Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease - Essay Example

"Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease" is a wonderful example of a paper on food and nutrition. There are a number of reasons that explain the high rates of obesity cases in the United States. Sedentary lifestyles and a general lack of physical activity especially with the dawn of advanced technology are a reason causing obesity. Other causes include overfeeding and eating between meals, unbalanced diets featuring high energy/ calorie/ fatty acid foods and drinks (such as kebabs, chips, and sausages), slow metabolism rates due to lack of muscles that burn calories, medication associated with weight gain like antidepressants, emotional influence leading to poor feeding tendencies and diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance and Cushing’s Syndrome (Shils, 365)

The problem of obesity can be dealt with in a myriad of different ways depending on the emerging causes like those stated above. These interventions include stepping campaigns that promote physical exercise, educating the public on proper feeding habits and how to cope with stress and such emotions that result in overfeeding (Shils, 378).

Question 2

MEAL

Breakfast

Lunch

Snacks

Dinner

FOOD TO BE EATEN

-        Milk

-        Potatoes

-        An Orange

-        Beans

-        Cabbages and Broccoli

-        Pastry

-        Banana

-        Fresh Juice

-        Beef Burger

-        Rice

-        Fish/ Chicken

-         

 

Nutritional Values

Breakfast

Milk is an essential source of protein, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and vitamin B12 that aids in the growth and development of various parts of the body while boosting the immunity of the individual. Potatoes are a source of fiber that aid in the digestion process while also providing B vitamins, calcium, and iron. Potatoes make one feel relatively full for a long period of time and are essential in helping check weight as it minimizes feeding in between meals. Oranges and bananas further provide vitamin c, carotenes, folate, and fiber (Insel and Elaine, 345).

Lunch, Snack, and Dinner

            Beans, rice, fish, and chicken are sources of iron, protein, B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and essential fats that help in membrane formation and so on. Rice and pastry provide carbohydrates, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber among other things that are useful for the body.  Cabbages, broccoli, and fresh juice are sources of numerous photochemical and micronutrients. Beef burger has lots of food substances such as meat (protein), bread (carbohydrate), vegetables (fiber, vitamins, and minerals), and essential fats (Zoumbaris, 400).

Question 3

            Epigenetics are heritable changes that occur in the genome without altering DNA or genetic code. Obesity which is likely transferred from a parent(s) who is obese to the offspring is known to cause a plethora of other chronic ailments that are often equally passed down from the parental generation to the offspring. Heart disease, for example, results from the deposit of fats along blood vessels which restrict blood circulation. Other chronic conditions such as stroke, cancers (such as colorectal cancer), diabetes, osteoporosis, and so on, are due to poor nutrition, obesity, and lack of physical activity rendering them common along already affected lineages (Haugen, 377).

Question 4

            Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals and do not have calories. Generally, micronutrients reduce appetite, repair and regenerate body cells, and increases metabolism by burning fat. The more micronutrients one consumes, the less hungry one feels. Vitamin B mainly acts as a co-factor for enzymatic reactions while vitamin C plays antioxidant roles (lack of which results in scurvy) (as well as vitamin A which also helps in eyesight and prevents blindness from its deficiency), protects cells from environmental damage, assist in healing wounds and maintaining connective tissue. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium and is important for a strong skeletal system (deficiency leads to rickets) and vitamin K is important in blood clotting (Haugen, 411).

Minerals such as sodium, chloride, and potassium conduct electricity between cells necessary for nerve impulses and muscle contractions. Phosphorous and calcium aid in bone formation and strength, magnesium is a cofactor in numerous enzymatic processes whereas sulfur is the important information of amino acids. In addition, while zinc enhances immunity, growth, and reproduction, iron is responsible for oxygen transport in the body. However, excess sodium consumption like through table salt has been shown to result in loss of calcium from the body as it attempts to rid itself of the excess calcium. Also, excess consumption of phosphorous can hurt the body’s ability to take in magnesium (Haugen, 418).

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