Nutrition

Nutrition

• Food Nutrients:
• The three main nutrients in foods are:
• Carbohydrates
• Protein
• Lipids
• These nutrients provide energy for the human, allowing the body to perform the functions needed to survive.

Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates provide the
• energy that is required to keep the body functioning
• Most energy comes from the
• sugars that are broken down in the gut
• Blood carried the sugars
• around the body to where they are needed
• Carbohydrates are the only
• source of energy used by the brain and red blood cells
• Carbohydrates provide 16 KJ/g
• The term carbohydrates refers
• to a wide range of sugars and starches that are found in food

Sources of Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates are classified into three groups:
• Monosaccharides - this means that they have 1 sugar unit
• Disaccharides - this means that they have 2 sugar units
• Polysaccharides - this means that they have many sugar units
• Saccharide means sugar

Monosaccharides

• 
• Legenda: Monosaccharide Molecule: Glucose, Fructose, Galactose
• Monosaccharides have only 1 sugar unit
• It can be broken down into three groups:
• Glucose
• Fructose
• and Galactose

Disaccharides

• 
• Legenda: Disaccharide molecule: Sucrose is made up of glucose and fructose bonded together
• Monosaccharide molecules join together to make Disaccharide molecules. these are:
• Glucose + Glucose = Maltose
• Glucose + Fructose = Sucrose
• Glucose + Galactose = Lactose
• All three of these make up Disaccharides

Polysacchrides

• Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides
• There are four molecules that make up Polysaccharides. These are:
• Starch
• Glycogen
• Pectin
• Cellulose
• Starch is broken down into glucose when ingested
• Glycogen is produced by the body to store glucose in the liver and muscles
• Pectin is found in cells of fruits and some vegetables
• Cellulose cannot be broken down into glucose in the gut because of its special structure

Foods rich in Carbohydrates

• There are many foods that are rich in carbohydrates. Some of these are:
• Bread
• Potatoes
• Rice
• Flour
• Pasta
• Sugar
• Cake
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Chips
• Milk (Cows)
• Salsa
• Pastry
• Processed Foods
• Jam and
• Honey