Nutrition, what does this really mean?
It is said to be the knowledge, understanding and application of nutrients and other substances we consume, how they are absorbed, assimilated and utilized by our body to affect our health (positively or negatively)
They are substances found in foods which aid us generate energy for our daily activities, repair our worn-out tissues, assist our daily cellular growth and regulate various chemical processes within our body.
There are 2 major types of nutrients and this is based on the quantity of the nutrients required for the maintenance of our health and well-being daily.
They include:
Just like drugs and their components, nutrients are required in specific amounts or ranges on a daily basis. Nutrients interact with one another promoting or inhibiting the absorption and availability of one another to the human tissues.
For instance, excess of dietary fiber (above the normal range) could inhibit the absorption of microminerals like Zinc, which is an essential cofactor for many enzymatic processes in our bodies.
Also, the active form of some substances like Vitamin D could increase the absorption of other substances like Magnesium slightly, improving some enzymatic conditions as well.
Hence, we need to know what each ingredient in our food contains to know how to consume nutrients appropriate for optimal maintenance of our health and well-being.
These are chemical processes requiring enzymes (catalysts) to occur at rates fasf enough to produce energy and monomers of nutrients the body tissues appreciate, hence sustaining life.
This is a chronic metabolic condition characterized by the accumulation of blood glucose.
It is an enzymatic defect with regards to the utilization of glucose by the body tissues to produce energy and other essential life products.
About 43 million adults globally are living with diabetes.
It has been researched thwt diets rich in magnesium help regulate the blood glucose level.
This is the accumulation of fats, cholesterol or any other substances on the arterial walls of humans. These cause the narrowing of blood vessels making the heart to pump blood faster (hypertension) to meet the blood and oxygen needs of all body tissues.
About 70 million cases have been recorded globally.
A major cause of this is the sustained consumption of lipids (fats and oil) above the daily required range for age, gender and race.
Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, etcetera and we could prevent or reduce the annual cases by eating right.
Also known as Gouty Arthritis.
It is a condition that affects the joints causing severe pain, redness and tenderness.
It occurs as a result of the formation of too much uric acid crystals which are deposited in the joints.
These uric acids are produced when purine (a monomer of DNA which is a protein) are broken down during some enzymatic reactions.
Over 7.44 million cases of gouty arthritis has been reduced (as at 2017)
A major cause of gouty arthritis is dieting.
Sustained consumption of proteinous foods, rich in purine, above the daily required range as recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture will increase the unhealthy accumulation of these purine in our body and in turn increased uric acids promoting the condition called gout.
The world will have lesser numbers of medical conditions if we are more enlightened on the daily requirements of nutrients our bodies need to sustain health.
