Chapter 7: Human Nutrition

Definitions:
1. Balanced diet: a diet that contains all of the required nutrients in suitable
proportions and the right amount of energy.
2. Ingestion: talking in substances
3. Digestion: breakdown of food.
4. Absorption: movement of nutrients from intestines into blood
5. Assimilation: uptake and use of nutrients by cells
6. Egestion: removal of undigested food from the body as faeces.
7. Physical Digestion: Breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical
change to the food molecules
8. Chemical Digestion: The breakdown of large insoluble molecules into smaller
soluble molecules

Important pointers:
● Main components of human diet should contain
○ Carbohydrates
○ Proteins
○ Fats
○ Vitamin C
○ Vitamin D
○ Iron
○ Calcium
○ Fibre
○ Water
● Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets
● Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy
● Iron deficiency causes anaemia
● Physical digestion increases surface area for chemical digestion
● Types of human teeth
○ Incisors: They are sharp and used mainly for biting.
○ Canines: They are used to pierce through food.
○ Molars: They have a large surface area and are mainly there for
grinding the food into smaller pieces.
○ Premolars: They have a smaller area than molars but have the same
purpose.
● Teeth (by chewing and biting) and stomach (by churning food) both perform
physical digestion
● Parts of a teeth
○ Enamel: very strong material that covers the surface of the tooth.
○ Dentine: living tissue beneath the enamel.
○ Cement: material that holds teeth in gum
○ Pulp: contains nerves and blood vessels
 ○ Jawbone
● Digestion. Peristalsis continues throughout the alimentary canal:
○ Mouth:
■ The surface area of food is increased by physical digestion by
teeth.
■ There are 3 pairs of salivary glands which release saliva which
have the enzyme amylase.
■ Salivary amylase breaks down starch to maltose.
○ Stomach:
■ Gastric juices containing hydrochloric acid and pepsin enzymes
are released to break down proteins.
■ The stomach constantly churns food and makes it into a chyme
which is released into the duodenum.
■ The hydrochloric acid also kills harmful microorganisms
○ Duodenum:
■ Connected to the pancreatic duct and bile duct.
○ Bile
■ Emulsifies fat into smaller molecules to increase surface area.
■ Is alkaline so neutralises the acidity of the chyme.
○ Pancreatic juices:
■ Contain maltase that breaks down maltose to glucose.
■ Contain lipase that breaks down emulsified fat into fatty acids
and glycerol molecules.
■ Contain trypsin to break down the rest of the proteins to amino
acids.
○ Ileum:
■ Contains villi and microvilli which increase the surface area for
absorption.
■ Microvilli are one cell thick with a large surface area and well
supplied by the capillary network for fastest absorption. They
also have a mucus lining which traps harmful microorganisms.
○ Colon:
■ Undigested food is transported here via the hepatic portal vein
to get reabsorbed.
○ Rectum and anus:
■ The undigested substances are stored in the rectum before
being excreted out of the anus.
● Absorption and assimilation
○ Glucose is transported via the hepatic portal vein to the liver to convert
glucose to glycogen and store it.
○ Amino acids are transported via the hepatic portal vein to the liver to
make proteins, urea and transport to other body cells.
 ○ Fatty acids and glycerol molecules travel through the lacteals and get
emptied into the blood.
● Nutrients are absorbed at the small intestine alone with most water. Some
water is absorbed from the colon.

Substrate Enzyme Product Site

Starch Salivary amylase Maltose Mouth

Proteins Pepsin Amino acids Stomach

Maltose Maltase/ Glucose Duodenum

Pancreatic
amylase

Lipids Lipase Fatty acids and Duodenum

glycerol

Proteins Trypsin Amino acids Duodenum