BALANCED DIET

A diet that provides energy and nutrients in correct proportions is termed a

balanced diet.
The seven major components of nutrients in human diet are
 Carbohydrates
 Proteins
 Lipids / Fats
 Vitamins
 Minerals [mineral ions]
 Water
 Dietary fibre
Diet depends on
 Age
 Gender
 Activity–
Sources & Functions of Dietary Elements
 Carbohydrates
 Function: source of energy
 Sources: bread, cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes
 Protein
 Function: growth and repair
 Sources: meat, fish, eggs, pulses, nuts
 Lipid (fats and oils)
 Function: insulation and energy storage
 Sources: butter, oil, nuts
 Dietary fibre
 Function: provides bulk (roughage) for the intestine to push food through it
 Sources: vegetables, whole grains
 Vitamins and minerals
 Function: needed in small quantities to maintain health
 Sources: fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy products
 Water
 Function: needed for chemical reactions to take place in the body
 Sources: water, juice, milk, fruits and vegetables
 MALNUTRITION
Malnutrition is caused by not eating a balanced
diet.[Having an unbalanced diet can lead
to malnutrition]
There are different types of malnutrition
depending on the cause of the imbalance.
They include:
1.Starvation - insufficient nutrients - taking in less
energy than is used.
2.Constipation - lack of fibre in the diet.
3.Coronary heart disease - Diet too high in
saturated fat and cholesterol.
4.Obesity - excessive nutrients – taking in more
energy than is used.
5.Protein Energy Malnutrition –Kwashiorkor (too
much carbohydrates, too little protein)and
Marasmus
 Nutrients Deficiency
Vitamin A
 Vitamin A is needed to make the pigment in the retina for vision
 Sources - meat, liver, dairy, leafy green vegetables like spinach, and eggs.
 Deficiency - vision loss and blindness.
Vitamin C
 Vitamin C forms an essential part of collagen protein, which makes up the
skin, hair, gums, and bones
 Deficiency - Scurvy.
 Sources – citrus fruits, strawberries, green vegetables.
Vitamin D
 Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium and is required for strong
bones and teeth.
 Deficiency - Rickets.
 Sources – oily fish and dairy products, and is also made naturally by the
body in sunlight.
Calcium
 Calcium is needed for strong teeth and bones and is involved in the
clotting of blood.
 Deficiency - Osteoporosis.
 Sources - milk, cheese, and eggs.
Iron
 Iron is needed to make haemoglobin, the pigment in red blood cells
that helps to carry oxygen.
 Deficiency - Anaemia.
 Sources – red meat, liver, leafy green vegetables, and spinach
 DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

 The human digestive system is made up of the organs that form the alimentary
canal and accessory organs.
 The alimentary canal is the long tube through which the food flows through the
body, begins at the mouth (buccal or oral cavity), passes through the pharynx,
oesophagus or food pipe, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and
finally ends at the anus.
 Digestion occurs within the alimentary canal.
 Accessory organs are salivary glands, liver, gallbladder and the pancreas.
 The passage of food through the alimentary canal.
 Mouth → oesophagus → stomach → small intestine → large intestine → rectum
1. Mouth:
 The salivary glands are located in the mouth.
 Mechanical digestion - chewing
 Chemical digestion - amylase enzymes break down starch into maltose.
2. Oesophagus:
 The tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
 Food to pass from the mouth to stomach by Peristalsis..
3. Stomach
 Mechanical digestion - muscular churning
 Chemical digestion - pepsin (a protease) digests proteins into polypeptides.
 Hydrochloric acid which kill bacteria, but also maintains an optimum acidic pH for
pepsin.
4. Small Intestine
1. Duodenum - loop like structure. Fat emulsification and digestion of food takes
place here.
2. Jejunum - most of the digestion of food takes place.
3. Ileum – the products of the digestion into the blood- absorption of nutrients.
5. Large Intestine
Colon - The main function of the colon is to reabsorb water from undigested food
into the blood and also bile salts to return back to the liver.
Rectum - stores faeces.
Anus -Muscles control egestion of faeces
6. Pancreas
 The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum.
 Proteases break down proteins
 Lipases break down lipids
 Amylases break down carbohydrates
 Most enzymes in the pancreatic juice have an optimum pH of around 7.
7. Liver
The liver is the largest gland in the body.
This releases a chemical called bile into the intestines.
Bile breaks down lipids in the food.
8. Gall bladder
 Bile t is stored in the gall bladder and is sent to the duodenum through the bile
duct.
 NUTRITION
 “Nutrition is the process of taking in food and converting it into energy and other vital
nutrients required for life.”
 There are two types,
 Autotrophic mode – make their own food Eg: Plants, algae, and bacteria
(cyanobacteria)
 Heterotrophic mode – cannot make their own food; must obtain energy from
outside sources. Eg: Fungi and all the animals including humans.
 Five stages of Nutrition
Difference between chemical and mechanical digestion
Physical digestion /Mechanical digestion Chemical digestion

Breakdown of large pieces of food into Breakdown of large insoluble food

smaller pieces of food to increase the molecules into small soluble molecules
surface area for the enzymes to work on. by the action of enzymes.

It occurs in mouth, oesophagus, stomach It occurs in mouth, stomach and small

and small intestine. intestine.
*Mouth – Chewing action of the teeth
*Oesophagus – Peristalsis
*Stomach – muscular churning
*Small Intestine – emulsification of
fats by bile in the duodenum, peristalsis
*Contraction of stomach wall

TEETH
The teeth, which are part of the skeletal system, play an important role in mechanical
digestion.
 The arrangement of teeth in mouth cavity is called dentition.
 A normal adult mouth has 32 teeth.
 Teeth are held firmly in the bone of the jaw.
 They are used for chewing to increase the surface area of the food so that it can be
exposed to saliva and other digestive juices and broken down more quickly.
 There are different types of teeth with different functions:
 Incisors [total 8] – are chisel-shaped and sharp for biting and cutting.
 Canines[4 total] – are sharp and pointed for tearing, holding and biting
 Premolars[8 total] – are larger and flat surfaces with ridges for crushing and tearing.
 Molars [12 total]– are flat and large for grinding and crushing.
 Four types of teeth and their function
Tooth Number Feature Function
Incisors Upper - 4 Knife like sharp edge Biting and cutting
Lower – 4 8

Canines Upper - 2 Pointed tip Tearing of food

Lower – 2 4

Premolars Upper - 4 Rough surface Chewing, Crushing,

Lower – 4 8 and Grinding

Molars Upper - 6 Broader rough surface Chewing, Crushing,

Lower – 6 12 and Grinding
[The molars are the
largest of the teeth.
They have a large flat
biting surface].
 The structure of human teeth
The teeth are made up of four different types of material: the enamel, dentin, pulp, and
cementum.
 Enamel – outer layer of the tooth that is hard.
 Dentine – are soft and forms a significant amount of the tooth
 Pulp – soft tissue with blood vessels and nerves.
 Cement – similar to bone around tooth to hold it in place
 Bone – the tooth is rooted here and held in place
 Gum – soft tissue surrounding the tissue and bone to protect them
 TOOTH DECAY
Bacteria are present on the surface of our teeth. Food deposits and bacteria form a layer called
plaque. Bacteria on the plaque feed on sugars, producing acid. This acid dissolves enamel,
forming a hole.
Dentine underneath the enamel is softer – it dissolves more rapidly.
If the hole reaches the pulp cavity, bacterial infection can get to the nerve. This results in
toothache and possibly, an abscess (an infection in the jaw).
Tooth decay can be prevented by:
Avoid sugary food[foods with a high sugar content] so that bacteria cannot make acid.
using toothpaste and drinking water containing fluoride.
Use floss to remove trapped food
regular, effective brushing to prevent the build-up of plaque (a sticky layer on the teeth).
Regular visits to a dentist ensures that any signs of gum disease or tooth decay can be dealt
with promptly
Fluoride compounds may be added to toothpaste and public water supplies. Fluoride reduces
tooth decay by:
reducing the ability of bacteria on plaque to produce acid
helping to replace calcium ions and phosphate ions lost by tooth enamel because of acid attack.
 Muscular churning
The stomach lining contains muscles which
State how food is moved contract to physically squeeze and mix the
through alimentary canal. food with the strong digestive juices that
Peristalsis: Peristalsis moves food are present.
through the digestive tract with ◦ Also known as "stomach churning“.
alternating waves of muscle contraction Food is digested within the stomach for
and relaxation. several hours.
The action of bile
Liver secretes a fluid called bile.
It is stored in the gall bladder and is sent to the duodenum through the bile duct.
Bile contains bile salts which interact with fat globules and divide them into smaller droplets
(emulsification)
The emulsification of fats increases the total surface area available for enzyme activity (lipase)
Functions of bile:
1. Bile is alkaline and can neutralise acid added to food in stomach. This provides best pH for
enzymes in small intestine to work.
2. Bile emulsifies fat by breaking down large globules of fat into tiny droplets. This gives a larger
surface area for the Lipase enzymes to act.
Chemical digestion - Enzymes in Digestion
Why have enzymes in digestion?
To break down larger chains into smaller molecules so they can be absorbed into the blood
stream.
There are 3 types of enzymes in digestion:
protease;
amylase;
lipase;

Digestion of Starch -
Carbohydrase/Amylases
Amylases are produced in the salivary glands
(mouth) and the pancreas (secreted into
the duodenum)
Amylases digest starch into maltose (a
disaccharide)
Maltose is digested by the
enzyme maltase into glucose on the
membranes of the epithelium lining of the
small intestine.
Digestion of Protein - Proteases
Proteases are a group of enzymes that
break down proteins into amino acids in
the stomach and small intestine.
Pepsin is an enzyme produced in
the stomach which breaks down proteins
into smaller polypeptide chains.
Trypsin is produced made in
the pancreas and small intestine break the
peptides into amino acids

Hydrochloric Acid
Hydrochloric acid kills bacteria in food
and gives an acid pH for enzymes to work
in the stomach

Digestion of Lipid – Lipases

Lipase breaks down lipids into fatty acids
and glycerol.
Lipase enzymes are produced in
the pancreas and digestion of fat occurs in
the small intestine [duodenum].
List the steps involved in the digestion of.... Carbohydrate, Protein & Fats
Food Type Region of gut Digestive Juice Enzymes Product pH level

Starch Mouth Saliva from Salivary Salivary amylase Maltose Alkaline [pH 7.5]
gland environment for
amylase
Small Pancreatic juice pancreatic amylase Neutralises chyme.
intestine from Pancreas glucose Alkaline environment
[duodenum] for amylase

Protein Stomach Gastric juice from Pepsin [protease] Polypeptides(chains Acidic [pH 2]
glands in the wall of of amino acids) environment for
stomach pepsin; kills bacteria
Small Pancreatic juice trypsin [protease] Peptides(two or Neutralises chyme.
intestine from Pancreas more amino acids) Alkaline environment
[duodenum for trypsin
Fats Bile from Emulsifies fats –
liver [stored converts globules to
in the gall smaller droplets.
bladder]
Emulsified Small Pancreatic juice Lipase Fatty acid & Glycerol Neutralises chyme.
fats intestine from Pancreas Alkaline environment
[duodenum] for lipase
 Absorption
 Absorption is defined as the movement
of small food molecules and ions
through the wall of the intestine into
the blood. It can either be done through
diffusion or active transport.
 The inner walls of the small intestine
have finger-like structures called villi
which greatly increases the surface area
of absorption.
Structure of a villus
 Villi give a very large surface area for
faster diffusion of food molecules.
 Blood vessels/blood capillaries -
absorbs glucose and amino acids by
diffusion
 Lacteal - absorbs fatty acids and
glycerol
 Epithelial lining - one cell thick to
increase diffusion rate and ensures that
there is only a short distance for
absorption.
Assimilation
The products of digestion are carried around the body in the blood. From the blood, cells
absorb and use glucose, fats and amino acids. This uptake and use of food is called
assimilation.
1. Glucose - respiration
2. Fats - source of energy for cell metabolism, cell membranes and other cell structures.
3. Amino acids - built up enzymes,into proteins, plasma proteins.

Egestion
The semi-solid waste is called the faeces. The process of passing out the faeces is called
egestion.

Diarrhoea [Diarrhea] Causes and Treatment

 Diarrhoea is the loss of watery faeces from the anus

 Diarrhoea can cause the loss of significant amounts of water and ions from the body.
 It can be effectively treated by oral rehydration therapy
 This is a drink with a small amount of salt and sugar dissolved in it
 There are many causes of diarrhoea, one of which is infection with Vibrio cholerae
bacteria, which causes the disease cholera
 PREBIOTIC VS PROBIOTIC
 Probiotics: Probiotics are beneficial bacteria. These are live bacteria found in
certain foods or supplements. They can provide numerous health benefits.
 Prebiotics: Prebiotics are food for these bacteria. These substances come from
types of carbs (mostly fiber) that humans can’t digest.
 TO WRITE

Amazing Facts
 HOW LONG ARE YOUR INTESTINES? At least 25 feet in an adult. Be glad you're
not a full-grown horse -- their coiled-up intestines are 89 feet long!
 Food drying up and hanging out in the large intestine can last 18 hours to 2 days!
 In your lifetime, your digestive system may handle about 50 tons!!
 The average person produces 2 pints of saliva every day. ...
 The muscles in your esophagus act like a giant wave. ...
 The stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks to protect itself,
while it produces half a gallon of hydrochloric acid each day.
 Enzymes in your digestive system are what separate food into the different
nutrients that your body needs.
 Your liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, and bile is the only way your body
can get rid of excess cholesterol.