Kin110Chapter1: FoodChoices, Nutrientsand Nourishment
September-10-12
9:42AM
Science of nutrition improves our food choices by identifying the amounts of nutrients that we need, Overview
the best food courses of those nutrients, and the other components in food that may be helpful or In this unit we will introduce some basic
concepts that will be used throughout the
harmful course. We will learn what nutrients are,
• Nutrition: the science of foods and their components (nutrients and other substances)
o Including: how they affect our health, and what
happens if we have too much or too little
The relationships to health and disease (actions, interactions, and balances) of them. We will also explore what it
Processes within the body (ingestion, digestion, absorption, transport, means to have a healthy diet and what
functions, and disposal of end products) standards determine what “healthy”
The social, economic, cultural, and psychological implications of eating
• Food preferences start out early in life; changes as we grow b/c of interaction with social means.
surroundings
• Top FOUR influences on food choices:
1) Taste Learning Objectives
Explain reasons for food choices
2) Texture and the different influences on
3) Cost
4) Convenience these choices.
• Age is a factor in food preferences Define nutrition and describe the
nutrients.
o asbabies: willingness to try new things need to experiment this when they’re
babies so when they grow, they won’t experience food neophobia (a dislike for Evaluate online (and other
anything new or unfamiliar) sources) nutrition information for
credibility and describe the
Sensory Influences characteristics of credible nutrition
information.
• People use flavor as a collective experience that describes both taste and smell; use texture,
color, moisture and temperature too Describe nutrient
• FOUR tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty recommendations and explain how
these recommendations are set.
• Umami: a Japanese term that describes a delicious meaty or savory sensation; chemically: this
taste detects the presence of glutamate (an amino acid found in MSG) Discuss general implications of
dietary choices on human health.
Cognitive Influences Explain and apply tools for
• Cognitive = thoughts and feelings – affect food choices planning a healthy diet.
• Habits
o Probably reflections of parents’ eating habits
• (dis)comfort foods
o Comfort foods = positive reinforcement from childhood; used as a reward for good
behavior
o Discomfort food = negative reinforcement from childhood; eat food = get sick; no
dessert = don’t finish dinner
• Food cravings
o Chocolate & ice cream = top 2 food cravings
o Pica: the craving and consumption of nonfood items such as dirt, clay, or laundry
starch (sometimes pregnant women crave this b/c of lack of iron or other nutrient)
• Media – advertising and promotion
o Increase sales for particular brand, but also increase sales for what that brand is
promoting
• Social factors
o Social facilitation (encouragement of the interactions between people) can affect
your eating behavior – food intake increases
o Social pressures can restrict food intake & selection
Environmental Influences
Environment = where you live, how you live, who you live with = affective in food
choices
Economics
o Which foods are most accessible? = depends: where you live & surrounding
climate
Ie: income = want a lobster dinner but only have a hot dog budget
Lifestyle
o Fast- paced society = little time or patience for food prep leads to store bought
ready foods and heat-and-eat foods
Cultural Influences
Religion
o Fasting, restrictions on foods/alcohol, etc
Cultural cuisine
Introducing the Nutrients
Food = mixture of chemicals, some are essential for normal body function
Nutrients: essential chemicals; any substances in food that the body can use to obtain
energy, synthesize tissues, or regulate functions
food provides nutrients
body CANNOT make or make enough of these essentialnutrients (substances that must
be obtained from the diet because the body either cannot make them or cannot make
enough of them)
SIX classes ofnutrients:
1) Carbs
2) Lipids (fats and oils)
3) Proteins
4) Vitamins
5) Minerals
6) Water
Definitions of Nutrients Definitions of Nutrients
Focus on functions of nutrients in the body so that we see why they’re important in the
diet
Why focus on what happens in its absence?
o A nutrient is a chemical whose absence from the diet for a long enough time results
in a specific change in health; aka: person has a deficiency of that nutrient
o It must also be true that putting the essential chemical back in the diet will reverse
the change in health – if done before permanent damage occurs
Phytochemicals: substances in plants tha
More
Less
