CHAPTER 4 Summary

• Food is a source of nutrients. Nutrients provide the chemicals required to build and maintain cells and tissues and furnish cells with the energy needed to function.
• Nutrients required in large amounts are called macronutrients; nutrients required in smaller amounts are called micronutrients. Both are essential for good health.
• Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; these are among the organic macromolecules that make up our cells.
• Digestion breaks down macromolecules into smaller subunits, which are then used by cells to build cell structures and carry out cell functions.
• Enzymes are proteins that accelerate the rate of chemical reactions. Nearly all reactions in the body require enzymes, including those required for growth and development.
• Enzymes speed up reactions by binding specifically to substrates and reducing the activation energy necessary for a reaction to occur. Enzymes mediate both bond-breaking (catabolic) and bond-building (anabolic) reactions.
• Many enzymes require small “helper” chemicals known as cofactors to function. Micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins, found abundantly in fruits and vegetables, are important cofactors.
• Most nutritionists recommend that fruits, vegetables, and whole grains make up the largest portion of our diet.
• Malnutrition results when adequate macronutrients and micronutrients are lacking in the diet.
• Malnutrition is especially dangerous for children, whose bodies are, or should be, growing rapidly.

• MORE TO EXPLORE

  • Project Peanut Butter http://www.projectpeanutbutter.org
  • Meds & Foods for Kids http://mfkhaiti.org/
  • Manary, M. J., et al. (2004) Home based therapy for severe malnutrition with ready-to-use food. Archives of Disease in Childhood 89:557–561.
  • Latham, M. C., et al. (2011) RUTF stuff. Can the children be saved with fortified peanut paste? World Nutrition 2(2) 62–85.
  • Collins, S. (2001). Changing the way we address severe malnutrition during famine. The Lancet 358(9280):498–501.
  • Diamond, J. (1999) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton.