CHAPTER 4 Summary
In-Class Activity
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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.
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Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; these are among the organic macromolecules that make up our cells.
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Digestion breaks down macromolecules into smaller subunits, which are then used by cells to build cell structures and carry out cell functions.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Most nutritionists recommend that fruits, vegetables, and whole grains make up the largest portion of our diet.
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Malnutrition results when adequate macronutrients and micronutrients are lacking in the diet.
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Malnutrition is especially dangerous for children, whose bodies are, or should be, growing rapidly.
MORE TO EXPLORE
Project Peanut Butter http://www.projectpeanutbutter.org
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Meds & Foods for Kids http://mfkhaiti.org/
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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.
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Latham, M. C., et al. (2011) RUTF stuff. Can the children be saved with fortified peanut paste? World Nutrition 2(2) 62–85.
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Collins, S. (2001). Changing the way we address severe malnutrition during famine. The Lancet 358(9280):498–501.
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Diamond, J. (1999) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton.