Each nutrient plays a very important role in the diet. Learn about this role to effectively use your daily meals.
Muscle, fat and bone are important components of the human body, and these ingredients are also made up of nutrients. From birth to death, people need to load the nutrients contained in food to maintain life. “Nutrition” in the narrow sense, means a series of “flows” such as “digestion, absorption, metabolism”. “Nutrients” taken from outside into the body will become raw materials, maintain life and create essential ingredients for growth.
Nutrients mentioned as essential ingredients of the human body, synthesized from many different substances in food. Thanks to being absorbed by the body, nutrients in food have three main functions as follows.
1. Become an energy source for the body
2. Body tissue formation (muscle, blood, bone, etc.)
3. Help the body stay healthy
There are 3 nutrients that serve as a source of energy for the body: carbohydrates, fats, proteins.
In addition to these three main nutrients, a small amount of vitamins and minerals are also essential nutrients for living organisms, creating a total of five basic nutrients. The three main nutrients are mainly working to create energy for the body, vitamins and minerals to align the body’s state. Let’s take a closer look at the function of each nutrient.
● Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the most important role as a fast acting energy source to control the body and brain. When saccharide is exhausted, the essential nutrients cannot reach the brain, the body’s muscle and fat are decomposed to compensate for the lost energy. Conversely, if you eat too much sugar, it will not be used as energy, it will turn into triglycerides and become fat.
In addition, because vitamin B1 is needed to convert carbohydrates into energy, metabolism will increase by eating in combination with foods rich in vitamin B1, such as pork and liver.
● Protein
Protein is a component of muscles, internal organs, hair, nails, etc. It also plays a role in producing hormones, enzymes and immune cells. Protein is an amino acid in the body, this is the basic component of the cell, DNA of genetic information is also generated from amino acids.
There are two main types of amino acids: amino acids can be synthesized in the body and amino acids that the body cannot synthesize. The second type is called “essential amino acid” consisting of 9 special amino acids that must be absorbed from food. If there are no essential amino acids in the food you eat, the nutritional value as a protein will decrease. We offer “amino acid scores” as indicators of protein quality in foods. Amino acid scores reflect the balance of essential amino acids in food. The closer this score is to 100, the more likely it is to conclude it is “good protein”. Amino acid scores of eggs, chicken, salmon, milk etc are 100, lower soybeans, is 86. Rice is mainly 65 points, wheat (bread making materials), etc. is 37 points . For example, cereals lack essential amino acids lysine, but by combining with lysine-rich chicken etc, amino acid balance can be improved and amino acid scores can be raised.
● Lipids (fat)
Lipids are used as an energy source, which acts as a component of cell membranes, organs, nerves, etc. and helps transport vitamins. In addition, having lipids also plays a role in keeping body temperature, moisturizing the skin, and helping the hormones (especially female hormones) work. For that reason, it’s worth noting whether your body is fat enough. Especially, if women lack fat, it will affect the beauty of skin and hair, harm to health. However, if too much is accumulated in the form of fat, it will cause obesity.
● Vitamins
Vitamins are not a component of energy and body sources like the three important nutrients mentioned above. But this is an essential nutrient to maintain normal body functions such as blood vessels and mucous membranes, skin, bones. Vitamins also encourage metabolism. Although the amount needed is very small, it is hardly synthesized in the body, but even if it is synthesized, it must be absorbed from food less than required. In addition, vitamins are classified according to their solubility differences as soluble in water, soluble in fat and soluble in oil.
Because water-soluble vitamins are excreted with urine and the like, just absorb the amount needed every day. Because it is excreted with urine without too much accumulation in the body, there is no need to worry about too much absorption.
Due to their unique properties, fat-soluble vitamins increase absorption rates when used with oil. Also, because these vitamins accumulate in the liver, it is possible to cause hyperacidity if used too much. Regarding the normal diet, you don’t need to worry that you will overcharge this type of vitamin, but be careful when using functional foods, leading to excess vitamin status.
● Minerals
This is an indispensable nutrient to maintain the health of the body even though it is only a small amount. There are 16 essential minerals like calcium, iron and sodium. The main task of minerals is to contribute to some components of the body such as bones and teeth. In addition, the mineral also has a function to correct the body’s condition.
Because minerals cannot be synthesized in the body, it is necessary to take minerals from meals. If a deficiency of minerals will cause a number of phenomena such as: iron deficiency will cause anemia, iodine deficiency causing goiter, calcium deficiency should be osteoporosis. If you abuse minerals, it can cause the following conditions: Too much iron and zinc cause poisoning, too much sodium leads to high blood pressure.