Nutrients

• Nutrients defn: Nutrients are chemical compounds in foods that are needed for energy and growth, and for the maintenance, growth and replacement of the body’s cells.
• Non-nutrients defn: sometimes called biologically active substances, means substances other than nutrients, with which health effects are associated. Thousands of non-nutrients have been identifies and classifies under categories that include phytoestrogens, antioxidants and probiotics. Non-nutrients act in the body in a variety of ways that may have beneficial effects on health. 
• Complete protein: These proteins in animals foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk contain all nine essential amino acids and are called complete proteins. Eg, soybeans, meat, poultry, and cheese. 
• incomplete protein: a protein that contains one or more essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the body
• Fat defn: fat is the general term used for all lipids including;

  • fats and oils
  • Phospholipids
  • Sterols such as cholesterol and phytosterol/
• Saturated fats:

  • the nature of a fat depends upon the types of fatty acids which make up the triglycerides.
  • All fats contain both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids but are usually describes as ‘saturated’ or ‘unsaturated’ according to the proportions of fatty acids present
• Unsaturated fats:

  • most unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, are usually of vegetable origin and commonly known as oil.
  • Vegetables and fish oils can be ‘hardened’ by a process which adds hydrogen atoms to some of the double bonds in the unsaturated fatty acids. This process is known as ‘hydrogenation.’