UNIT 19 – NUTRITION AND DIET
P1 Explain how the concepts of nutritional health contribute to health and wellbeing.
Nutritional health concepts contribute to our health and well-being, thus understanding how
processing affects the nutritional content of
our food is important to avoid nutrient loss.
The concept of nutritional health includes
healthy eating and a balanced diet.
Malnutrition includes undernutrition and
obesity and the effects of food processing
methods.
One such concept is healthy eating and a
balanced diet, which includes providing a
broad range of foods in the proper
proportions and consuming the appropriate
amount of food and drink to achieve and
maintain a healthy balanced diet. As a result,
educating individuals on the benefits of
having a healthy balanced diet will help them to be more aware of what they should eat during the
day and how much of each type of nutrient they should take, and your health will suffer if a healthy
balanced diet is not maintained. The eat well plate serves as a guide to teach people what and how
much they should eat. For example, it shows that people should eat a balanced diet because
nutrients are essential for their bodies and for all of the body systems to function properly. Having
nutrients will help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce body fat, and provide your body with
energy. It is also important to know that if you don't consume the foods that provide your bodies
with enough nutrient value it will affect neurites level. Which can lead to health problems as it
causes nutrient deficiency. Therefore it is important for our health to ensure that we maintain a
healthy and balanced diet.
Malnutrition is another concept. This means that if food is not consumed correctly and in the
appropriate quantities, malnutrition can result in individuals becoming overweight or obese, as well
as undernourished. It occurs when the body does not receive enough nutrients to function properly,
and people can suffer from either undernutrition or overnutrition. To assist people in deciding what
to eat, the government created the eat well plate as a visual guide for people to see the proportion
of their daily intake that should come from different types of food. Malnutrition is not the same thing
as undernutrition so they shouldn’t be confused.
Undernutrition is a lack of proper nutrition caused by a lack of food or a failure to consume enough
food containing nutrients or calories needed for growth and health due to having insufficient food. In
addition to this, an individual may also be undernutrition due to health conditions that stop them
from digesting nutrients. Ulcerative colitis is a health condition that is when food is passed to the
digestive tract too quickly so there isn’t enough time for the nutrients to be absorbed into the
bloodstream leading to an individual being undernutrition. Lastly, being under the body mass index
of 18.5 is considered underweight by the Department of Health.
Obesity or being overweight is also malnutrition. According to the World Health Organization, an
individual is overweight if their body mass index is larger than or equal to 25, and obese if their body
mass index is greater than or equal to 30. Moreover being overweight can increase the chances of
health care problems such as type two diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis. According to the
,National Audit Office, obesity can cut your life by up to nine years. Obese people are much more
likely to develop health issues such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infertility, and depression, in
addition to the health concerns associated with being overweight.
Another concept is about the ‘Effects of food processing and preparation methods’ processed food
are foods that have been altered during preparation for example freezing, canning, drying, etc and
some processed foods have high levels of salt, sugar, and fat added to them. Sometimes food is
processed to last longer, give longer shelf life, and get rid of microorganisms as they can lead to
diseases. There are many different methods that food manufacturers use to prevent food from
rotting. For example, canning is where food is cooked that is sealed shut in a can without air bubbles.
This is done to prevent aerobic bacteria from being reproduced. Canned food provides various
advantages, including longer shelf life and the preservation of protein and carbs, which are essential
for the body's energy production. Food processing procedures such as canning can result in the loss
of key vitamins such as B and C, as well as the addition of large amounts of salt and sugar.
Pasteurization is another method used to process food. This particular method involves heating food
to 73 °C for about 15 seconds, the benefits of using this method are that the food lasts longer and
the taste of the food isn’t affected and there are no negative effects of using this method to process
food. Furthermore, the method food is prepared has an impact on the nutritional content of the food
we consume. Vitamins are lost when vegetables are cooked, for example, while fresh raw veggies
have a great nutritional value. This is due to the fact that nutrients are lost in the water when
vegetables are cooked; however, turning the water into gravy will conserve some of the nutrients.
There is an advantage to steaming and roasting vegetables since the nutritional content is preserved.
Along with grilling, other food preparation methods such as stir frying preserve a high nutritional
value.
Vic.gov.au. (2012). Food processing and nutrition - Better Health Channel. [online] Available at:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/food-processing-and-nutrition [Accessed
25 Jan. 2022].
NHS Choices (2022). Eating processed foods - Eat well. [online] Available at:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-processed-foods/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2022].
The final concept of nutritional health is ‘current nutritional issues and effects on health, including
self-prescribed health supplements, genetically modified food’. Directly impact our health.
Genetically modified foods, according to the World Health Organization, are foods whose genetic
material has been changed or modified such that they are not naturally occurring, done by
introducing a gene from another organism and through technology. One reason for genetic
modification is that it aids in the production of higher food yields, which helps to alleviate starvation
in developing nations where the population continues to rise. Furthermore, crops are altered to be
poisonous to pests that destroy crops, eliminating the need for pesticides. One advantage of crop
modification is that it is healthier for the environment. Lastly, crops such as rice can be modified to
make them contain more vitamin A and to also make food last longer. such as tomatoes, bananas,
pineapples, apple strawberries etc. There are health benefits of genetically modified food. For
example, genetically modified food has higher nutritional value and mineral content than
conventionally grown food, and certain vitamins can be modified in food that may be lacking in a
person's diet, thereby improving health.
By ‘self-prescribed health supplements' we mean small doses of supplements are intended to add to
your diet, they are sold in small quantities and are not used to replace the normal diet. There are
many different types of self-prescribed supplements such as vitamins and mineral tablets.
,Furthermore, individuals with health problems who may not be able to eat or struggle with
consuming food rich in vitamins and minerals are required to take supplements. For example, an
individual with a health condition that leads to poor absorption or someone who has frequent
diarrhea is required to take supplements. Some women who suffer from extremely heavy periods
will lose high levels of iron, therefore, food supplements such as iron supplements restore the iron
lost throughout her period. Taking health supplements can have an impact on our health in both
positive and negative ways. Health supplements can help ensure that our bodies get enough of the
vital substances that the body requires to function properly, and some supplements can also help
reduce the risk of disease. However, supplements should not be used to replace complete meals that
are required for a healthy diet, so ensuring that our bodies get the nutrients and vitamins from food
is also important. Supplements, in addition to being harmful to one's health, can lead to addiction
and, in extreme cases, death.
World (2019). Food, Genetically modified. [online] Who.int. Available at:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-genetically-modified#tab=tab_1 [Accessed 26 Jan. 2022].
A.P2 Explain the sources of essential nutrients and their functions in the body
Nutrient Source Explanation of the function of the nutrient in the
body
Protein meat, fish, eggs, Protein is essential for persons who have been
poultry, milk, soya, harmed or are unwell because the body requires it
cheese for growth and repair. Protein is used by the body in
many different ways. Protein is found in all tissues in
the body, including hair, bone, and muscle, as well as
enzymes and hormones. Furthermore, proteins are
involved in all of the actions that take place in our
bodies, such as signals travelling through neurons,
digestion, and muscular contraction.
Carbohydrates -sugars: honey, cakes, carbohydrates are important as they are used to
biscuits, fruit, milk. provide our bodies with energy. The energy
-starches: flour, bread, produced from food in our human body is important
potatoes, rice. as it is used to maintain the body's essential
-fibres: wheat, leafy functions such as growth, repair, respiration, and
vegetables and dried blood transport. For example, for the heart to
fruit function and beat, a lot of energy is needed. The
heart needs twenty times more energy than the rest
of the skeletal system. Energy. In addition, to replace
cells the body also requires energy. However, having
a diet high in free sugars has increased the risk of
people getting health problems such as type two
diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Therefore the
recommendations state that free sugars should only
be 5%of our diets. Lastly, non-starch polysaccharides
are also important for the function of our body as
they are essential for the process of digestion.
Fats and oils - saturated fats: butter Fats are also essential as they are used to form
cream, meat energy in most cells. Glycerol can be converted into
, unsaturated: olive oil, glucose by the liver and can be used for cellular
nuts and seeds respiration. Fats are important for our diet as they
give sources of vitamins such as A, D, E, and help to
absorb vitamin K. Fat is also required for the
production of hormones that promote healthy skin
and prevent heat loss. Because fat is high in calories,
it supplies energy to the body. However, a high-fat
diet can contribute to health concerns such as
obesity, and saturated fats have been linked to the
high incidence of heart disease and stroke in the UK,
thus reducing saturated fats is advised. Unsaturated
fats include cis and trans fat. Cis and trans fats have
short shelf lives; however, hydrogenation, a process
of adding hydrogen to cis fats to convert them to
trans fats, increases shelf life by making them
saturated. However, because there are worries that
they raise the risk of heart disease, several
manufacturers have avoided using them in their
goods.
Vitamins - vitamin A: liver, eggs, To function effectively, our bodies require a little
(fat soluble) milk number of vitamins. Fat-solubles do not need to be
- vitamin D: oily fish, taken on a regular basis because our systems can
margarine store them. For example, vitamin E maintains strong
- vitamin E: cereal, muscles, antioxidants, helps to keep healthy skin and
vegetable oils eyes, and boosts the immune system, but the body
- vitamin K: cheese, does not require it to be taken on a daily basis.
bacon, green tea, Vitamin A keeps the skin and lining of the nose,
coffee mouth and guts healthy. Vitamin D absorbs calcium
in the intestine, regulates calcium and magnesium in
the bone tissue and vitamin K helps with blood
clotting.
Vitamins - B group: liver, yeast, Group B vitamins aid in the release of energy from
(water soluble nuts, milk, carbohydrates, fat and protein metabolism, nervous
- C group: oranges, system health maintenance, and vitamin C aid in the
potatoes and black formation of bones, teeth, and blood, wound
current healing, infection fighting, and healthy skin and
gums.
e)
Minerals iron: eggs, liver, dried Calcium is essential for the formation of strong bones
fruit and teeth; it is also required for blood circulation and
sodium: bacon, ham, the proper functioning of the heart, muscles, and
and vegetables. nerves; a lack of calcium in the body causes rickets.
calcium: milk, cheese, Iron is important for children's growth since it is
sardines required for the formation of haemoglobin in red
blood cells. Iron deficiency anaemia can result from a
lack of iron. Sodium is also vital since it aids with fluid
equilibrium. To regulate blood pressure, sodium
works with potassium. Sodium also aids in muscular
contraction and nerve impulse.
