NUTRIONAL ASPECTS OF CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEINS AND FATS

• Nutrition – use of food for maintaining the body in an optimum, functional state, concerned with biochemical mechanisms
(digestion, absorption, transport and metabolism), Nutritional status / nutriture – result of consumption and utilization of nutrients
• Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI, formerly RDA) – level of intake of a specific nutrient considered adequate for health plus
reserves, based on current scientific knowledge
• Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) – least amount of nutrient to prevent manifestations of deficiency, no extras or reserves
• Essential Nutrients – substances that the body cannot synthesize in sufficient amounts, must be taken in via diet

CARBOHYDRATES
• Energy source, major source of food, least expensive, most easily obtained, most readily digested fuel, 40-80% total energy
intake, 74% for Filipinos, the simpler the sugar, the sweeter
• 4kcal/g, 300g in adult body, in blood, liver and muscles as glycogen
• Functions: energy, protein-sparing, fat regulation, dietary fiber, non-essential AA synthesis, part of tissues, detoxification (glucuronic
acid)
• Bananas become sweeter, corn becomes starchy (not sweet)

Forms
Monosaccharides
Glucose Dextrose, fruits, sweet corn, honey
Fructose Fruit sugar, sweetest sugar, from starch, sweeteners
Galactose Not found in nature, from lactose (milk sugar) via hydrolysis
Disaccharides
Sucrose Table sugar, sugar cane, maple, fruit, veggies, honey
Lactose Milk sugar, none in plants, only in lactating mammary glands, less soluble, 1/6 as sweet as glucose
Maltose Malt sugar, created via digestion, enzymes convert cereal grain sprouts into maltose
Polyol derivatives of sucrose, mannose and xylose, some retain sweetness, absorbed more slowly and requires
Alcohol sugars
fat, inhibits rapid ↑ blood glucose
Sorbitol Fruits, sweetness and energy value similar to glucose, absorbed eventually
Mannitol Fruit, poorly digested, half of calories as glucose
Xylitol Absorbed 1/5 as fast as glucose, sugarless chewing gums, unusable for cariogenic bacteria
Polysaccharides Less soluble, more stable
Starch Plants only, amylase (long, straight) or amylopectin (branched) proportion determines starch nature
Dextrins Hydrolysis of starch, ↓ size = ↑ sweetness and solubility, corn syrup
Storage form of CHO, primary and most readily available source of glucose, branching chains of glucose, 340 g
Glycogen
in muscle and liver, oysters, destroyed by heat

Dietary Fiber
• Nonstarch polysaccharides, undigestible, roughage or bulk, holds water, maintains bowel regularity
Soluble intracellular gel forming in plants, gums, pectins, mucilage, holds water, substrate for fermentation
Cellulose plants only, fruit and veggie pulp, skins, stalks, leaves,seed covering
Hemi- less glucose than cellulose, synthetic fibers (methyl and carboxymethyl cellulose) for laxatives and low-calorie
cellulose foods
Lignin woody, stems and seeds, phenylpropl alcohol and acid polymer
Insoluble plant cellwall, cellulose, lignin; regulates sugar absorption, ↓ GIT transit time, holds water, ↓ cholesterol
Gums pectin-like, galactose and other polysaccharides, plant secretions, seeds
Pectin non-cellulose polysaccharides, derivative of galactose, absorbs water, forms a gel, apples, citrus
• Algal polysaccharides – seaweed and algae, carageenan as thickening agent
• Importance: prevents constipation, ↑ fecal bulking, ↓ colon cancer; fermentation  SCFA  ↓ cholesterol synthesis; hypoglycemic
• RNI = 20-25 g dietary fiber, excess may cause ion malabsorption

Sugar Substitutes
Aspartame Equal, Nutrasweet, nutritive, Asp+Phe, metabolized into methanol, 200x as sweet as sucrose
Saccharin Non-nutritive, 350x as sweet as sucrose
Acefsulfame K Oxathizinone, non-nutritive, 200x as sweet as sucrose
Sucralose Disaccharide, Cl groups, Splenda

Alcohol
• Ethanol, metabolized @ 0.1g/kg BW/hr, has rice and fat equivalents
• Energy: 1 mL = 5.6 kcal, 1g =7.1 kcal
PROTEINS
• 16% nitrogen, 1g N = 6.25g CHON
o Indispensable AA – body synthesis inadequate
 Totally – Lys, Thr  Carbon skel – His, Ile, Leu, Met, Phe  Acquired – Arg, Cys, Tyr
o Dispensable – made in the body sufficiently; Glu, Asp, Ala, His
o Conditionally Dispensable – dependent on clinical condition, Cys, Tyr
• Functions: build tissue, energy, enzymes, hormones, fluids, secretions, antibodies, osmotic control, acid-base balance, transport
• Sources: animal (egg, poultry, fish, milk, seafood) and plants (legumes, rice, bread, cereals)
• RNI = 1.14g/kg DBW/day; 67g/day males, 58g/day females, 10-15% TCA or TEE
o Toddlers = 2.g/kg DBW/day, pre-schoolers 2.15, adolescents 1.26-1.59; add 6g/day if pregnant or lactating
• Nitrogen balance – total N equilibrium; N consumed = N excreted; + = intake exceeds excretion
• Protein Quality
o PER (Protein Efficiency Ratio) – weight gain divided by CHON intake; 2.5 = high quality
o AAS (Amino Acid Score) – mg IDAA test protein / mg IDAA reference; reference = 100; limiting AA (lysine) lowest score
o BV (Biological Value) – fraction of absorbed N retained; animals > plants; complementarity, 2/3 animal + 1/3 plant
o NPU (Net Protein Utilization) – BV * digestibility (percentage of ingested nitrogen absorbed, plants > animals)

Deficiency and Excess

• Kwashiorkor – ↓ CHON, excess calories
• Excess – kidney overloading, fluid imbalance (300g water = metabolize 100g CHON)

LIPIDS
• Functions: energy source (9kcal/g), protein sparing, vitamin vehicles, fatty acid supplier, membrane and myelin component, flavor,
eicosanoid precursor, insulator, anti-atheromatous, protection
• Sources
o Visible – butter, margarine, oils o Neglibile – veggies, fruits except olives and
o Invisible – dessert, egg yolk avocados (MUFA)
• Classification: most natural fats are 98-99% TAGs, 1-2% MAGs, DAGs, FFA, phospholipids, etc
Neutral MAG, DAG, TAG (esters of FA + glycerol)
Simple Esters of FA w/
Waxes, sterol esters, non-sterol esters –vitamin A and D esters)
high MW alcohols
FA+phosphoric acid+nitrogenous base; lecithins, cephalins, sphingomyelins, 2nd largest lipid
component of body, affinity for water- & fat-soluble substances  effective structural materials
Phospholipids
Lecithin: functions in transport and utilization of FA through the enzyme lecithin-cholesterol
Compoun acytransferase, most widely distributed, liver, egg yolk, soybean
d Glycolipids Compounds of Fa + CHO + nitrogenous base – cerebrosides, gangliosides
Sulfolipids Sulfur-containing lipids; lipoproteins; lipids + proteins (apolipoproteins)
lipopolysaccharide
Polysaccharide-containing lipids
s
FA and derivatives s.a prostaglandins
contain –OH groups of the remaining alcohol portion of glycerol = water-soluble
MAG and DAG
Derived -possess emulsifying properties in both digestion and commercial processing
Sterols Chole-, ergo-, steroid hormones, vitamin D, bile salts
Miscellaneous Carotenoids, vitamins A, E, K

Fatty Acids
Fatty Acids Animal / Plant (%) Notes
Saturated 40-60 / 10-20 Animal sources meat, eggs, milk
Unsaturated 30-50 / 80-90
Mono-unsaturated 30-50 / see above Olive oil, peanuts, almonds
Poly-unsaturated Trace / see above Veggie oils, coconut and palm oil
• Coconut oil – SFA: 50-57% lauric acid (MCFA), absorbed directly, readily utilized
• Cis-FA hydrogenation  trans-FA, fried foods, processed foods
• Essential Fatty Acids / PUFAs – precursors of PG, TX, PC; fat transport,and metab, immune function, cell membranes
1. Omega-6 (18:2) / linoleic and arachidonic acids – linoleic only absolute essential FA; corn and safflower oil
o Functions: capillary and cell membrane strengthening, cholesterol esters, ↓ serum cholesterol (↓ LDL & HDL), blood
clotting, arachidonic precursor
 o RNI = 1-2% TCA
2. Omega-3 (18:3) / linolenic acid – synthesizable from linoleic, eicsapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid derivates
o Plant leaves, few veggie oil, linseed, rapessed, soyberan, fish oils
o Functions: balances arachidonic acid action, ↑ chylomicron clearance, ↓ hepatic TAG and ApoB production

Deficiency and Excess

• Deficiency – poor growth, dermatitis, mental retardation, reproductive failure, ↓ PG
• Excess - ↑ PUFA = tumor dev’t, suppressed immune function
• RNI = PUFA = 3% total energy intake; 20-30% TCA = 1/3 SFA + 1/3 PUFA + 1/3 MUFA

Triacylglycerols
• Functions: major storage form, protein sparing, protection, insulation, transport and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
• MAG and DAG – OH groups = water-soluble, emulsifiers
• Cholesterol – in all animals, not in plants, essential structural component in membranes and nerves, intermediate of steroids, bile
acids, hormones; implicated in CV diseases (atherosclerosis, hypertension), liver can make 1-2 g/day
• Sources: animal foods, egg yolk, organ meats
• RNI = 300mg/day + dietary fiber