BASIC CONCEPTS IN

NUTRITION AND DIET

THERAPHY
Definition of Terms
• Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The body produces many amino acids and
others come from food. The body absorbs amino acids through the small intestine into the
blood. Then the blood carries them throughout the body.
• Blood Glucose — also called blood sugar — is the main sugar found in the blood and the main
source of energy for your body.
• Calories- A unit of energy in food. Carbohydrates, fats, protein, and alcohol in the foods and
drinks we eat provide food energy or "calories.
• Carbohydrates- are one of the main types of nutrients. Your digestive system changes
carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar). Your body uses this sugar for energy for your cells,
tissues and organs. It stores any extra sugar in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.
There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates include
natural and added sugars. Complex carbohydrates include whole grain breads and cereals,
starchy vegetables and legumes.
• Cholesterol - is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all cells of the body. Your body needs some
cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods. Your body makes
all the cholesterol it needs. However, cholesterol also is found in some of the foods you eat. High levels
of cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of heart disease.
• Dehydration- is a condition that happens when you do not take in enough liquids to replace those that
you lose. You can lose liquids through frequent urinating, sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting. When you are
dehydrated, your body does not have enough fluid and electrolytes to work properly.
• Diet- is made up of what you eat and drink. There are many different types of diets, such as vegetarian
diets, weight loss diets, and diets for people with certain health problems
• Dietary Supplements- is a product you take to supplement your diet. It contains one or more dietary
ingredients (including vitamins; minerals; herbs or other botanicals; amino acids; and other substances).
Supplements do not have to go through the testing that drugs do for effectiveness and safety.

• Digestion- is the process the body uses to break down food into nutrients. The body uses the nutrients
for energy, growth, and cell repair.
• Electrolytes- are minerals in body fluids. They include sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride.
When you are dehydrated, your body does not have enough fluid and electrolytes.
• Enzymes- are substances that speed up chemical reactions in the body.
• Fatty Acid- is a major component of fats that is used by the body for energy and
tissue development.
• Fiber- is a substance in plants. Dietary fiber is the kind you eat. It's a type of
carbohydrate. You may also see it listed on a food label as soluble fiber or insoluble
fiber.
• Gluten- is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It can also be in products such
as vitamin and nutrient supplements, lip balms, and certain medicines.
•  Glycemic Index- (GI) measures how a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood
sugar.
• HDL- stands for high-density lipoproteins. It is also known as “good” cholesterol.
HDL is one of the two types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol throughout your
body. It carries the cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver.
Your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.
• LDL stands for low-density lipoproteins. It is also known as “bad” cholesterol. LDL
is one of the two types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol throughout your
• Metabolism- is the process your body uses to get or make energy from the food
you eat.
• Monounsaturated Fat- is a type of fat is found in avocados, canola oil, nuts, olives
and olive oil, and seeds. Eating food that has more monounsaturated fat (or
"healthy fat") instead of saturated fat (like butter) may help lower cholesterol and
reduce heart disease risk. 
• Nutrients- are chemical compounds in food that are used by the body to function
properly and maintain health. Examples include proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
vitamins, and minerals.
• Nutrition- This field of study focuses on foods and substances in foods that help
animals (and plants) to grow and stay healthy. Nutrition science also includes
behaviors and social factors related to food choices.
• Polyunsaturated Fat- is a type of fat that is liquid at room temperature. Protein
• Protein- is in every living cell in the body. Your body needs protein from the foods you
eat to build and maintain bones, muscles, and skin. You get proteins in your diet from
meat, dairy products, nuts, and certain grains and beans. 
• Saturated Fat- is a type of fat that is solid at room temperature. Saturated fat is found
in full-fat dairy products (like butter, cheese, cream, regular ice cream, and whole milk),
coconut oil, lard, palm oil, ready-to-eat meats, and the skin and fat of chicken and
turkey, among other foods.
• Sodium- table salt is made up of the elements sodium and chlorine - the technical
name for salt is sodium chloride. Your body needs some sodium to work properly. It
helps with the function of nerves and muscles. It also helps to keep the right balance of
fluids in your body.
• Sugar- are a type of simple carbohydrate. They have a sweet taste. Sugars can be
found naturally in fruits, vegetables, milk, and milk products.
• Total Fat- fat is a type of nutrient. You need a certain amount of fat in your diet to
stay healthy, but not too much. Fats give you energy and help your body absorb
vitamins.
• Trans Fat- is a type of fat that is created when liquid oils are changed into solid
fats, like shortening and some margarines. It makes them last longer without
going bad. It may also be found in crackers, cookies, and snack foods.
• Triglycerides- are a type of fat found in your blood. Too much of this type of fat
may raise the risk of coronary artery heart disease, especially in women.
• Water Intake-We all need to drink water. How much you need depends on your
size, activity level, and the weather where you live. Keeping track of your water
intake helps make sure that you get enough. Your intake includes fluids that you
drink, and fluids you get from food.
Classification of Nutrients
• Nutrients are chemical substances found in food that are required by the body to
provide energy, give the body structure, and help regulate chemical processes.
There are six classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, water, vitamins,
minerals

• Nutrients can be further classified as either macronutrients or micronutrients and

either organic or inorganic, as well as whether or not they provide energy to the
body (energy-yielding). We’ll discuss these different ways of classifying nutrients in
the following sections
• MACRONUTRIENTS
• Macronutrients, or “macros,” are nutrients your body needs in large amounts to
function optimally. Carbs, protein, and fat are the three main macros. Water is also a
macronutrient in the sense that you require a large amount of it, but unlike the other
macronutrients, it does not yield energy.
• Macronutrients are a group of nutrients that provide your body with energy and the
components it needs to maintain its structure and functions.
• They’re needed in relatively larger amounts than other nutrients, hence the term
“macro.” Although there are recommended ranges for macronutrient intake, your
needs vary based on your personal circumstances.
• Carbs- are broken down into glucose, or sugar molecules, which is your brain and
body’s main fuel and essential for proper body function. This doesn’t apply to
dietary fiber, a type of carbohydrate that isn’t broken down and passes through
your body undigested.

• Proteins- are digested into amino acids. Twenty amino acids have important
functions in your body, 9 of which are essential and must be obtained from foods.
Protein is essential in forming muscles to create new enzymes and hormones.

• Fats- are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol. This is an important part of
the diet that can also provide the body with energy.
 NUTRITION
• Science of food and nutrients, their action and interaction, in the relation of
providing the body with necessary substances to maintain homeostasis.
• Nutritional imbalance affects maintaining health and preventing disease and is
essential for optimal growth and body function.
• The foods we eat provide energy (calories) and nutrients such as protein, fat,
carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, and water. Eating healthy foods in the right
amounts gives your body energy to perform daily activities, helps you to maintain
a healthy body weight, and can lower your risk for certain diseases such as
diabetes and heart disease. 
Nutrition Tools Standards and Guidelines

• In fact, eating healthy is simple. All you need to do is make meal

choices that provide the right amounts of fiber, energy, and
important nutrients without consuming excessive amounts of
fat, sugar, or salt. You should also be sure to get enough activity
to balance the food you eat. Some people do these actions
without thinking, but the majority do not.
Nutrient Recommendations
are sets of yardsticks used for measuring healthy people’s energy and nutrient
intakes.
Dietary Reference Intakes
A set of nutrition intake values for the dietary nutrient intakes of healthy people in
the United States and Canada. These values are used for planning and assessing
diets and include these four lists of value.
1.Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)
Population-wide average nutrient requirements used in nutrition research and
policy-making. The basis upon which RDA values are set.
2. Recommendation Dietary Allowances (RDA)
Nutrition intake goals for individuals. Derived from the Estimate Average
Requirements.
3. Adequate Intakes (AI)
Nutrient intake goals for individuals. Set whenever scientific data are insufficient
to allow establishment of an RDA value.
4. Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL)
Suggested upper limits of intake for potential toxic nutrients. Intake above the UL
are likely to cause illness from toxicity.

Daily Value (DV)

Nutrient standards used on food labels, in grocery stores, and on some restaurant
menus. The DV allow comparisons among foods with regard to their nutrient
content.
 Dietary Guidelines
Why do we need “guidelines”?
 Nutrient intake recommendation do much to ensure nutrient adequacy, they do little for
moderation.
 Nutrient recommendations address intakes of protein, vitamins, and mineral, they also make
some general statements about energy intakes, but they do little to protect people from
excess intake of fat, sugar, salt, and other food constituents believed to be related to chronic
diseases.
 Guidelines take up where nutrient recommendations leave off, and they go a step further in
recommending physical activity to improve or maintain body weight.
The DRI refer to nutrients, not foods. Guidelines specify healthful uses of foods and nutrients
because many people need guidance in selecting the foods they consume each day.
Guidelines may be to revise.
Linking Nutrients, Food, and Health

>Adequacy
>Balance
>Calorie Control
>Moderation
>Variety
 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Eat a variety of food
• Balance the food you eat with physical
• Activity- maintain or improve your weight.
• Choose a diet with plenty of grain
• Products, vegetable and fruits.
• Choose a diet moderate in sugar.
• Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium.
• If you think alcoholic beverages, do so in moderate
Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2000)
Aim for fitness

Aim for a healthy weight

Be physically active each day

Build a Healthy Base

Let the Pyramid guide your food choices

Choose a variety of grains daily

Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily

Keep food safe to eat

o Choose Sensibly
• Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in total fat
• Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars
• Choose and prepare foods with less salt
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation
Mediterranean Pyramid Compared
Diet Planning with the Daily Food guide
and the Food guide Pyramid
• Diet planning connects nutrition with the food on the table. To help people
plan menus, food group plans describe food groups and dictate numbers
and sizes of servings to choose each day. Another planning tool, the
exchange system, can help people estimate the amounts of carbohydrate,
fat, protein and energy that each type of food provide.
How can the Food Guide Pyramid help me
to eat well?
• By design, the Pyramid provides guidance as to
• Adequacy
• Balance
• Moderation
• Variety
FOOD LABELS
• Mandatory information on food labels
• Statement of identity
• Net contents of the package
• Name and address of manufacturer, packer, distributor
• List of ingredients
• Listed in descending order by weight
• Nutrition information
Nutrient Guidelines for Filipinos
• Eat a variety of foods everyday
• Breast-feed infants exclusively from birth to 6 months, and then, give appropriate
foods while continuing breast-feeding.
• Maintain children’s normal growth through proper diet and monitor their growth
regularly .
• Consume fish, lean meat, poultry or dried beans
• Eat more vegetables, fruits and root crops
• Eat foods cooked in edible/cooking oil in your daily meals
• Consume milk, milk products and other calcium-rich foods such as small fish and dark
leafy vegetables
• Use iodized salt, but avoid excessive intake of salty food
• Eat clean and safe food
• For a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition, exercise regularly, do not smoke and avoid
drinking alcoholic beverages