Human Nutrition - Coursework Example

? Human Nutrition Question one. Response to part a. A meal constitutes foods from parts of the food pyramid in the right proportions(Hodder, A, 2003). A snack, on the other hand, is a small amount of the food which is not fully fledged meal that serve the purpose of keeping an individual full for a certain short duration of time. Snack is food eaten informally. It can be rich or poor in nutrition. On the other hand, a meal is composed of a mix of foods, it has better quantities of nutrients as compared to snacks and they take time preparing it (Mark, W, & Peter, S, 2005). Nutritionally, snacks are more fattened and may involve a fruit or bread whereas a meal requires cooking. A snack is normally taken in between meals so as to sedate hunger thus maintain an individuals’ energy before taking a meal that is substantial. People with health conditions like diabetes do have meal plans, which have an inclusion of snacks and meals. Response to part b. The interaction between the first four amino acids in chain one and in chain two is the same. However, the last group of six amino acids in chain one and in chain two are different, and that is what brings the different between the two chains. In the first chain, the fourth, and the fifth are all hydrophobic and hence they lie close together clustered together inside the protein chain, attract each other bending the protein chain. On the contrary, the fourth and the fifth amino acids in chain two are hydrophobic and hydropholic. Hence they repel each other pushing the protein chain apart. The last two amino acids of chain 1are both hydropholic hence they attract each other bending the protein chain. However, the last two amino acids of chain two are hydrophobic and hydropholic, hence. Hence they repel each other pushing the protein chain apart. Additionally, the seventh and eight amino acids in chain one, are both hydrophobic, as opposed to the same order in chain 2, which are hydropholic and hydrophobic. Response to part c. Cellulose can be digested by some animals like ruminants, and termites because of the assistance of the symbiotic micro-organism which reside inside their gut (David, A, 2003). Human beings, however, can only digest small cellulose content. This is so because it is a noncombustible component. It is hydrophilic, insoluble in organic solvents and water, biodegradable, and chiral. Breaking down of cellulose to glucose requires acids that are concentrated and extremely high temperatures. This is a significant difference with the starch because breaking down of starch to glucose neither needs concentrated acid nor high temperatures. In comparison with starch, cellulose is much more crystalline. This implies that starch goes through a transition from crystalline to amorphous after heating that is above 70degrees Celsius. Response to part d. Given that straw berry Jam has carbohydrates content of 65g it implies that 15g of strawberry would have 15/65 = 0.23g. Also given that bread has a carbohydrate content of 48g, it follows that 100g of bread would have 48/100 = 0.48g Therefore, the total amount of carbohydrate content present in a Jam sandwich would be 0.48 + 0.23 = 0.71g = 2.0grams. Four a four-year old boy energy would be 2 multiplied by 4 kcal multiplied by 4.2kj = 33.6 KJ per gram. Since a 12-year old boy requires 1845kj per day, 33.6kj would be not enough for the boy. Response part e. Vitamin C is contained in milk. In skimmed milk, this nutrient is present in extremely minimum quantities. This is so because skimmed milk is made through the removal of all the cream from milk. This makes it have a reduction of some nutrients like fat and vitamin C. Skimmed milk is therefore, not as healthy as the whole milk. The percentage of vitamin A and C in skimmed milk is approximately ten percent. Adult individuals need less than the RNI values quoted for vitamins so as not to exceed the acceptable intake. Consuming vitamins in excess may lead to diseases like scurvy. Response to Question 2 (a) Food group Recommended percentage Percentage of the group in the adult diet % of that group in HN example diet Potatoes 33 25 30 Vegetables 33 45 20 Meat 12 08 20 Milk 15 11 10 Sugar 8 25 20 The data in the table1.1 applies to a female adult aged 30 years. (b) The potatoes, which are mainly composed of starch, are required by the body in the right amounts (Hodder, 2003). This is because they are the provide energy to the body. The 30-year old female requires, on average, about 33% yet the female adult consumed 25%. There is the need for her to consider including other serials in her diet in helping boost energy content to meet the requirements of the body. Animal meat which is composed of about 20% protein is very important to the body (David, 2003). As a source of protein, it performs a variety of roles in the body. The correct amount of meat which is the main source of protein for the body help boost many roles including structural roles of forming tendons, hair, functioning as hormones and enzymes in the body, blood clotting functions, formation of immune system among other functions. This implies whenever the amount of meat consumed falls short of the recommended levels causes far reaching implications. In a case where there is insufficient amount of proteins in diet than what the body requires leads the body to start breaking down its own protein and this leads to wasting away of body muscles and might also lead to malnutrition conditions. The amounts of protein for the 30 year old adult could be boosted by incorporating other protein yielding foods in the diet such as plant proteins. However, excessive consumption of meat is not health for the body. This is because meat is composed of 24% fat content, and its excessive consumption, may lead to lifestyle diseases. It is somewhat less easy to find the amount of sugar that is required by the body for each day than for fat and proteins. However, maintaining a steady weight, such an average adult requires a minimum of 150g for each day. This therefore, implies that reduction in the levels leads to glucose, which is vital for the cells of the nervous system and brain, to be sourced from glycogen that is stored by the body. Exhaustion of stored glycogen makes the body to be forced to convert fat molecules and amino acids into glucose. This means that consumption of the right amount of sugar helps in boosting body sugar levels. Insufficient sugar levels in the diet leads to the body lacking insufficient energy to maintain normal body functions. On the other hand, high levels of sugars are quite harmful to the body. Research show that excess sugars and salts results to malfunctioning of the insulin. Milk is composed of 3.9 g of fat content with protein content of about 3g. Appropriate consumption of milk increase the amount of proteins and fat contents in the body and it is quite necessary in a healthy diet. Reduction in the consumption of milk results in the reduction of the two important food items in the diet. As pointed out earlier, proteins serve to boost growth of the body and a variety of functions. The deficiency of proteins and fat in the body leads to harming the body. Therefore, the 30 old adult, needs to consider boosting these food items in her diet by increasing consumption of other food items that can boost protein and fat in her diet. Question 3. Elite athletes require considerable training, conditioning, good genes, and nutritious diet (David, E, 2006). Nutrition that is optimum is vital for an athlete peak performance. Misinformation in nutrition could kill the ambitions of a brilliant athlete. To start with carbohydrates, athletes obtain a number of benefits from the quantity of carbohydrate that is stored inside his body. Whenever an athlete takes part in moderate exercises, carbohydrates give out 40 to 50 percentage of the required energy. In this respect, for every unit of oxygen taken in, carbohydrates give out energy more energy than fats. Since oxygen is normally the factor that limits events taking long duration, it is extremely crucial for athletes to utilize the source of energy that requires little oxygen per calorie used. Increasing the work will increase the carbohydrate utilization by an athlete. This means that a diet having seventy percent calories coming from carbohydrates for approximately three days before an event would help an athlete to endure his experiences. Glycogen is the form in which carbohydrates are stored in each and every organism. The tissues of mammals have glucose stored as glycogen with other deports situated in the liver and the muscles (Henry, J, & Aaron, W, 2004). The major role of glycogen is in degradation of the muscle glycogen to give out ATP that is used when there is an increase need of energy in the body. Hepatic glycogen, on the other hand, is broken down so as to give out glucose to the blood stream in order to supply to the other tissues. Studies have shown out that the major role of glycogen is sensing of energy, metabolic pathways integration, and cellular response coordination towards the stimulation of hormones (Mark, W, & Peter, S, 2005). Another component that is pertinent in the diet of an athlete is water. All athletes should always begin their events after taking some water because it takes part in the replacement of the lost fluids. A drink like water if taken frequently during an event would help in lowering the body temperature. Fats may also give out the body fuel. For exercises that are moderate, approximately half of the energy used is obtained from the metabolism of fatty acids. For athletes, the fat intake should not be lower than fifteen percent of the total intake of energy. This will immensely help in increasing the performance of athletes. Apart from this, a diet with protein is equally valuable in an athlete as it will also boost his energy (Mark, W, & Peter, S, 2005). Protein that is consumed in excess is normally stored in the form of fat within the body. Exercises make an athletes’ demand for protein to increase. It is recommended that athlete consume about 1.4g of protein every day. Whenever an athlete increases his calorie intake, the mineral and vitamin intake would also increase. This would increase the performance through boosting of the mineral level especially during heavy exercise. Sweating especially during an event or exercise makes the level of concentration of salts within the body to increase. In this regard, taking salt tablets immediately after a workout is discouraged since it will drain water from the cells, and weaken the muscles. If all this recommended diet is taken into consideration, then the athlete’s performance would improve to a great level. References Hodder, A., 2003. Human Nutrition: A Health Perspective. Retrieved on 22nd July 2012 from http://ebookee.org/Human-Nutrition-A-Health- David, A., 2003. Hughes Diet and Human Immune Function (Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. Retrieved on 21st July 2012 from http://ebookee.org/Diet-and-Human-Immune- David, E., 2006. Giant Pandas: Biology, Veterinary Medicine and Management. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on 22nd July 2012 from http://ebookee.org/Giant-Pandas-Biology- Henry, J., & Aaron, W., 2004.The Impact of Molecular Biology on Medicine and Society. Brookings Institution Press Retrieved from on 22nd July 2012 from http://ebookee.org/Coping Mark, W., & Peter., S, 2005. Pain Medicine and Management: Just the Facts. Ney York: McGraw-Hill Read More