Classification of foods based on nutrition

 

There are seven main classes of nutrients that the body needs. These are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water. It is important that everyone consumes these seven nutrients on a daily basis to help them build their bodies and maintain their health.

 

                    

These nutrient classes can be classified either into macronutrients or nutrients that are needed in large quantities and micronutrients or nutrients that are needed in small amount. 

Macronutrients include the carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre, and water while the micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Macronutrients provide the body with energy. Water and fibre are exempted.

Micronutrients that you consume are made up of several of the classes of nutrients. Some of the nutrients are needed by the body all the time while the others are needed once in awhile. People’s health deteriorates because of the imbalance of micronutrients . There can be too much of a nutrient or a deficiency in it. They include minerals and vitamin.

Water serves as a carrier, distributing nutrients to cells and removing wastes through urine. It is also a compulsory agent in the regulation of body temperature and ionic balance of the blood. Water is completely essential for the body's metabolism and is also required for lubricant and shock absorber.

Carbohydrates constitute majority of foods like bread, noodles, rice, and other products that have grains. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest because they need more time to be broken down into simpler sugar units. Only the simpler sugar units can be absorbed by the blood. The spikes in the sugar levels of the blood are caused by too much consumption of simpler carbohydrates. This leads to heart diseases and vascular diseases and diabetes. You should keep in mind that there are a lot of foods out there that are composed of simple sugars. One of them is the sugar-based juice.

Protein

A lot of animal body structures are made up of protein. Your hair, your skin, and your muscles are all made up of protein. Your body needs these amino acids in order to make new proteins or retain existing proteins and to replace damaged proteins or to maintain protein mass. Amino acids that aren’t needed by the body are discarded through urination.

Some proteins that cannot be produced by their own body. These are called the essential proteins. The proteins that an individual can produce internally are referred to as non-essential proteins. There are around twenty amino acid types that can be located in the human body and around ten of these are essential. Since they are essential and can not be produced by your own body, they are required in your diet. The rice and beans can be combined in order to make a complete protein source. Other sources of protein are meat, eggs, soya and soya products, legumes, grains, and dairy products like cheese and milk.

Fats

One molecule of fat is made up of several fatty acids that are bonded to glycerol.Fats are either saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fats are those kinds of fats with all their carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms with the fatty acid chains. On the other hand, unsaturated fats are characterized by carbon atoms that are double bonded with oftentimes few hydrogen atoms. Tran’s fats are a kind of unsaturated fat with a trans-isomer fatty acid and they are usually made through the process of hydrogenation. The unsaturated fats are best for the diet of a human being. Specifically, monounsaturated fats are the best type of fat. Saturated fats from animals are the next kind of fat that is okay for a human being whilst trans fats are the kinds of fats that should be completely avoided. Saturated fats and trans fats are the kinds of fats that are solid at room temperature. Examples of these fats are butter and lard. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Examples of unsaturated fats are olive oil and flaxseed oil. Trans fats are not usually found in nature but are useful in the processing of food.

Most of the fatty acids are not essential which means that your body can produce them when it needs to do so. There are some fatty acids that are essential and must be included in your diet though. A balance of the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are needed for better health. With a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, there will be a production of the necessary prostaglandins. When you balance omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, you will be on your way to excellent cardiovascular health. Problems in highly industrialized societies involve the overconsumption of huge quantities of vegetable oil. This reduces the amount of essential fatty acids or an imbalance between the omega-6 and the omega-3 fatty acids.In order to get the essential fatty acids, one must consume vegetables, seeds, nuts, and marine oils. The best sources of these essential fatty acids include flaxseed oils, fish, soya and soya products, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts.

Fibre

Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that is not completely absorbed by human beings. Fibre in your diet is mainly made up of cellulose. This is a large carbohydrate polymer that can not be digested by human beings because of the lack of enzymes. There are two categories for fibre. The insoluble fibre and the soluble fibre are these two types. The whole grains, fruits, prunes, plums, figs, and vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fibre. Fibre is needed by your body in order to promote digestive health and to minimize the risk of developing colon cancer. Moreover, fibre will also alleviate cases of constipation and diarrhea. Fibre will give bulk to the intestinal contents while the insoluble fibre promotes peristalsis.

Minerals

Minerals are chemical elements that are needed by living things. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen exist in organic molecules. The word mineral is archaic since it attempts to describe the less abundant elements needed by the human body. These elements are heavier than the basic four elements. These elements include metals which occur as ions more often in the body. Several dieticians advise that these minerals should be acquired from foods naturally. They are to be acquired in complex compounds or natural inorganic sources like calcium carbonate which can be derived from ground oyster shells. In another case, these minerals have to be added artificially in the form of supplements like iodine or iodized salt.

Macrominerals

There are some elements that are essential and they have to be consumed in larger amounts. These minerals are referred to as bulk minerals. They can be structural and they could play several vital roles as electrolytes in the body. Here are some elements that have a recommended daily allowance or RDA with more than two hundred milligrams

·         calcium - this is a common electrolyte which also has structural purposes involving muscle health, digestive system health, bone health, the neutralization of acidity, the clearing of toxins, and helping in the streaming of blood throughout the body

·         Chlorine - this is made up of chloride ions. It is a common electrolyte as well

·         Magnesium - this is required for processing ATP or adenosine tri phosphate, the energy of the body. It can also be used for related reactions like building bones, causing strong peristalsis, an increase in the alkalinity of the body, and an increase in the flexibility of the body

·         Phosphorus - this is required for bones and it is essential in processing energy

·         Sodium - this is a common electrolyte which is not usually found in dietary supplements. It is needed in large quantities. This is very common in food anyway. You can find it in the form of sodium chloride or common salt

·         Sulphur - this is essential for amino acids and many proteins in the body like the skin, the hair, the liver, the nails, and the pancreas

Trace Minerals

Several elements are needed in trace amounts because they play a catalytic role with enzymes. Here are some of the trace mineral elements that are needed in less than two hundred milligrams everyday

·         Cobalt - this is required for biosynthesis for the vitamin B12 family of coenzymes

·         Copper - you need this for many redox enzymes which include cytochrome and oxidase

·         Chromium - this is needed in order to metabolize sugar

·         Iodine - this is needed for biosynthesis of the element thyroxin. This is needed in a much larger quantity compared to the others on this list. Iodine is usually classified as one of the macrominerals

·         Iron - this is required for several enzymes especially haemoglobin and other proteins

·         Manganese - this is needed for the processing of oxygen

·         Molybdenum - this is required for xanthine and other oxidases

·         Nickel - this is needed in urease

·         Selenium - this is needed for peroxidase or the anti-oxidant proteins

·         Vanadium - there is no current RDA for vanadium although it has been spotted in lower organisms. It has no specific biochemical function but it has been spotted in human beings

·         Zinc - this is needed for enzymes like carboxypeptidase, the liver alcohol dehydrogenase, and carbonic anhydrase

 

Vitamins

Just like the mineral mentioned above, there are twelve vitamins that are deemed as essential nutrients. They are needed in order to maintain good health. The only vitamin that is not essential is Vitamin D because it can be synthesized in the skin when you are under Ultra Violet Radiation. There are several vitamins like compounds that are highly advised to be included in your diet. An example is carnitine. This is needed in order to survive and maintain a healthy life. It is not a vitamin like compound that is strictly essential because the body can make it from other substances.There have been thousands of phytochemicals that have been discovered in some foods just recently and they have desirable antioxidant properties beneficial for human beings. They are usually found in fresh vegetables. Some other essential nutrients that are not identified as vitamins are some of the amino acids, essential fatty acids, choline, and the minerals that were discussed in the previous part. If you have vitamin deficiencies then you may get some diseases like goitre, osteoporosis, scurvy, a weakened immune system, cell metabolism disorders, some forms of cancer, signs of early ageing, poor mental health, eating disorders, and many more. If you have too much vitamins then that could be dangerous to your health as well. The same logic applies to minerals too. If you have too much or too little of vitamin then that would be a risk to your health as well.