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Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nutrients causes malnutrition. Nutritional science is the study of nutrition, though it typically emphasizes human nutrition.
Vitamins are organic molecules that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in sufficient quantities for survival, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. For example, vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not considered a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols.
Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamers found in foods and marketed as dietary supplements. The human body requires vitamin K for post-synthesis modification of certain proteins that are required for blood coagulation or for controlling binding of calcium in bones and other tissues. The complete synthesis involves final modification of these so-called "Gla proteins" by the enzyme gamma-glutamyl carboxylase that uses vitamin K as a cofactor.
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted to smaller molecules in the process of releasing energy, such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and fermentation products, leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals. Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host.
Vitamin deficiency is the condition of a long-term lack of a vitamin. When caused by not enough vitamin intake it is classified as a primary deficiency, whereas when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption it is called a secondary deficiency. An underlying disorder can have 2 main causes:
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, most are not. Minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients, the others of which are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. The remaining elements are called "trace elements". The generally accepted trace elements are iron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium; there is some evidence that there may be more.
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academies. It was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Recommended Dietary Allowances. The DRI values differ from those used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada, which uses Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs) and Daily Values (%DV) which were based on outdated RDAs from 1968 but were updated as of 2016.
Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary for plant growth and reproduction, plant metabolism and their external supply. In its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle, or that the element is part of some essential plant constituent or metabolite. This is in accordance with Justus von Liebig's law of the minimum. The total essential plant nutrients include seventeen different elements: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen which are absorbed from the air, whereas other nutrients including nitrogen are typically obtained from the soil.
Micronutrients are essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities to regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. Micronutrients support the health of organisms throughout life.
Copper gluconate is the copper salt of D-gluconic acid. It is an odorless light blue or blue-green crystal or powder which is easily soluble in water and insoluble in ethanol.
Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients to food. It can be carried out by food manufacturers, or by governments as a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a population. The predominant diet within a region can lack particular nutrients due to the local soil or from inherent deficiencies within the staple foods; the addition of micronutrients to staples and condiments can prevent large-scale deficiency diseases in these cases.
Zinc deficiency is defined either as insufficient zinc to meet the needs of the body, or as a serum zinc level below the normal range. However, since a decrease in the serum concentration is only detectable after long-term or severe depletion, serum zinc is not a reliable biomarker for zinc status. Common symptoms include increased rates of diarrhea. Zinc deficiency affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract; brain and central nervous system, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems.
Animal source foods (ASF) include many food items that come from an animal source such as fish, meat, dairy, eggs and honey. Many individuals consume little ASF or even none for long periods of time by either personal choice or necessity, as ASF may not be accessible or available to these people.
Micronutrient deficiency is defined as the sustained insufficient supply of vitamins and minerals needed for growth and development, as well as to maintain optimal health. Since some of these compounds are considered essentials, micronutrient deficiencies are often the result of an inadequate intake. However, it can also be associated to poor intestinal absorption, presence of certain chronic illnesses and elevated requirements.
Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Nutrition studies focus on antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages. Antinutrients may take the form of drugs, chemicals that naturally occur in food sources, proteins, or overconsumption of nutrients themselves. Antinutrients may act by binding to vitamins and minerals, preventing their uptake, or inhibiting enzymes.
Mineral deficiency is a lack of the dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health. The cause may be a poor diet, impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed, or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed. These deficiencies can result in many disorders including anemia and goitre. Examples of mineral deficiency include, zinc deficiency, iron deficiency, and magnesium deficiency.
Nutritional neuroscience is the scientific discipline that studies the effects various components of the diet such as minerals, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, fats, dietary supplements, synthetic hormones, and food additives have on neurochemistry, neurobiology, behavior, and cognition.
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned, balanced vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, and phytochemicals; and lower in calories, saturated fat, iron, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Nutritional immunology is a field of immunology that focuses on studying the influence of nutrition on the immune system and its protective functions. Indeed, every organism will under nutrient-poor conditions "fight" for the precious micronutrients and conceal them from invading pathogens. As such, bacteria, fungi, plants secrete for example iron chelators (siderophores) to acquire iron from their surrounding
Zinc is an essential trace element for humans and other animals, for plants and for microorganisms. Zinc is required for the function of over 300 enzymes and 1000 transcription factors, and is stored and transferred in metallothioneins. It is the second most abundant trace metal in humans after iron and it is the only metal which appears in all enzyme classes.
References
- ↑ Gernand, A. D; Schulze, K. J; Stewart, C. P; West Jr, K. P; Christian, P (2016). "Micronutrient deficiencies in pregnancy worldwide: Health effects and prevention". Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 12 (5): 274–289. doi:10.1038/nrendo.2016.37. PMC 4927329 . PMID 27032981.
- ↑ Tucker, K. L (2016). "Nutrient intake, nutritional status, and cognitive function with aging". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1367 (1): 38–49. Bibcode:2016NYASA1367...38T. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13062 . PMID 27116240.
- ↑ Miller, Gregory D.; Jarvis, Judith K.; McBean, Lois D. (April 2001). "The Importance of Meeting Calcium Needs with Foods". Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 20 (2): 168S–185S. doi:10.1080/07315724.2001.10719029. ISSN 0731-5724 . Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ↑ Sangeetha, V. J.; Dutta, Sayantani; Moses, J. A.; Anandharamakrishnan, C. (October 2022). "Zinc nutrition and human health: Overview and implications". eFood. 3 (5). doi:10.1002/efd2.17 . Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ↑ Henriksen, Christine; Arnesen, Erik Kristoffer (27 November 2023). "Copper – a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023". Food & Nutrition Research. 67. doi:10.29219/fnr.v67.10322 . Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ↑ Wada Osamu (2004). "What are Trace Elements? Their deficiency and excess states" (PDF). med.or.jp. JMAJ, Vol. 47, No. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ↑ Mitani-Ueno, Namiki; Yamaji, Naoki; Huang, Sheng; Yoshioka, Yuma; Miyaji, Takaaki; Ma, Jian Feng (19 October 2023). "A silicon transporter gene required for healthy growth of rice on land". Nature Communications. 14 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42180-y . Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ↑ "Vitamins and Minerals". National Institute on Aging. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ↑ Vitamin and mineral requirements in human nutrition 2nd Edition. World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2004. pp. 340–341. ISBN 9241546123. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012.