5 Food and humans

5.1 The food requirements of humans

1 Food provides us with:
- energy for supporting daily activities and keeping us warm.
- raw materials for growth and repair of body tissues.
- substances that are important for maintaining health.
2 Food contains seven types of food substances (食物物質) that are essential to health:

Food substance that provides energy Food substance that does not provide energy

- Carbohydrates (碳水化合物) - Minerals (礦物質)

- Lipids (脂質) - Vitamins (維生素)
- Proteins (蛋白質) - Dietary fibre (食用纖維)
- Water

3 Functions and food sources of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins:

Food substance Function Food sources

Carbohydrates - Sugars and starch (澱粉) act as the main Sugars: fruits,
(monosaccharides energy source for body activities. honey, milk and
(單糖), disaccharides - Glycogen (糖原) acts as energy reserves. table sugar
(雙糖) and - Cellulose (纖維素) is a source of dietary fibre. Starch: rice, wheat,
polysaccharides (多糖)) potatoes and taros

Lipids - They act as energy reserves. Fatty meat, seeds,

(the commonest type, - Fat in adipose tissues (脂肪組織) around the nuts, milk and dairy
triglycerides (甘油三酯), internal organs acts as a shock absorber. products
are formed from the - Subcutaneous fat (皮下脂肪) acts as a heat
condensation (縮合) of insulator.
one glycerol (甘油) and - They are involved in the absorption, transport
three fatty acids (脂肪酸)) and storage of lipid-soluble vitamins.
- They are used to produce some hormones
(激素).
cont.

- Phospholipids are the major component of

cell membranes.

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 Food substance Function Food sources

Proteins - They are used for growth and repair of body Meat, fish, eggs,
(consisting of one or tissues. beans, milk and
more polypeptides - They are used to produce enzymes, antibodies dairy products
(多肽), which are formed (抗體), haemoglobin (血紅蛋白) and some
from the condensation hormones.
of amino acids (氨基酸)) - They are broken down to release energy if
carbohydrates and fat stored are used up.

4 Functions, sources and deficiency diseases (營養缺乏病) of minerals, vitamins and dietary
fibre:

Food substance Function Deficiency Food sources

Calcium (鈣) - A component of bones and Rickets (軟骨病) in Canned sardines,

teeth children milk, dairy
- Involved in blood clotting products, tofu and
(血液凝固), muscle contraction some green
Minerals

and sending messages in the vegetables

nervous system (神經系統)

Iron (鐵) - A component of haemoglobin Anaemia (貧血) Beef, liver, beans,

cabbage, spinach
and raisins

Vitamin A - Needed for the formation of a - Night blindness - Fish liver oils,
(lipid-soluble) pigment in the retina (視網膜) (夜盲症) liver, eggs, milk
- Keeps the cornea (角膜), skin, - Drying up of the and dairy
linings of the alimentary cornea and skin products
canal (消化道) and breathing - Easy infection of - Vegetables and
Vitamins

system healthy the lining of the fruits containing

lungs and trachea carotene
(胡蘿蔔素)

(e.g. carrots,
pumpkin, sweet
potatoes and
cont.

mangoes)

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 Food substance Function Deficiency Food sources

Vitamin D - Promotes the absorption of Rickets in children - Fatty fish, fish

(lipid-soluble) calcium and phosphate liver oils, liver
(磷酸鹽) and egg yolks
- Produced by the
skin under
sunlight
Vitamins

Vitamin C - Needed for the growth and Scurvy Fresh vegetables

(water-soluble) repair of connective tissues (壞血病) and fruits
(結締組織)

- Promotes the absorption of

iron
- Helps the immune system
(免疫系統) work properly

Dietary fibre - Helps faeces pass out of the Constipation Vegetables, fruits
body by adding bulk to food (便秘) and wholemeal
to stimulate peristalsis (蠕動) (全麥) products
along the gut and holding
water to make faeces softer

5 Functions of water in the body:

- As a reactant
- As a medium for chemical reactions
- As a medium of transport
- As a cooling agent to help regulate body temperature
- As a major component of lubricating fluids (潤滑液)

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6 Food tests for identifying the presence of different food substances:

Food substance Food test Positive result

Glucose Using a glucose test paper Colour of the test end

- Dip the test end into the food sample changes.

Reducing sugars Benedict’s test (本立德試驗) A brick-red precipitate

(還原糖) - Add an equal volume of Benedict’s (沉澱物) is formed.
(monosaccharides solution to the food sample and boil the
and disaccharides mixture in a water bath for 5 minutes
except sucrose)

Starch Iodine test Iodine solution changes

- Add iodine solution to the food sample from brown to blue-black.

Lipids Grease spot test (油漬試驗) A translucent spot is

- Put a drop of the food sample onto a formed, which disappears

piece of filter paper. Observe whether after it is immersed into an

there is a translucent (半透明) spot after organic solvent.

drying. Then immerse the spot onto an

organic solvent and see if the spot
disappears

Proteins Using a protein test paper Colour of the test end

- Dip the test end into the food sample changes.

Vitamin C DCPIP test DCPIP solution

- Add the food sample to DCPIP solution decolourizes (褪色).
drop by drop with gentle shaking

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5.2 Balanced diet
1 A balanced diet (膳食) consists of all the food substances in the right amounts and
proportions.
2 We should maintain a balance between the energy input and energy output to stay healthy.
3 The food pyramid (食物金字塔) can be used as a guideline to plan a balanced diet.

Eat less  Fats, oils, salt and sugar

 Milk and alternatives

Eat moderately
 Meat, fish, eggs and alternatives

Eat more  Vegetables

 Fruits

Eat the most  Grains

Drink 6–8 glasses of fluid everyday

4 Factors affecting our dietary requirements:

Factor Description Reason

Age - Children require the greatest amount - They have the highest metabolic
of energy per unit body mass. rate, highest growth rate and
highest rate of heat loss.
- Children and teenagers need large - They are growing actively. These
amounts of proteins, calcium and iron. nutrients are needed for building
body tissues.

Sex - Males need more energy than females. - Males have a higher metabolic rate,
higher rate of heat loss, larger
body size, and are more muscular.
- Males need more proteins than females. - Proteins are needed to build and
repair muscles.
- Females need more iron than males. - Iron is needed to replace the loss of
cont.

iron during menstruation (月經).

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 Factor Description Reason

Level of - People who are more physically active - Energy is needed for muscular
activity need more energy. activities.

Body - Pregnant women need more energy, - Energy and protein are needed for
status proteins and iron. growth of the foetus (胎兒). Iron is
needed for the formation of foetal
red blood cells.
- Breast-feeding mothers need an extra - These nutrients are needed for milk
supply of various types of nutrients. production.

5 Eating too little implies energy input is less than energy output. The body breaks down
food reserves, resulting in weight loss.
6 Eating too much implies energy input is greater than energy output, resulting in weight
gain. A person is overweight (過重) when body weight exceeds normal levels. Obesity (肥胖症)
is the condition of being seriously overweight.
7 People who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of a number of diseases like diabetes
mellitus (糖尿病), high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke (中風) and arthritis (關節炎).
8 Nutrition labels provide information about the energy and nutrient contents of food. Below
are the steps of reading a nutrition label:

1 Note the reference amount

Energy and nutrient contents can be
expressed in:
- Per 100 g
- Per Serving
- Per Package

2 Look at the energy content

Note the unit of the energy content. The
units that are commonly used include
kilocalorie (kcal), Calorie (Cal) and
kilojoule (kJ).

3 Look at the nutrient contents

The contents of 7 nutrients (proteins, total fats, saturated fats, trans fats,
carbohydrates, sugars and sodium) are commonly listed on labels. Contents of other
nutrients may also be included.

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