Today we will be sharing about Food, its benefits and production all together. I wouldn’t want to spend more time on what is FOOD but for better understanding, FOOD; is any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain a continuous life growth.
Food is an important part of life in every living being (am talking about both plants, animal and human as a whole), it’s one of the co-factor that makes continuity of life a possibility.
I am so sure my readers must have eaten today (*winks*) yeah! There are different kinds of food substances with various nutrients and chemical component, how would you wish to know the kind of nutrients supplied in the food you are eaten everyday and be able to maintain a balanced diet?
In this post, I will try to be friendly in the course, as I will inform and educate you on how to maintain a balance diet, most people eat ignorantly not minding what they are taken and this can lead to some level of deficiency in health and healthy living.
Food varies in nutritional values and body nutrients that is supplied when taken,
in this course we will be sharing together various classes of food and their relative importance;
The following are the basic food nutrients;
CARBOHYDRATES,
PROTEINS,
FATS AND OILS,
VITAMINS,
MINERAL ELEMENTS
and of course WATER.
What are FOOD NUTRIENTS: They are the chemical substances contained in food that promote growth and development in a living being, supplies energy and regulate all body processes, as listed above are the classes of food nutrients which are all available in different kinds of foods that we eat. The nutrients that are required in high quantities by the body are termed MACRONUTRIENTS while those that are required less are the MICRONUTRIENTS all these nutrients perform specific functions in the body and their lacks or shortage can lead to adverse health deficiency diseases.
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are required in large quantities by the body. They are mainly produced by plants through the process known as PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Animals obtain carbohydrate by consuming the carbohydrate synthesized by the plants. HONEY gotten from bees is the only animal source of carbohydrates.
FOOD THAT CONTAINS CARBOHYDRATES INCLUDES: Rice, yam, cassava, sorghum, honey, sugar cane, maize, oats, potatoes, carrots,
FUNCTIONS OF CARBONHYDRATES
• The ultimate function of carbohydrates is ENERGY, it’s the greatest energy given food.
• It gives flavor and variety to the diet.
• Most livestock feeds are made up of carbohydrates.
• Starch are gotten from carbohydrates and they are used for various purposes
• They formed part of the essential materials in the body.
They are a constituent of milk, brain, and cartilage in form of lactose, cerebrosides and muco-polysaccharides respectively.
Functions of carbohydrates in the body cannot be over emphasized surely lack or inadequate of it in the body has unlimited disastrous effects on the animal.
PROTEINS
They are the major body building food substances necessary for building new cells and repairing worn out tissues both in the dermis and the epidermis layer of the skin. The enzymes and hormone found in the body are made up of PROTEINS.
They are also required in fairly large amounts in the body. Protein are made up of CARBON, HYDROGEN,OXYGEN, and NITROGEN, some may also contains iron, sulphur and phosphorus. On hydrolysis protein yields simpler absorbable units known as amino acids.
FOOD SUBSTANCES THAT CONTAINS PROTEIN INCLUDES: this can divided into two PLANTS protein (Legumes like “beans, wheat, cowpea, nuts, cereals”) and ANIMALS protein (Cheese, milk, egg, meat, fish,).
FUNCTIONS OF PROTEINS
• It helps in rapid growth and development of the body system.
• It helps in repairing the worn out tissues, as a result of this if you have a cut on the skin surface which leads to bleeding protein helps in clothing the surface with new layer.
• It also serves as source of energy in the absence of carbohydrates and fats. However, this is not a beneficial function as it wastes the protein.
• Protein contributes to enhance body reactions by building enzymes to catalyses chemical reactions.
• It also builds hormones that assist in the regulation of body processes.
• One of the major importances of protein is the building of strong antibodies that fight against infections and diseases.
• It’s also responsible for the transmission of hereditary characteristics from parents to offsprings as they form the major structural component of the cells.
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A deficiency of protein leads to poor growth and lowered resistance to infections. In infants, it leads to kwashiorkor and marasmus. Protein is a vital and essential part of diet that must be highly consider to maintain a balanced diet.
FATS AND OILS
These are another group of the macronutrients required by the body. They are secondary sources of energy composed of the following elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. On hydrolysis, fats yield glycerol and fatty acids. Excess carbohydrates and proteins can be converted into fats and stored.
Incase you may wondering why it’s called Fats and oils or what are the differences well, you have it here
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FATS AND OILS.
*. Fats are solid at room temperature while oil are liquid at this temperature.
*. Fats contains saturated faty acids while oils contain unsaturated fatty acids while oils contain unsaturated fatty acids.
*. Fats are usually gotten from animals while oils are obtained from plants.
The major compound supplied to the body by fats and oils are fatty acids. Like amino acids, fatty acids can be classified into ESSENTIAL (are the fatty acids cannot be produced by the body and therefore must be present in the fats or oils consumed.) and NON-ESSENTIAL. (these are the fatty acid that can be produced by the body and therefore need not to be present in the fats or oils consumed).
FOOD THAT CONTAINS FATS AND OILS. = eggs(yolk), palm oil, vegetable oil, fish oil, margarine, butter, nuts etc.
FUNCTIONS OF FATS AND OILS.
1. It serves as source of heat and energy.
2. It also acts as insulators thus preventing heat loss from the body and hence, it helps maintaining a constant body temperature.
3. It acts as cushion to the delicate internal organs and hence protect them against shock and damage.
4. It enhance palatability and flavor of food.
5. It provides satiety and hence delay the onset of hunger because they are not easily digested.
6. Facilitate the absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
7. It also help in promoting healthy hair and skin growth.
8. It provides the essential fatty acid needed for good health.
Though fairly large amount of fats and oils are needed by the body, excessive consumption can lead to overweight or obesity, a severe health hazard in my future post I will share more on how to lose weight and reduce body fats.
