Why the knowledge of food & nutrition is

important?

Nutrition is related to health and disease

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lecture students should be able to:

1.

Define food & nutrition.

Classify food groups.

2.

DEFINITIONS

Define:

Food
ii. Nutrition
iii. Nutrients
iv. Diet
v. Healthy diet
i.

INTRODUCTION

Food is a substance that living beings eat to satite their

hunger.

Diet is the kinds of food that a person, animal, or

community habitually eats.

Dietics is the practical application of the principles of

nutrition; It includes the planning of meals for well and
sick.

Community nutrition is the practical application of the

nutritional knowledge to promote health and wellbeing of
individuals, groups or community.

What is Healthy Diet?

1.
2.
3.
4.

Fulfills energy needs (macronutrients)

Provides sufficient amounts of essential nutrients
(micronutrients)
Reduces risk of disease
Is safe to consume (low contaminants or potentially harmful
added substances)

NUTRITION

Nutrition is defined as the science of food and its

relationship to health.

The science of human nutrition deals with all the

effects on people, of any component, found in food.

NUTRITION

The science of nutrition include:

1.

The physiological and biochemical processes

involved in nourishmenthow substances in food
provide energy or are converted into body tissues,
The diseases that result from insufficiency or excess
of essential nutrients (malnutrition).
Nutrition is also about why people choose to eat the
foods they do, even if they have been advised that
doing so may be unhealthy.

2.
3.

FOOD GROUPS

WHAT ARE THE BASIC FOOD GROUPS?

Breads, Cereal, Rice & Pasta
Vegetables
Fruits
Milk & dairy products
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Nuts & Legumes
Fats, Oils & Sweets

FOOD GROUPS

CEREALS & GRAINS

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible

components of their grain; composed of the endosperm,
germ, and bran.

Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and

provide more food energy worldwide than any other
type of crop; they are therefore staple crops.

TYPES OF GRAINS
1.

1.

Whole Grains refer to grains that have all of the parts

of the grain seed, (bran, germ & endosperm).
Examples: Brown bread & rice, maize, oat, barley,
millet
"Refined Grain is processed grain when some of the
dietary fiber and other important nutrients are
removed.
Examples: Refined grains (white bread & rice, pasta,
noodles)

CEREALS AND GRAINS

TYPES OF GRAINS

Whole grains are a rich source of carbohydrates,

protein, fiber, fats & oils and a wide range of vitamins
and minerals including folate, thiamin, riboflavin,
niacin and iron.

However, when refined by the removal of the bran

and germ, the remaining endosperm is mostly
carbohydrate and lacks the majority of the other
nutrients.

VEGETABLES

Vegetables comprise any plant part, other than fruit

which is used as food. They include;

Roots and tubers (potatoes, turnips, carrots)

ii. Bulbs s(onions)
iii. Stems (Celery)
iv. Leaves (Lettuce and cabbage)
v. Flowers (broccoli and cauliflower)
vi. Peas and beans are legumes but when immature and
green are treated as vegetables.
i.

VEGETABLES

CELERY

VEGETABLES

FRUITS

In its strict botanical sense a fruit is the fleshy or

dry ripened ovary of a plant enclosing the seed.

Fruit forms from the flower and contains the seeds of

the plant.

Some vegetables like tomatoes and pumpkin are the

fruit of the plant, but they are used as vegetables.

FRUITS

Fruit is a good source of vitamins, including vitamin

C and folate, carotenoids as well as useful amount of
potassium.

It also provides carbohydrates, in particular natural

sugars and fibre, especially in the edible skins.

The sugar that makes them sweet provides energy.

FRUITS

MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

Milk, yoghurt and firm cheeses are the three

important foods in this group.

The foods in this group are an excellent source of

calcium.

Milk carries B group vitamins, particularly riboflavin

& vitamin B12, and the fat soluble vitamins A & D.

MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

These foods are also a good source of fats and

protein, but is low in iron.

Lactose is the principal sugar in milk, and milk is

the only source of lactose in nature.

The lactose enhances the absorption of calcium and

phosphorus from the intestine.

MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS

NUTS & LEGUMES

There is a wide variety of foods in this group.

It consists of all kinds of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts

and nut pastes such as peanut butter, legumes, and
some seeds such as sunflower and sesame seeds.

The foods in this group are a good source of protein,

iron, niacin and vitamin B12.

MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS,

NUTS & LEGUMES

NUTS AND SEEDS

Nuts and seeds have been valued for their oils as much
as for a food in itself; their high content of energy,
protein, vitamins, and minerals makes them a very
nutritious food.

The energy content of nuts is mostly due to their high

fat content.

Common types of nuts include almonds, walnuts,

Brazil nuts and hazelnuts. Sunflower, sesame, and
pumpkin are the most common seeds eaten as foods.

Some common "nuts", including walnuts, hazelnuts,

Brazil nuts, pecans, and almonds.

LEGUMES

Legumes are the edible seed from the Leguminosae

family and include dried peas, beans, lentils, pulses and
chick peas.

Of all foods, legumes most adequately meet the

recommended dietary guidelines for healthful eating.

They are high in carbohydrate and dietary fibre, mostly

low in fat, supply adequate protein while being a good
source of vitamins and minerals.

LEGUMES

FATS, OILS AND SWEETS

Fats, oils and sweets give us calories.

Fats, oils and sweets add flavor and variety to our

diets.

Most of these foods do not contain many vitamins or

minerals. So they are called "empty calorie" foods.

FATS, OILS AND SWEETS

CONCLUSION

The phrase "we are what we eat signifies that the composition of
our bodies is dependent in large measure on what we have
consumed.

THANK YOU