Essential Nutrients
WATER
Essential component for life and abundant in most foods. Water is absorbed in the intestine and then transported by the blood to other organs. Can be found in the body as part of the intracellular cell protoplasm and extracellular, and interstitial fluid, lymph, and as part of blood plasma.
FUNCTIONS
- Transportation of nutrients and waste products
- Regulation of body temperature
- Solvent substances
- Structural component of cells
Water is excreted through urine, feces, skin and lungs. The balance between loss and gain of water should be neutral because a positive balance of ending a picture of water retention and a negative a picture of dehydration.
DAILY NEEDS
Adult 35 ml / kg. weight
Child 50 or 60 ml / kg
PROTEINS
We found in meat, milk and dairy products, eggs, vegetables.
The proteins are broken down during digestion into amino acids, which are transported by the blood and distributed to different tissues.
The amino acids then reunite to form human proteins such as hemoglobin and some hormones. The proteins that the body discards are transformed into urea, which becomes part of the urine and is eliminated abroad.
FUNCTIONS
- Provision of essential amino acids needed for growth and tissue repair
- Balance cell osmic
- Are part of glycoproteins, hormones, lipoproteins, enzymes, antibodies
Constitute 20% of body weight in an adult.
Carbohydrates, carbohydrates or CARBOHYDRATES
They are found in vegetables, fruit, milk.
The simpler molecules of carbohydrates are monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose and the more complex polysaccharides such as starch and glycogen.
The polysaccharides are degraded to simpler molecules in the digestive tract.
They are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles.
FUNCTIONS
- Main source of energy (when the body lacks them as an energy source used to lipids and proteins)
- Are part of the cell structure
- Are constituents of the antibodies
Lipids or fats
They are found in dairy products, meats, oils and dried fruit.
Their contribution is essential fatty acids (linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic)
Represent 10% of body weight and therefore need to ingest 56 g per day to maintain this ratio.
FUNCTIONS
- Power source
- Protection for blood vessels, nerves and other organs
- Components of the cell membrane
- Appetite stimulants
- Vehicles for the absorption of vitamins A, D, K and E
- Components of the nervous
MINERALS
Represent 5% of body weight and regulate many body processes.
They can be:
Macronutrients or macro which need higher levels than the 100 gr. daily and are calcium, magnesium and phosphorus
- Micronutrients and trace elements which the body needs a few Mg. daily and include iodine, copper, iron, potassium, sodium and chlorine, fluorine, sulfur, zinc and manganese
VITAMINS
Complex organic compound present in plant and animal tissues. They say cell functions and some metabolic processes.
They are produced by the body and enter it with food.
They can be:
- Soluble if they dissolve in water and are: A, D, E and K
- Liposolubles if they dissolve in fats and are C, B1, B2, B5, B6, B12, PP, folic acid and factor H