, and nerves, and help in the transportation of vitamins. In addition, it maintains body temperature, moisturizes the skin, and helps natural hormones to work (especially female hormones).
Therefore, you need to be careful not to reduce too much fat. Women, in particular, can damage their beauty and health, and a certain amount of fat is necessary for beautiful skin and hair. However. if you consume too much, store it as fat. which may cause obesity.
Vitamin from nutrients
Vitamins are not such a source of energy or a component of the body as the three main nutrients, but essential nutrients for maintaining the normal functioning of the body, They serve to support metabolism and maintain healthy bones, skin, mucous membranes, blood vessels, and other body tissues.
The required amount is very small
but it must be ingested from food because it is hardly synthesized in the body, or even if it is synthesized, it does not meet the required amount.
Further, vitamins are classified into water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble oil-soluble vitamins, depending on their solubility.
Water
-soluble vitamins are excreted along with urine, so it is necessary to take the necessary amount every day. Even if it is excessive. it will not accumulate in the body and will be excreted with urine, so there is not much to worry about eating too much.
Due to their naturalness
fat-soluble vitamins increase their absorption rate when taken with oil. In addition, since it accumulates in the liver, excessive intake of it can cause excessive disease.
You don't have to worry about eating too much in a normal diet, but you need to be careful because you may be taking too much with supplements.
Metal
Although it is a small amount, it is an essential nutrient to maintain a healthy body, and there are 16 essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and sodium. The main functions of minerals are to become constituent components of the body such as bones and teeth, conditioning the body.
Minerals cannot be synthesized in the body, therefore it is necessary to take them from the diet. If it is deficient, it causes deficiencies. such as iron deficiency anemia and goiter due to iodine deficiency.
In addition, various symptoms occur, such as osteoporosis due to calcium deficiency. Conversely, eating too much can also cause hyperplasia.
Too much iron or zinc can cause poisoning, and too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure.
