What did you have for dinner last night? Write your answer in your notebook.

“Intro to Nutrition” Do you ever… Purchase supplements, believing them to be more powerful than food? Wonder why you prefer the foods you do? Become alarmed or confused by media reports about nutrition and dieting? Try to change your diet, but fail?

What exactly is nutrition? “Nutrition = the science of how food nourishes the body.” If you’re like most people, you sometimes wonder, Is this food good for me? You might also berate yourself, I shouldn’t have eaten that.

What is a diet? What do you think of when you think of a diet? “A diet is the foods (including beverages) that a person usually consumes.” We all have a diet, even if we’re not dieting!

Even nonhuman animals have diets.

A Lifetime of Eating Have you ever heard someone say You are what you eat? This is completely true! “The molecules in the foods we eat are used to make new cells for our body.” …and if you live 65 years, you will consume more than 70,000 meals…that’s 50 tons of food!

The best foods, then, are the ones that support the growth and maintenance of: Strong muscles Sound bones Healthy skin Sufficient blood to cleanse and nourish

A well-chosen diet supplies enough nutrients and energy to prevent malnutrition. “Malnutrition = deficiencies, imbalances, and excesses of nutrients.” It is possible to be malnourished in the USA!

Only two lifestyle habits are more influential than diet: tobacco use and excessive alcohol use. Many older people suffer from debilitating conditions that could have been prevented had they known what we know now.

…all have a connection to poor diet! “Chronic diseases are long-duration diseases where body organs deteriorate.” For example, heart disease, Diabetes, Some cancers, Dental disease, Adult bone loss …all have a connection to poor diet! Some are also connected to genetics and fitness.

Genetics vs. Diet So why does diet matter, if I can be genetically predisposed? “Some diseases (sickle-cell anemia) are purely genetic.” What a sufferer eats will not affect whether or not they get the disorder. However, a good diet may help their symptoms.

“Some diseases can be genetic and dietary (heart disease).” For some, it is unavoidable, but for others, it is because of their diet. The same is true of obesity.

Why do we need food? “As your body moves and works, it must use energy.” Where does this energy come from, initially?

“All of our energy initially comes from the sun.” From there, it travels into plants, and then animals. “We require six kinds of nutrients that come from food.”

“Four are organic; they contain carbon and come from living things.” Let’s take a quick look at the six types.

“1. water” “2. carbohydrates” “3. fat” “4. protein” “5. vitamins” Source of energy “3. fat” “4. protein” Source of energy and body structures “5. vitamins” Regulate body processes “6. minerals” Parts of bones and other body parts

So why not just take pills or dietary supplements?? Because we get so much more from food than just the six alone! “Nutrients operate best in harmony with one another.” We see this with seriously ill people in hospitals, who are fed vitamin diets; serious complications occur.

So what special about food? We’re not totally sure! But we do know that, like an unexercised muscle, unused digestive systems weaken. Digesting real food also sends messages to our brain: That was good. Now I’m full. Eating can be comforting, and you can’t get that from a pill!

Plus, “foods contain phytochemicals, which contain color and taste, and can decrease disease risks.” One baked potato contains hundreds of compounds!