Diet and Nutrition

• Diet: sum total of the food and drink you consume, in calories.
• Nutrition: the study of nutrients in food and how the body uses them.
• 55-60% of a women’s diet should be carbohydrates
• 15-20% of a women’s diet should be protein
• 25-30% of a women’s diet should be fats.
• Fats are used for energy.
• Fats are used for insulation
• Fats are used for cell membrane function
• Fats are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids
• Fats are stored under the skin
• Fats are excellent for low intensity exercise
• Fats are slow at digesting but energy rich
• Proteins help growth and repair
• Proteins aid the adaptation process
• Proteins provide a very small quantity of energy
• Proteins are broken down into amino acids
• Proteins are delivered to ribosomes
• Proteins can form muscle, tissue, enzymes, haemoglobin and hormones.
• Carbs are our main energy source
• Carbs are stored as glycogen
• Carbs are stored in the liver and muscles.
• Carbs are processed into sugar (glucose).
• Micronutrients: found in unprocessed foods and help to provide the building blocks to cell regeneration and catalysts.
• Minerals: effective nerve transmission, breakdown of food, creation of enzymes which are the catalysts for metabolic function and bone and teeth development.
• Mineral example: phosphorus helps with muscle contraction
• Vitamin example: B12 helps with energy release
• Fibre helps with digestion
• Water maintains hydration, cell function and blood plasma.
• Simple carbohydrates contain 1 or 2 sugars stored as glucose ion in blood.
• Complex carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver or muscle.
• Complex carbs would be beans, lentils and potato
• Simpel carbs would be fructose (in fruit), galactose (in milk), sucrose (table salt) and lactose (in dairy).
• Protein is broken down into amino acids
• 12 amino acids are created naturally, 9 are required from our diet (essential)
• Fats help the body absorb certain vitamins
• Unsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature e.g. olive oil, fish oils and nuts.
• Unsaturated fats are the healthier form of fats
• Saturated fats are slurced from animals often e.g. meat, dairy, butter but some plant foods or biscuits, cakes and confectionary
• Micronutrients: found in unprocessed foods and help to provide the building blocks to cell regeneration
• Micronutrients consist of vitamins and minerals