Nutrition Concepts and Controversies
� What are phytochemicals? - (correct Answer) - compounds in plant-derived foods
(phyto means "plant")
� Recognize the 5 characteristics of a healthy diet and give suggestions using
these - (correct Answer) - 1. Adequacy - get enough of essential nutrients as well
as fiber and energy.
2. Balance - contains a good proportion of nutrients. No overemphasis of a food
group.
3. Calorie Control - choose foods to maintain ideal body weight.
4. Moderation - eat any food in reasonable-size portions.
5. Variety - eat different types of food to prevent boredom and to ensure dietary
adequacy.
� Why is fiber important in the human diet? - (correct Answer) - a certain amount
of fiber in foods contributes to the health of the digestive system, but too much
fiber leads to nutrient losses.
� Define nutrient density - (correct Answer) - a measure of nutrients provided per
calorie of food. A nutrient-dense food provides vitamins, minerals, and other
beneficial substances with relatively few calories.
� What is the AMDR for carbohydrate, protein, and fat? - (correct Answer) - 45 to
65 percent of calories from carbohydrate.
20 to 35 percent of calories from fat.
10 to 35 percent of calories from protein.
� List the features of the USDA MyPlate - (correct Answer) - Fruits, Grains,
Protein, Diary, Vegetable
� Define monosodium glutamate. - (correct Answer) - MSG, the sodium salt of the
amino acid glutamic acid, is used widely in restaurants, especially Asian
restaurants. In addition to enhancing other flavors, MSG itself presents a basic
taste (termed umami) independent of the well-known sweet, salty, bitter, and sour
tastes
� Define lactose intolerance - (correct Answer) - impaired ability to digest
lactose due to reduced amounts of the enzyme lactase
� Define the term "nutrient" and be able to list the six major nutrients - (correct
Answer) - a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the
maintenance of life.
Water
Carbohydrate
Fat
Protein
Vitamins
Minerals
� List the features of diabetes - (correct Answer) - metabolic diseases
characterized by elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin,
which impair a person's ability to regulate blood glucose.
� List the features of high-fiber foods. - (correct Answer) - High fiber 5 g or
more per serving. (Foods making high-fiber claims must fit the definition of low
fat, or the level of total fat must appear next to the high-fiber claim.)
High-fiber foods may play a role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
High-fiber foods can modulate blood glucose and insulin levels, thus helping to
prevent medical complications.
� What is the function of mucus in the stomach? - (correct Answer) - Acid poses no
problem to my healthy stomach, whose walls are coated with thick mucus to protect
them
� Describe the normal pH of the stomach? - (correct Answer) - pH 1.5
� What is the function of bile? - (correct Answer) - a cholesterol-containing
digestive fluid made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released into the
small intestine when needed. It emulsifies fats and oils to ready them for
enzymatic digestion
� Define heartburn and indigestion. - (correct Answer) - a burning sensation in the
, chest (in the area of the heart) caused by backflow of stomach acid into the
esophagus.
Irritation of the diaphragm
� Define the different types of sugars - (correct Answer) - Monosaccharides The
three monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose
Disaccharides are lactose, maltose, and sucrose.
� What is the primary function of insulin? - (correct Answer) - a hormone from the
pancreas that helps glucose enter cells from the blood
� Define diabetes. - (correct Answer) - metabolic diseases characterized by
elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin, which impair a
person's ability to regulate blood glucose.
� What is the chief reason people choose the foods they eat? - (correct Answer) -
Taste
� Explain how RDA, AI, DV, and EAR serve different functions in describing nutrient
values and discuss how each is used. - (correct Answer) - RDA and AI�Recommended
Nutrient Intakes
a. Both are nutrient goals
b. RDA - Recommended Dietary Allowances are based on solid experimental evidence.
c. AI - Adequate Intake values are set up if there is not enough information about
a nutrient to establish an RDA value for that nutrient.
2. EAR�Nutrition Research and Policy - The EAR values form the scientific basis
from which the RDA values are derived.
� Describe how foods are grouped in the USDA Food Guide/MyPlate . - (correct
Answer) -
� Describe the concepts of nutrient density and discretionary calorie allowance,
and identify how each may be used in diet planning. - (correct Answer) - a measure
of nutrients provided per calorie of food. A nutrient-dense food provides vitamins,
minerals, and other beneficial substances with relatively few calories.
~can be useful to those who must limit calorie intakes to prevent excessive weight
gain. a person needing 2,000 calories of energy in a day to maintain weight may
need only 1,700 calories or so of the most nutrient-dense foods to supply the
nutrients required for the day.
� Define the terms "mechanical digestion" and "chemical digestion" and point out
where these processes occur along the digestive tract. - (correct Answer) - The job
of mechanical digestion begins in the mouth, where large, solid food pieces such as
bites of meat are torn into shreds that can be swallowed without choking. Chewing
also adds water in the form of saliva to soften rough or sharp foods, such as fried
tortilla chips, to prevent them from tearing the esophagus. Saliva also moistens
and coats each bite of food, making it slippery so that it can pass easily down the
esophagus.
Digestive juices contain enzymes that break down nutrients into their component
parts. The digestive organs that release digestive juices are the salivary glands,
the stomach, the pancreas, the liver, and the small intestine.
� Trace the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrate, fat, and protein from the
mouth to the colon. - (correct Answer) - Meanwhile, as the pancreatic and
intestinal enzymes act on the chemical bonds that hold the large nutrients
together, smaller and smaller pieces are released into the intestinal fluids. The
cells of the intestinal wall also hold some digestive enzymes on their surfaces;
these enzymes perform last-minute breakdown reactions required before nutrients can
be absorbed. Finally, the digestive process releases pieces small enough for the
cells to absorb and use. Digestion by human enzymes and absorption of carbohydrate,
fat, and protein are essentially complete by the time the intestinal contents enter
the colon. Water, fiber, and some minerals, however, remain in the tract.
� Explain how nutrients are transported and stored in the body. - (correct Answer)
- Nutrients move through a network of capillaries that verve among the liver cells.
� What are phytochemicals? - (correct Answer) - compounds in plant-derived foods
(phyto means "plant")
� Recognize the 5 characteristics of a healthy diet and give suggestions using
these - (correct Answer) - 1. Adequacy - get enough of essential nutrients as well
as fiber and energy.
2. Balance - contains a good proportion of nutrients. No overemphasis of a food
group.
3. Calorie Control - choose foods to maintain ideal body weight.
4. Moderation - eat any food in reasonable-size portions.
5. Variety - eat different types of food to prevent boredom and to ensure dietary
adequacy.
� Why is fiber important in the human diet? - (correct Answer) - a certain amount
of fiber in foods contributes to the health of the digestive system, but too much
fiber leads to nutrient losses.
� Define nutrient density - (correct Answer) - a measure of nutrients provided per
calorie of food. A nutrient-dense food provides vitamins, minerals, and other
beneficial substances with relatively few calories.
� What is the AMDR for carbohydrate, protein, and fat? - (correct Answer) - 45 to
65 percent of calories from carbohydrate.
20 to 35 percent of calories from fat.
10 to 35 percent of calories from protein.
� List the features of the USDA MyPlate - (correct Answer) - Fruits, Grains,
Protein, Diary, Vegetable
� Define monosodium glutamate. - (correct Answer) - MSG, the sodium salt of the
amino acid glutamic acid, is used widely in restaurants, especially Asian
restaurants. In addition to enhancing other flavors, MSG itself presents a basic
taste (termed umami) independent of the well-known sweet, salty, bitter, and sour
tastes
� Define lactose intolerance - (correct Answer) - impaired ability to digest
lactose due to reduced amounts of the enzyme lactase
� Define the term "nutrient" and be able to list the six major nutrients - (correct
Answer) - a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the
maintenance of life.
Water
Carbohydrate
Fat
Protein
Vitamins
Minerals
� List the features of diabetes - (correct Answer) - metabolic diseases
characterized by elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin,
which impair a person's ability to regulate blood glucose.
� List the features of high-fiber foods. - (correct Answer) - High fiber 5 g or
more per serving. (Foods making high-fiber claims must fit the definition of low
fat, or the level of total fat must appear next to the high-fiber claim.)
High-fiber foods may play a role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
High-fiber foods can modulate blood glucose and insulin levels, thus helping to
prevent medical complications.
� What is the function of mucus in the stomach? - (correct Answer) - Acid poses no
problem to my healthy stomach, whose walls are coated with thick mucus to protect
them
� Describe the normal pH of the stomach? - (correct Answer) - pH 1.5
� What is the function of bile? - (correct Answer) - a cholesterol-containing
digestive fluid made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released into the
small intestine when needed. It emulsifies fats and oils to ready them for
enzymatic digestion
� Define heartburn and indigestion. - (correct Answer) - a burning sensation in the
, chest (in the area of the heart) caused by backflow of stomach acid into the
esophagus.
Irritation of the diaphragm
� Define the different types of sugars - (correct Answer) - Monosaccharides The
three monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose
Disaccharides are lactose, maltose, and sucrose.
� What is the primary function of insulin? - (correct Answer) - a hormone from the
pancreas that helps glucose enter cells from the blood
� Define diabetes. - (correct Answer) - metabolic diseases characterized by
elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin, which impair a
person's ability to regulate blood glucose.
� What is the chief reason people choose the foods they eat? - (correct Answer) -
Taste
� Explain how RDA, AI, DV, and EAR serve different functions in describing nutrient
values and discuss how each is used. - (correct Answer) - RDA and AI�Recommended
Nutrient Intakes
a. Both are nutrient goals
b. RDA - Recommended Dietary Allowances are based on solid experimental evidence.
c. AI - Adequate Intake values are set up if there is not enough information about
a nutrient to establish an RDA value for that nutrient.
2. EAR�Nutrition Research and Policy - The EAR values form the scientific basis
from which the RDA values are derived.
� Describe how foods are grouped in the USDA Food Guide/MyPlate . - (correct
Answer) -
� Describe the concepts of nutrient density and discretionary calorie allowance,
and identify how each may be used in diet planning. - (correct Answer) - a measure
of nutrients provided per calorie of food. A nutrient-dense food provides vitamins,
minerals, and other beneficial substances with relatively few calories.
~can be useful to those who must limit calorie intakes to prevent excessive weight
gain. a person needing 2,000 calories of energy in a day to maintain weight may
need only 1,700 calories or so of the most nutrient-dense foods to supply the
nutrients required for the day.
� Define the terms "mechanical digestion" and "chemical digestion" and point out
where these processes occur along the digestive tract. - (correct Answer) - The job
of mechanical digestion begins in the mouth, where large, solid food pieces such as
bites of meat are torn into shreds that can be swallowed without choking. Chewing
also adds water in the form of saliva to soften rough or sharp foods, such as fried
tortilla chips, to prevent them from tearing the esophagus. Saliva also moistens
and coats each bite of food, making it slippery so that it can pass easily down the
esophagus.
Digestive juices contain enzymes that break down nutrients into their component
parts. The digestive organs that release digestive juices are the salivary glands,
the stomach, the pancreas, the liver, and the small intestine.
� Trace the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrate, fat, and protein from the
mouth to the colon. - (correct Answer) - Meanwhile, as the pancreatic and
intestinal enzymes act on the chemical bonds that hold the large nutrients
together, smaller and smaller pieces are released into the intestinal fluids. The
cells of the intestinal wall also hold some digestive enzymes on their surfaces;
these enzymes perform last-minute breakdown reactions required before nutrients can
be absorbed. Finally, the digestive process releases pieces small enough for the
cells to absorb and use. Digestion by human enzymes and absorption of carbohydrate,
fat, and protein are essentially complete by the time the intestinal contents enter
the colon. Water, fiber, and some minerals, however, remain in the tract.
� Explain how nutrients are transported and stored in the body. - (correct Answer)
- Nutrients move through a network of capillaries that verve among the liver cells.
