TOPIC 17

Nutrients in Food
 BALANCED DIET
A balanced diet consists of all of the food groups in the correct proportions

The necessary key food groups are:

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Lipids
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Dietary fibre
• Water

• Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids are required in

large amounts
• For this reason, they are called macronutrients

• Vitamins and minerals are required in small

amounts and are called micronutrients
 CARBOHYDRATES
• Carbohydrates are taken into the body in the form of sugars or starch
• The difference between sugar and starch is how big the carbohydrate molecule is
• Single or smaller molecules = sugars (eg: glucose, maltose, sucrose, lactose)
• Long chain carbohydates = starches (eg: rice, bread, flour, maize, potatoes)

• Function: a good source of energy

• Sugars give up energy faster than starches. This is why glucose is given to athletes
sometimes.

SUGARS

STARCHES glucose contains maltose

All mammals produce
sucrose milk, which contains a
sugar called lactose.
Breastfeeding is also
called lactation.
 Test for Carbohydrates
Test for sugars
• Add Benedict’s solution to the
sample solution in a test tube
• Heat in a boiling water bath for 5
minutes
• Take the test tube out of the water
bath and observe the colour
• A positive test will show a colour
change from blue to orange / brick
red
 Test for Carbohydrates
Test for starch
• We can use iodine to test for the
presence or absence of starch in a
food sample
• Add drops of iodine solution to the
food sample
• A positive test will show a colour
change from orange-brown to
blue-black
 PROTEINS
• Proteins can be obtained from animals and plants
• Animal proteins = meat, fish, eggs, milk
• Plant proteins = tofu, soya ‘meat’ (TVP), lentils (dhal), beans, peanuts, almonds
• Function: used in the body for growth and repair

Plant-based proteins Animal-based proteins

 Test for Proteins
Test for Proteins
• Add drops of Biuret solution to the
food sample
• A positive test will show a colour
change from blue to violet / purple
 LIPIDS (Fats & Oils)
• Lipids can be obtained from animals and plants as well
• Animal lipids are usually solid at room temperature and are called fats
• Plant lipids are usually liquid at room temperature and are called oils
 LIPIDS (Fats & Oils)
• Function: The main function of lipids is to supply the body with a high amount of energy (higher than
carbohydrates)
However, lipids have many more functions:
• They can be used as an energy store.
• Fats that are to be used later are usually stored in large globules under the skin in a layer called
adipose tissue, which acts as an insulator to keep animals warm

• Some aquatic animals have especially thick layers of adipose tissue called blubber (whales, seals) which
keeps them warm and helps them stay buoyant in water.

• When fats are broken down, water is released. This water is used by animals such as camels that store
large amounts of fat in their humps

• Seeds store energy as fats, which can then be used up by the germinating seed

• A type of lipids forms the basis of all cell membranes (phospholipids)

• A layer of fat usually surrounds vital organs such as the heart to protect these organs against any forceful
impact on them.

• Used to make steroids and steroid hormones

• Used to make cholesterol in the body; cholesterol has important functions in the cell membrane

• Helps to dissolve fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K)

 Test for Lipids
Test for Lipids
• Mix the food sample with 4cm3 of
ethanol and shake
• Allow time for the sample to
dissolve in the ethanol
• Strain the ethanol solution into
another test tube
• Add the ethanol solution to an
equal volume of cold distilled
water (4cm3)
• A positive test will show a cloudy
emulsion forming
 VITAMINS AND MINERALS
• They not only protect us from diseases, but are also important for maintaining good health.
Vitamin Sources
A Cod liver oil, liver, milk,
butter, carrot
Cereals, liver, red rice,
B green leaves, meat, fish,
eggs, milk, green
vegetables
C Citrus fruits, papaya,
tomato, vegetables
Butter, cod liver oil, eggs,
D milk, fish
E Wheat, green leaves, dark
green vegetables, cereals
K Cabbage, cauliflower,
spinach, tomato
Bleeding
gums as seen
in scurvy
Function Deficiency Disease
• Improves vision at night • Night blindness
• Maintains healthy skin and hair
• Development of memory power • Confusion, nervous issues
• Needed to produce healthy red blood • Anaemia
cells • Beriberi
• Reduces lethargy • Pellagra
• Maintains healthy gums • Scurvy
• Strengthens immunity
• Development of healthy bones and • Rickets
teeth
• Maintains cell division • Nerve and muscle damage
• Involved in blood clotting • Internal bleeding
Rickets in children
The bones are not
hard enough to bear
the weight of the
body so they bend
 VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Mineral Sources Function Deficiency Disease
Milk, green leaves, • Maintain healthy teeth and bones • Rickets
Calcium small fish (sprats) • Important in blood clotting • Internal bleeding
Milk, eggs, cheese, • Maintain healthy teeth and bones • Fragile bones that break
Phosphorous meat, garlic, small fish, • Maintain strong muscles easily
cow peas, carrot
• Formation of haemoglobin which is • Anaemia
Liver, meat, dhal,
Iron spinach, gotukola
needed to transport oxygen in the
blood
• Transmission of nerve impulses • Confusion
Cooking salt, meat,
Sodium milk, eggs • Muscle weakness and
cramps
• Development of intelligence and • Thyroid gland enlargement
memory power and goiter
Iodine Iodized salt, sea food
• Needed to make the hormone
thyroxine

Goiter as seen in
iodine deficiency
DIETARY FIBRE
• The fibrous nature of food is called fibre.
• Dietary fibre is mainly from the indigestible plant cell
walls.

• Some fibre present in food is visible to the naked eye (eg:

in kohila), but in other cases it can only be seen using a
microscope

• Function:
• Reduces absorption of fat
• Reduces absorption of sugar (glucose)
• Prevents constipation and prevents the risk of
diseases like hemorrhoids (piles) or colon cancer
 WATER
• Water is needed to:
• Cool the body
• Act as a medium for cellular interactions
• Remove excretory products efficiently from
the body
• Prevent constipation
 MALNUTRITION
• Having an unbalanced diet can lead to malnutrition
• You can have too much of a certain food group and still have malnutrition (it’s not always
about not getting enough food)
• Malnutrition can cause a variety of different health problems in humans
A person who does not follow a
balanced diet over a long period of
time may show the following
unfavorable conditions:
• show stunted (poor) growth or
obesity (overgrowth)

• be prone to infectious and non-

infectious diseases

• become weak and lethargic

• suffer from deficiency diseases

• be prone to depression
 DIETARY NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS
• The nutritional requirements for individuals will vary throughout their lifetime
• An individual will still require the same key food groups, but in different quantities depending
on a number of factors such as age, height, sex, activity levels, pregnancy and breastfeeding