What is nutrition? What are nutrients? What are the links in nutrition? What are the types of nutrients and what are their functions? We should understand these basic concepts!

What is nutrition? Literally, the word nutrition has a specific meaning:

The word "camp" means "seeking";

The word "nurturing" stands for "keeping in good health".

Put the two words together, nutrition is to seek health. So, what is the concept of nutrition specifically?

Nutrition is the whole process that the human body constantly ingests food from the outside world, that is, what we have to "eat" every day-eating. They digest, absorb and use the substances needed by the body in food, that is, nutrients or nutrients to maintain life activities. It is a comprehensive physiological process.

The four processes of eating, digestion, absorption and utilization are closely linked, and problems in any link may affect the nutrition and health of human body. Take "Eating" as an example. Many female colleagues are keen on dieting, and even take "Bai Gujing" as their spiritual goal. In the long run, it will have an impact on their health. Long-term excessive dieting may cause a series of problems, such as sharp weight loss, nutritional deficiency, metabolic and endocrine dysfunction, and even life-threatening.

On the contrary, if you eat too much, it will also have a health impact on your body. For example, many families now love their only children very much, giving them big fish and meat to eat and drink every day, but ignoring whether they can digest, absorb and utilize them. Health is not guaranteed, and adults and children suffer. Therefore, nutrition is a comprehensive physiological activity, and every link is very important.

Exploring nutrients ▼ 1. What is a nutrient? The substance that can maintain life activities after digestion, absorption and metabolism in food is called a nutrient. In short, it is "the substance in food that is beneficial to the body".

2. Classification of nutrients Generally speaking, nutrients can be divided into three categories: macronutrients, micronutrients and other dietary components.

Macronutrient

Macronutrients include protein, fat, carbohydrates, etc.

micronutrient

Micronutrients mainly refer to minerals and vitamins. This division is based on the human body's demand for nutrients. Relatively speaking, micronutrients are not known to the general public, so it is more likely to be lacking.

The lack of micronutrients is not easy for people to detect at first, and it will take a long time to feel it. Their lack will not cause people to feel hungry, so they are called "hidden hunger" and are easily ignored. Although the demand for them is small, if they are not taken enough for a long time, there may be a serious shortage, which will lead to an increase in the risk of various chronic diseases. In other words, the demand for trace elements is small, but it is indispensable. However, nowadays, many important functions of micronutrients on human body have been continuously discovered and studied, which has attracted more and more attention of nutrition, health and preventive medicine experts.

Other dietary components

Other dietary components mainly include: water, dietary fiber, phytonutrients, nutrient-related organic compounds and so on. These ingredients are also of great significance to human health.

The normal functioning of human body can not be separated from the synergistic effect of all nutrients. So, what functions do they play in the human body?

3.? Functions of Nutrients The physiological functions of different kinds of nutrients in the body are quite different, but generally speaking, the physiological functions of nutrients are mainly manifested in three aspects:

Participate in the formation and repair of our body tissues;

Provide energy and help us maintain our body temperature;

Regulate various normal life activities of the body.

These physiological functions of nutrients are organically unified. A nutrient can undertake a variety of physiological functions. For example, protein can not only constitute the body tissue, but also provide us with energy. And a variety of nutrients may also play the same function in the body, such as protein, fat and carbohydrates can supply energy through oxidation reaction in the human body.