Introduction to Nutrition

By Richard Nabia
Department of Hotel Catering and Institutional
Management
Bolgatanga Technical University
Course: Nutrition ( BHM 124)
Objectives of this lecture
By the end of this lecture, You (students) should:
1. Understand Nutrition
2. Explain food
3. Explain the term nutrient
4. Define Nourishment
5. Explain malnutrition

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 Nutrition, Food and Nutrients
Nutrition - is the sum of all processes involved in how people obtain food,
ingest food, digest food, absorb and use nutrients so that they continue to
maintain health and grow.
Food - is any substance ( solid, liquid, Semi Solid) that when eaten, it will
provide nutrients to nourish the body. Food must be accepted by people.
For example, some religions and cultures consider some plants or animals
as impure or poisonous or sinful to consume
Nutrient – chemical components of food needed by the body to provide
energy, to build and repair tissues and to regulate life’s processes.
Nutrients are normally gotten from food through digestion and absorption.
List some nutrients in food. Discuss some functions of Nutrients-

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Nutrition, Food and Nutrients
Dietary fiber are plant-based carbohydrates that, unlike other
carbohydrates (such as sugars and starch), are not digested in the small
intestine and so reaches the large intestine or colon.
1. They add bulk to food and so reduce calorie intake.
2. They slow or block absorption of nutrients
3. They increase the bulk of stools which is important in preventing
constipation and colon cancers
Though it is not a nutrient, it is important for health. Therefore people
should consumed a fiber rich diet. This may not be the case for
complementary foods for infants. Discuss why

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Nourishment, Hunger and Satiety
Nourishment: It is the healing, growth or wellbeing effect of food. For example,
if energy from carbohydrates that was gotten from eating T.Z is used to keep
organs in the body working, then we can say the T.Z has provided nourishment.
In everyday language, hunger is the uncomfortable feeling resulting from not
having food in our stomachs. It normally goes away after we eat.
What is Satiety-
What is appetite-
Or What is the difference between Hunger and Satiety

However, in nutrition, hunger has a deeper meaning. Lets Look at it.

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 Hunger
• It is a condition where a person or a population is not eating food with
enough nutrients to meet their body requirements.
• Hunger will usually be seen in the form of undernourishment and
undernutrition
• Undernourishment - undernourishment occurs when people do not take in
enough energy giving foods to meet their needs.
• Undernutrition - Undernutrition is when people have an inadequate intake
of protein, energy and micronutrients resulting from a lack of food or a
disease condition.
• What is Overnutrition?

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Metabolism
Metabolism is the sum total of all the chemical reactions that occur
within the organism. These chemical reactions fall into two categories:
• Anabolism: building up molecules that the body needs. For example
to make a molecule of Hemoglobin, the body adds Iron to protein.
Iron + Protein + Energy = Hemoglobin
• Catabolism: breaking down large molecules in the body. For
Example Glucose is broken down to release energy during respiration
Glucose + Oxygen = Energy + Carbon Dioxide + water

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The Digestive System and Digestion
Objectives of Lecture
• Explain digestion
• Describe the roles of organs of the digestive system
• Understand Enzymes and their roles in Digestion
• Describe the digestion of Fats, Carbohydrates and Proteins

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Digestion
Food is usually eaten in the form of
large complex molecules such as
proteins in meat or carbohydrates in
rice. These molecules cannot be
absorbed. Therefore, the human body
has to breakdown the food into
simple and smaller molecules that can
be absorbed. This process is called
digestion. The digestive system is
depicted in the cartoon to the right.
We will Discuss Mechanical and
Chemical Digestion

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Organization of The Digestive System

Organs of the digestive system are divided into 2 main groups :

Gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) and Accessory Organs .
GI tract is a continuous tube from the mouth to the anus. it is made
of the mouth , oral cavity , oropharynx , esophagus , stomach , small
intestine, large intestine , rectum , and anus .
Accessory Organs include the teeth, tongue (in oral cavity) , salivary
glands , liver , gallbladder , and pancreas .

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Digestive Enzymes
• Most of the reactions critical to a living things happen too slowly at
normal temperatures to be of any use. Without enzymes to speed up
these reactions life will not be possible.
• A substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur faster than
normal is called a catalyst. Catalyst remain unchanged at the end of a
chemical reaction
• Catalyst that occur in the human body are called enzymes.
• Most enzymes are actually types of proteins.

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 Some Enzymes in Food Digestion

• There are 3 main types of digestive Enzymes:

1. Amylase breaks down starch to glucose
2. Protease breaks down protein to amino acid
3. Lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol

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 Digestion of Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates digestion begins in the mouth with the secretion of
salivary amylase.
• This breaks starch into dextrins, sucrose, and lactose
• Digestion of Carbohydrates stops in the stomach due to the secretion of
Hydrochloric Acid
• The main place for carbohydrate digestion is the small intestine. The
secretion of Pancreatic amylase in the small intestine converts any
remaining starch molecules, as well as the dextrin, to maltose. Maltose is
then divided into two glucose molecules by the enzyme maltase.
• Disaccharides such as sucrose and lactose are not digested until they
reach the small intestine, where they are acted on by sucrase and
lactase, respectively.
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 Digestion of Carbohydrates •

The end product of

carbohydrate digestion is
glucose, fructose, and
galactose. These are absorbed
through the wall of the small
intestine into the bloodstream.
The diagram to your right summarizes the principal
sites for the digestion of Carbohydrates

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• What is Lactose Intolerance?
• Why do we pass gas when we eat beans ?

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 Digestion of Proteins
• Protein digestion begins in the stomach where gastric juice partially
breaks down proteins. Gastric juice is a mixture of water , hydrochloric
acid, and protein digesting enzymes.
• Hydrochloric Acid helps to unfold the protein molecules to expose
them for more efficient enzyme action.
• The main digestive enzyme of gastric juice is pepsinogen which is
converted to pepsin so that it can start its work of digesting proteins.
• Protein digestion is completed in the small intestine. Pancreatic juice,
carried from the pancreas contains powerful enzymes that complete
the digestion of proteins to amino acids which are then absorbed.

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 Digestion of Proteins

End product of Protein

Digestion is Amino
Acid. Which are
absorbed in the small
Intestines.
The diagram to your right
summarizes the principal sites
for the digestion of proteins

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 Digestion of Fats
• Lipid digestion begins in the upper portion of the small intestines. Fats
can exist as triglycerides .
• In the small intestines, the gallbladder discharges bile into the Small
intestines.
• The principal constituents of bile are the bile salts, which emulsify large,
water-insoluble fat droplets smaller globules (micelles).
• Pancreatic juice is secreted. It contains lipases which catalyze the
digestion of triglycerides first to diglycerides and then to
2‑monoglycerides and fatty acids
• These changes greatly increase the surface area of the lipid particles,
allowing for more contact with the lipases and thus rapid digestion of
the fats.
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 Digestion of fats

The end product of fat

digestion is Mono
glycerides and Di glycerides.
They are absorbed in the
small intestines

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Absorption
• After digested nutrients are absorbed mainly in the small intestines
• The stomach also absorbs glucose, alcohol and water. However amino
acids and fatty acids can only be absorbed in the small intestines.
• Amino acids and glucose are absorbed directly into the blood stream
and transported to the liver for metabolism.
• Fatty acids are absorbed into the lymph ducts and transported to the
liver were they are made into cholesterol for use

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Egestion
• Any indigestible food passes into the large intestines
• Water is absorbed back into the body
• The remainder is a semi solid material called feces
• Feces are stored in the rectum and removed from the anus. This is
called Egestion. ( Going to toilet)
• Normal egestion can be anything from once a day to three times a
day or 3 times a week.

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