Nutrient

The nutrients , or nutritive elements , are consisted the whole of made up the organic and mineral necessary to the Living organism to ensure and maintain the Vie. The process of Assimilation of the nutrients is the Nutrition.

The nutrients are elementary components contained in the Aliment S, or resulting from the natural environment ambient, and used by the organization to meet its physiological needs, in particular of growth and development. A nutrient can be directly comparable without any chemical modification.

Classification by function

Energy nutrients

  • Glucids
  • Lipid S
  • Protid S

From a Dietetic point of view, the diet should be made up of:

  • lipids: < 30% of the total Calorie S
  • glucids: < 55% of the total calories

Nutrients of constitution and maintenance of fabrics

  • proteins, lipids, biogenic salts (Ca, P)

Nutrients of regulation of the Metabolism

  • Vitamin S (some are enzymatic cofacteurs)
  • amino-acid essential, essential fatty-acids
  • biogenic salts: Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, etc
  • elements traces (Trace element S): I, Cu, Co, Cr, mn, V, Mo, Ni, Pb, etc

Nutrients with mechanical function (intestinal Peristalsis)

  • food fibers (cellulose, hemicelluloses)

Nutrients with sensory function (Craving)

  • flavors: odor and savor training the flavor
  • nutrients exploiting the color
  • the nutrients exploiting consistency (water, etc)

Among the nutrients, one distinguishes traditionally:

Water

Water is most essential of all the nutrients, it is essential for all the biological processes: like reagent, like solvent and means of transport. It takes part in a way essential with the osmotic processes and heat exchange.

Average daily needs for an adult individual for 60 kg: 2,8 liters

These requirements are met by:

  • drinks: from 1 to 1,5 liter
  • solid foods (water contained): approx. 1,2 liter
  • internal production (Endogenous), the digestion of the other components of food: from 0,3 to 0,4 liter.

Examples of water contents:

Glucids

The glucids or carbohydrates are sugars and the related substances (starch, fibers, etc).

The glucids are the major components of the most consumed food products (vegetable, cereals). They constitute the independent source of energy in the food, because easiest and least expensive to produce (there is a direct relationship between the standard of living and the share of glucids to the total energy contribution).

Importance in the nutrition

  • calorific Contribution: 4 kcal or 17 kJ /g (for assimilable glucids)
  • essential Character for a balanced diet (assimilation of the lipids)
  • Contribution of food fibers (indigestible (not-assimilable) being used as " ballast" and of accelerator of the intestinal transit time)
  • sweetened Savor (Craving)
  • Contribution to the elimination of not very water soluble undesirable substances, eliminated in the form of water soluble associations, the urinary tract.
  • Sources of problems:
    • metabolic Diseases (diabetes, intolerances with the Lactose, the Galactose, etc)
    • Dental caries
    • Taken excessive of weight (in combination with other factors)
    • etc

Currently, the dieticians recommend to increase the consumption of complex carbohydrates coming from leguminous plants, complete cereals, vegetables and the fruits, in particular to increase the fiber contribution.

Examples of contents of glucids and fibers:

Classification of glucids (in the food)

Monosaccharide S

Disaccharide S

Reducers: Not reducers:

Oligosaccharide S

Polysaccharide S

Assimilable: Nonassimilable:

Polyol S

Glycoside S

Lipids

There exist three types of Lipide S. the fatty-acids mono-unsaturates (MGA) and poly-unsaturates (AGP) is present in plant oils and plays a protective part against the Athérosclérose. The saturated fatty-acids (AGS), present in the animal fats (meat, dairy products and eggs), are responsible for the lipidic deposits in the walls of the blood-vessels, a disease whose demonstrations are related to the Ischémie fabrics irrigated by the injured vessels: softening of the brain, angina pectoris and Myocardial infarction, impaired renal function and arterial hypertension, arteritis of the lower extremities, etc

AG unsaturates increase the requirements in Vitamine E, which protects them from oxidation. The vegetable margarines are always supplemented in vitamin E and plant oils contain some naturally much (especially when they are not refined).

Examples of contents of lipids:

The proteins (protids)

At present, in the Western company, the people deprived of Protéine S are rare and meet only in dramatic situations of malnutrition.

Examples of content of proteins:

Quality of proteins (amino-acid)

The proteins are made up of a score of amino-acid (AA) of which eights are “essential” at the human organism. Their presence in the food intake is essential, the organization being unable to ensure the synthesis of it. It is about Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Thréonine, Tryptophane, Phénylalanine, Méthionine and Lysine.

The food can be variously indexed according to the proportions of essential AA which compose proteins that they contain.

Some provide proteins known as of “high biological value” because they offer the essential AA in almost adequate proportion. They are, generally, milk, the cheese, the egg, soya (like representative of choice of the group of leguminous plants) and rice (among cereals).

The other leguminous plants and cereals are less better balanced, the proteins of the first are low in Méthionine and Tryptophane, those of the seconds as of nuts are low in Lysine.

One thus recommends to consume each day of the representatives of these two groups (either: cereals and leguminous plants or nut and leguminous plants) to optimize its ration of proteins.

From where complete dishes vegetarians resulting from the majority of the companies which had their own way of combining proteinic food: Dahl and pita, beans and chips of corn, couscous and chick-peas, lenses and cashew nut, houmous and bread lavash, split pea soup and let us croûtons bread, etc

This theory known as of the “complementarity of proteins” is very present in the medium Végétarien. Recent studies on populations vegetarians not practicing of this theory did not detect any proteinic deficiency. She is regarded more and more as exceeded.

Examples of acid content amino:

Vitamins

The independent sources of Vitamine S are the fruits, the vegetables and the cereals.

The Vitamine C abounds in the Fruit S and the Légume S (Agrume S, Tomate S, Poivron S, etc); vitamins of the group B in the Cereal S; the Provitamine has (β-carotene), which is converted into Vitamine has in the organization, in the vegetables (carrots, spinaches, parsley, cress, etc); the vitamin K in green vegetables; vitamins E and F in oleaginous seeds, etc

Two cases are to be studied particularly: that of the vitamin D and the B12 vitamin.

Our body synthesizes the vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. It is essential to the assimilation of calcium and is particularly important during the growth. To expose itself moderately to the sun makes it possible to synthesize some in sufficient quantity. A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to the Rachitisme.

The B12 vitamin, like the vitamin D, is only in the animal products. Milk, the cheese, the yoghourt and the eggs contain some in sufficient quantity since necessary the day laborer quantity is negligible (1 microgram).

Even if the food supply is minimum, one notes only seldom deficiencies, which seems to indicate that the body adapts by increasing its level of absorption or by recycling it in the organization.

One as currently thinks as certain bacteria present in the intestine synthesize this vitamin and than we profit from this contribution.

However, as a deficiency can appear only after several years (the B12 vitamin stored in the liver represents concerning one period going from 3 to 6 years) and that its consequences are serious, it is preferable for the végétalien S to take a supplement in B12 vitamin.

Rock salt

The Rock salt are the components which remain (in the form of ashes) after calcination of organic fabrics. According to the quantities concerned in the organization, rock salt are usually divided into 2 groups:

Iron

The lack of iron is an evil very running. It assigns in particular the children and teenagers in full growth, the expectant mothers or pre-ménopausées.

One distinguishes iron according to whether it is Héminique (present in the hemoglobin of blood, therefore in the meat) or not-heminic (coming from the plants, eggs or the dairy products).

Heminic iron is well absorbed by the organization while the iron of vegetable origin for its part needs vitamin C to be as well absorbed.

The vegetable mode being always very rich in vitamin C, this association (iron/saw. C) does not ask any attention and explains why the vegetarians do not suffer more deficiency out of iron than the not-vegetarians.

Calcium

Calcium is necessary for the formation and the maintenance of the bones like for nervous balance.

The dairy products contain much of it, but the meats almost not, and moreover, their consumption accentuates the needs for them. Indeed, their high content in phosphorus increases the calcium loss in the urines.

A protein excess decreases the absorption of calcium and contributes for much to the appearance of the Ostéoporose (osseous brittleness) which affects in an endemic way the Western companies.

The plants are rather good sources of calcium (parsley, broccolis, etc) However some of them (spinaches, rhubarb, sorrel) contain considerable quantities of Oxalic acid which decreases absorption by it.

Lastly, as we mentioned previously, it is necessary to take care to expose itself to the sun to synthesize the vitamin D who controls the movement of calcium between blood and the bones.

More

If you have the wish of more you can read a French translation of the " Official position of the American Association of Dietetics on the food végétarienne".

See too

External bonds

  • List of the nutrients and detail of their content in each food
  • Spiruline biological 100% to the French standards
  • biological food complements to the French standards

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