Tuesday, June 11, 2013

There are seven nutrients that your body just can’t live without.
These are carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals
and water.
So then what is a non-nutrient?
Basically it is a naturally occurring component of food that
doesn’t contain any calories, protein, carbohydrates or vitamins
and minerals. Phytochemicals (food chemicals having antioxidant
effects) may be an example of a non-nutrient.
Digestion
Can you explain what happens to food after we
eat it?
I would just look at it very simply.
When you eat food, the process of digestion breaks food down
into it’s respective nutrients as we discussed before.
Carbohydrates into monosaccharides (single units of sugars),
protein into amino acids and fats into fatty acids. This process
starts when you actually chew the food, the food then travels
down into the stomach through the esophagus where it is
liquified. When it reaches your small intestines, this is where the
fun begins. Most of the digestion and absorption of the food
occurs here in your small intestine. Digestive enzymes called
lipase, amylase and protease act on fats, carbohydrates and
protein to break them down into their nutrients for absorption.
Once the food has been broken down into their simple units, they
are then absorbed into the blood stream for further chemical
changes to make other compounds that the body needs, or for
use around the body. Water and small lipids (fats) cross the
intestinal wall easily. Some nutrients such as water and fat
soluble vitamins need a carrier to take them across the wall.
Other nutrients such as proteins and glucose move across the
wall and into the blood stream by themselves but use energy to
do so.

0 comments:

Post a Comment