8.

0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

1 Understand the concept of a balanced diet

2 List the principal sources of, and describe the dietary importance of,
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins (C and D only), mineral salts (calcium
and iron only), fibre (roughage) and water

Balanced Diet
2.2
• A balanced diet A isbalanced diet
a diet in which all the necessary food groups needed to
maintain health are present in appropriate proportions.
• The ‘eatwell plate’
Yourshowsis the
thefood
proportions
that you eat Bread, pasta and rice Fruit and vegetables
each day. Your diet should provide contain a lot of starch contain a lot of fibre
youof the
with different
enough of each kind of and some protein. and vitamins.
components
nutrient. that
It should also give you the
right amount of energy.
should be eaten daily in
A diet that provides all the different
a well-balanced
kinds of nutrients, and thediet.
right
amount of energy, is called a
• The necessary . food
groups are:
Nutritional deficiencies
o Carbohydrates
If a person does not eat enough
o Proteins
of a particular nutrient, their body
may not be able to work properly.
They may o haveLipids
a nutritional
o Vitamins .
For example, a child who does
Minerals
not haveoenough protein in her
body may o notDietary Fibre
be able to make Dairy foods
enough new cells. She will not contain a lot of
o Water
grow properly. protein and fat.
Sweet things Fish, meat, eggs, nuts
The table shows information about contain a lot and pulses contain a lot
two vitamins and two minerals, and of sugar. of protein.
the deficiency diseases that develop
if they are lacking in the diet. This photograph shows approximately how much of your
Eatwell
diet should be made up of plate
each of the five food groups.

Nutrient Example Good sources

Features Function inCarbohydrates
the body Deficiency disease
vitamins vitamin C citrus fruits helps to make scurvy – the skin becomes
Dietary importance 1. as a substrate
strong skinfor respiration;
weak, soprovide energy for
sores develop
cell activities
vitamin D dairy products needed
and teeth
to make bones rickets – the bones are weak,
so the legs may become bent
minerals iron to green
2.dark
red meat, form supporting
needed to makestructuresanaemia – the blood cannot
vegetables haemoglobin, which
3. to be converted into othercarry
carries oxygen in
enough oxygen, and the
organic compounds
person feels very tired
4. for the formation of nucleic acids to synthesise
the blood
calcium dairy products, fish needed to make bones the bones and teeth
lubricantsand teeth become weak
Elements they contain C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen)
Principal sources bread, cakes, potatoes, rice, yams, eddoes

20 2 Food and digestion

Energy 17 KJ/g

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

Features Fats
Dietary importance 1. source of energy
2. food store
3. component of cell membranes
4. transport vitamins A, D, E and K.
5. protects vital organs such as heart, kidneys and
ovaries
6. acts as an insulator preventing heat loss
7. provides metabolic water to animals living in
deserts
Elements they contain C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen)
Principal sources butter, lard, margarine, oil, fatty meat, milk, peanuts

Energy 39 KJ/g

Features Proteins
Dietary importance 1. growth and repair tissues hence it is known as
body building food
2. formation of enzymes
3. formation of hormones
4. energy supply during starvation
5. formation of antibodies to protect against
diseases
Elements they contain C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen) and N (nitrogen)
Principal sources meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, peas, beans, tofu

Energy 17 KJ/g

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
3 Name the diseases and describe the symptoms resulting from deficiencies of
vitamin C (scurvy), vitamin D (rickets), calcium (rickets) and iron (anaemia)

Features Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Dietary importance 1. helps to heal wounds
2. forms an essential part of collagen protein,
which makes up skin, hair, gums and bones
Principal sources citrus fruits (such as oranges, limes), raw vegetables

Deficiency disease scurvy, which causes pain in joints and muscles, and
bleeding from gums and other places;

Features Vitamin D (calciferol)

Dietary importance helps calcium to be absorbed, thus it is required for
making healthy bones and teeth
Principal sources butter, egg yolk (and can be made by the skin when
sunlight falls on it)

Deficiency disease rickets, in which the bones become soft and

deformed; this disease was common in young children
in industrial areas, who rarely got out into the
sunshine

Features Mineral: Calcium (Ca2+)

Dietary importance 1. for making healthy bones and teeth;
2. for blood clotting
3. for muscle contraction
Principal sources milk and other dairy products, bread

Deficiency disease rickets, brittle bones and teeth;

can result in osteoporosis later in life.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

Features Mineral: Iron (Fe2+)

Dietary importance Essential for making haemoglobin, the red pigment in
blood which carries oxygen
Principal sources liver, red meat, egg yolk, dark green vegetables

Deficiency disease anaemia, in which there are not enough red blood cells
so the tissues do not get enough oxygen delivered to
them

Features Dietary fibre (roughage)

Dietary importance Helps to keep alimentary canal working properly.
Makes food bulky. Lack of fibre results in
constipation.
Principal sources Vegetables, fruits, salad

Features Water
Dietary importance 1. an essential part of the cytoplasm which is the
medium in which all chemical reactions occur
2. blood is 55% plasma (liquid): carries many
substances around the body
3. digestion of food takes place in a watery
medium
4. acts as lubricant in joints
Principal sources Drinking water, soup, juice

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

1 Identify the main regions of the digestive system: mouth, salivary glands,
oesophagus, stomach, small intestine (duodenum and ileum), pancreas, liver, gall
bladder and large intestine (colon, rectum and anus)

The Stages of Food Breakdown

• Food taken into the body goes through 5 different stages during its
passage through the alimentary canal (the gut):
o Ingestion - the taking of substances, e.g. food and drink, into the
body through the mouth
o Absorption - the movement of small food molecules and
ions through the wall of the intestine into the blood
o Assimilation - the movement of digested food molecules into the
cells of the body where they are used, becoming part of the cells
o Egestion - the passing out of food that has not been digested or
absorbed, as faeces, through the anus

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

2 Explain why most foods must be digested before they can be absorbed
• Digestion of food is important to hydrolyse food into smaller, simpler
substances which are soluble and can be easily absorbed by the body by
diffusion and active transport in to the blood capillaries and lacteal for
assimilation.
• Not all foods need to be digested!- simple sugars, water, vitamins and
minerals are small molecules, and they can be absorbed just as they are.
They do not need to be digested.

3 Describe physical digestion as the breakdown of food into smaller pieces

without chemical change to the food molecules
• Mechanical digestion is the breakdown of food into smaller
pieces without chemical change to the food molecules
• It is mainly carried out by the chewing action of the teeth,
the churning action of the stomach and the emulsification of
fats by bile in the duodenum

4 Describe chemical digestion as the breakdown of large molecules into small

molecules
• Chemical digestion - the breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into
small, soluble molecules
• Examples include the breakdown of food by the action of enzymes.

5 State that physical digestion increases the surface area of food for the action
of enzymes in chemical digestion
• Physical digestion breaks down large food substances into small pieces
to increase surface area so that the small pieces are well mixed with
digestive juices containing enzymes so that chemical digestion can take
place efficiently.

6 Identify the types of human teeth (incisors, canines, premolars and molars)
7 Describe the functions of the types of human teeth in physical digestion of
food
Types of Teeth
• Teeth are held firmly in the bone of the jaw
• They are used for chewing to increase the surface area of the food so
that it can be exposed to saliva and other digestive juices and broken
down more quickly
• The differing shapes and sizes of teeth enable them to perform slightly
different functions:
o Incisors - chisel-shaped for biting and cutting
o Canines - pointed for tearing, holding and biting
o Premolars and molars - larger, flat surfaces with ridges at the
edges for crushing and grinding up food

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

Types of teeth

Structure of a tooth

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
8 Describe the structure of human teeth, limited to: enamel, dentine, pulp,
nerves and cement, and understand that teeth are embedded in the gum
• The part of a tooth that is visible above the gum line is called the crown.
• The gum is tissue that overlays the jaws. The rest, embedded in the jaw
bone, is called the root.
o Enamel is the hardest substance which is very difficult to break. It
forms the grinding surface of the tooth. However, it can be
dissolved by acids produced by bacteria as a result of feeding on
sweet foods left on the teeth.
o Dentine is rather like bone. This is also hard but not as hard as the
enamel. It has channels in it which contain living cytoplasm. It
forms the bulk of the tooth and thus provides support.
o Pulp cavity contains nerves and blood vessels. The blood vessels
supply the cytoplasm in the dentine with food and oxygen. It also
makes the tooth sensitive.
o Cement has fibres growing out of it. These attach the tooth to the
jawbone but allow it to move slightly when biting or chewing

9 Describe the functions of the main regions of the digestive system, limited to:
(a) mouth – ingestion, physical digestion, chemical digestion of starch by
amylase
(b) salivary glands – secretion of saliva containing amylase

Digestion in the mouth

• Once ingested, the food is first broken down into smaller pieces (physical
digestion - chewing action with the help of the teeth) so as to increase
the surface area and this in turn facilitates chemical digestion.
• The presence of food in the mouth triggers the salivary glands to secrete
saliva.
• Saliva contains water, mucus and the enzyme, salivary amylase.
• The water helps to soften the food whereas the mucus lubricates the food
(bolus) so that the bolus can be swallowed into the oesophagus.
• The enzyme, salivary amylase digests starch in the food into maltose.
𝒂𝒎𝒚𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒆
𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 (⎯⎯⎯⎯* 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒆

• Since the bolus is not kept in the mouth for a very long time, some of the
starch still remain undigested.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

(c) Describe peristalsis as waves of contractions of longitudinal and circular

muscles which move food through the digestive system
Peristalsis
• After chewing of food in the mouth by the teeth, the food is swallowed in
the form of a ball called bolus.
• The bolus passes down the oesophagus by the alternate contractions and
relaxations of the muscles found in the wall of the oesophagus.
• The process by which food passes along the alimentary canal is known as
peristalsis.
• There are two muscles, which are present in the wall of the alimentary
canal: the outer longitudinal muscle and the internal circular muscle.
• When the circular muscle contracts, the longitudinal muscle relaxes and
vice versa. Such pair of muscles is known as antagonistic pair of muscles.
• Peristalsis can therefore be described as waves of contractions of
longitudinal and circular muscles which move food through the digestive
system

Circular and longitudinal muscles in the alimentary canal contract rhythmically

to move the bolus along in a wave-like action

(c) stomach – physical digestion, chemical digestion of protein by protease,

presence of hydrochloric acid in gastric secretions
(d) Describe the function of hydrochloric acid in the stomach as killing ingested
bacteria
Digestion in stomach
• The stomach is a large muscular bag.
• It stores between 1.5 to 2.0 litres of food temporarily for up to 3 hours.
• It has strong muscular walls.
• The muscles contract and relax to churn the food and mix it with the
enzymes and mucus. This is physical digestion.
• The presence of food in the stomach, triggers the gastric glands found in
the walls of the stomach to secrete gastric juice.
• The gastric juice contains the enzyme pepsin, hydrochloric acid and mucus.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

• The function of the hydrochloric acid is to provide acidic medium for pepsin
to function well.
• Apart from this, it also kills any bacteria coming along with the food.
• The mucus protects the stomach wall from being attacked by the acid.
• As soon as salivary amylase enters the stomach it is denatured by the
acidic pH.
• Thus, no further starch digestion take place in the stomach.
• Only protein present in the stomach is digested by the pepsin into
polypeptides.

pepsin
protein polypeptide

• The action of hydrochloric acid and pepsin on the food converts the food
into a semi-solid form known as chyme.
• The acidic chyme leaves the stomach to enter the duodenum.
• The exit is regulated by a ring of muscle found at the end of the stomach,
known as the pyloric sphincter.

NOTE: In the stomach, only proteins are digested chemically and physically due
to the stomach muscle contraction. Starch and fats are not digested chemically
in the stomach as the stomach do not produce enzymes that can work on starch
and fats!!!

(d) small intestine (duodenum and ileum) – chemical digestion of starch by

amylase, maltose by maltase, protein by protease and lipids by lipase
(e) liver – production of bile and storage of glycogen
(f) gall bladder – storage of bile
(g) pancreas – alkaline secretion containing amylase, protease and lipase
(h) ileum and colon – absorption
(i) rectum and anus – egestion

Digestion in small intestine

• The small intestine is a long, coiled tube. It is 6.35 m long in man.
• It provides a large surface area for digestion and absorption to take place.
• The small intestine is divided into two parts: duodenum (about 25 cm long)
and ileum (about 6.1 m long).
• The duodenum receives three types of juices:
1. bile,
2. pancreatic juice and
3. Intestinal juice.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

10 Describe the functions of amylase, maltase, protease and lipase, listing the Exam Tip
substrates and end-products, limited to: Emulsification is the
(a) amylase breaks down starch to maltose equivalent of tearing a
(b) maltase breaks down maltose to glucose large piece of paper
(c) protease (pepsin and trypsin) breaks down protein to amino acids into smaller pieces of
(d) lipase breaks down lipids to fatty acids and glycerol paper.This is an
11 Understand that the different proteases present in the stomach and the example of mechanical
duodenum work best at different pH levels digestion, not chemical
12 Outline the role of bile in emulsifying fats to increase the surface area for digestion – breaking
the chemical digestion of fat to fatty acids and glycerol by lipase something into smaller
pieces does not break
bonds or change the
chemical structure of
the molecules which
make it up, which is the
definition of chemical
digestion.

Bile production and secretion

Bile and emulsification

• Bile is a green watery fluid containing no enzymes.
• It is produced in the liver and contains bile pigments formed from the
breakdown of haemoglobin in the liver.
• It also contains bile salts, which helps in the emulsification of fats.
• The bile salts also neutralize the acidic chime to maintain an alkaline
pH for enzymes to work.
• After the bile is manufactured it is stored in the gall bladder.
• The presence of food in the duodenum triggers the secretion of bile
from the gall bladder into the duodenum through the bile duct.
• Emulsification is the breakdown of fat globules into smaller fat
droplets to increase the surface area so as to facilitate enzyme action.
• Note that, emulsification only breaks the fats physically but it does not
change the fats chemically.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

Bile salts break large lipid droplets into smaller ones with a larger surface area

Pancreatic juice
• Pancreatic juice is produced by the pancreas. This juice passes down the
pancreatic duct to the duodenum.
• Man produces about 0.7 litre of pancreatic juice per day. Its alkaline
nature neutralizes the stomach acid and provides an alkaline medium for
the enzymes to work properly.
• This juice has three enzymes.

1. Pancreatic amylase digests starch into maltose.

𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒎𝒚𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒆
𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 (⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯* 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒆

2. Pancreatic lipase digests fats into fatty acids and glycerol.

𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒊𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒆
𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒔 (⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯* 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒚𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒍

3. Pancreatic trypsin digests protein into shorter polypeptides.

𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒏
𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏 (⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯* 𝒑𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
Intestinal juice
• Intestinal juice is produced by the glands found in the wall of the small
intestine.
• It contains several enzymes to complete the digestion of food.

1. Carbohydrases digest complex sugars to reducing sugars.

• The enzyme maltase, released from the wall of the intestine, completes
the digestion of starch by breaking maltose into glucose molecules.
𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒆
𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒆 (⎯⎯⎯⎯* 𝒈𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒆

2. Proteases digests peptides and peptones into amino acids

3. Lipase digests fats into fatty acids and glycerol.

End products of digestion in the small intestine

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩

1 State that the small intestine is the region where nutrients are absorbed Exam Tip
Absorption The way in which
Absorption is the movement of digested food molecules through the wall of the the structure of a villus
intestine into the blood or lymph. is related to
• This takes place through the numerous villi found in the ileum. its function comes up
• The small intestine increases its surface area for absorption by frequently in exam
increasing its length, folding its inner layer and projecting many villi questions so it is worth
into its lumen. ensuring you have
• The digested foods are taken in by diffusion and active transport into learned these
the blood stream, which transports them to the liver. adaptations and how
• In the liver the foods are utilized. they influence the rate
of absorption.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
2 Describe the structure of a villus and the roles of capillaries and lacteals
3 Explain the significance of villi and microvilli in increasing the internal surface
area of the ileum
How the ileum is adapted for absorption
Feature How this helps absorption take place
It is very long, about 5 m in an This gives plenty of time for digestion to be
adult human. completed, and for digested food to be
absorbed as it slowly passes through.
It has villi. Each villus is covered This gives the inner surface of the small
with cells which have even intestine a very large surface area.
smaller projections on them, The larger the surface area, the faster
called microvilli. nutrients can be absorbed.
Villi contain blood capillaries. Reducing sugars, amino acids, water,
minerals and vitamins, and some fats, pass
into the blood, to be taken to the liver and
then round the body.
Villi contain lacteals, which are Fats are absorbed into lacteals.
part of the lymphatic system.
Villi have walls only one cell The digested nutrients can easily cross the
thick. wall to reach the blood capillaries and
lacteals.

A villus is covered in microvilli which provide a huge surface area to maximise

absorption in the small intestine
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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
4 Understand that absorption (by diffusion, osmosis and active transport) is the
movement of nutrients from the intestines into cells lining the digestive system
and then into the blood
5 Understand that water is absorbed from the lumen of the small intestine and
the colon, but that most absorption of water happens in the small intestine

• Small molecules, such as water, amino acids, sugars and some fats,
minerals and vitamins, are absorbed into capillaries through diffusion and
active transport.
• Some fats are absorbed into lacteals.
• The small intestine absorbs between 5 and 10 dm3 of water each day.

The colon absorbs water.

• Not all the food that is eaten can be digested, and this undigested food
cannot be absorbed in the small intestine.
• It travels on, through the caecum, past the appendix and into the colon. In
humans, the caecum and appendix have no function. In the colon, more
water and salt are absorbed.
• However, the colon absorbs much less water than the small intestine,
generally around 0.3 to 0.5 dm3 per day.
• The colon and rectum are sometimes called the large intestine, because
they are wider tubes than the duodenum and ileum.

The rectum temporarily stores undigested food.

• By the time the food reaches the rectum, most of the substances which
can be absorbed have gone into the blood.
• All that remains is indigestible food (fibre, or roughage), bacteria, and some
dead cells from the inside of the alimentary canal.
• This mixture forms the faeces, which are passed out at intervals through
the anus. This process is called egestion.
• Egestion is the passing out of food that has not been digested, as faeces,
through the anus. It is not excretion.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
6 Understand that assimilation is the uptake and use by cells of nutrients from
the blood
7 State the function of the hepatic portal vein as the route taken to the liver by
most of the molecules and ions absorbed from the ileum

Assimilation
• Assimilation the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the
body where they are used, becoming part of the cells.
• After they have been absorbed into the blood, the nutrients are taken to
the liver, in the hepatic portal vein.

• The liver processes some of it, before it goes any further.

• Some of these nutrients can be broken down, some converted into other
substances, some stored and the remainder left unchanged.
• The nutrients, dissolved in the blood plasma, are then taken to other parts
of the body where they may become assimilated as part of a cell.

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 8.0 HUMAN NUTRITION Your Notes ⇩
Assimilation of glucose, amino acids and fats in the liver
The liver
• The liver is the largest internal organ.
• It is described as the chemical factory of the body.
• Like the pancreas, it is not technically part of the alimentary canal but its
function of producing bile is closely associated with digestion.

Assimilation of absorbed food in the liver

1. Glucose
– Use in respiration to produce energy.
– Excess glucose is converted to glycogen by hormone, insulin.
Glycogen is stored in the liver.

2. Amino acids
– Use to synthesise new cells and repair damaged cells.
– Use to make enzymes and hormones.
– Excess amino acids are broken down to urea in a process called
deamination.

3. Fats
– Use to synthesise cell membranes.
– Excess fats are stored in adipose tissues to be used as source of
energy when glucose supply is insufficient (e.g. fasting).

Note: Alcohol is also broken down in the liver whose one function is
detoxification.

@Mr V. Ramloghun Revision notes 18