6.1: Types of Nutrients Animation Video
Transcript:
Types of Nutrients
Food is the fuel that powers people’s bodies. Food contains nutrients, which are chemical substances that give your body what it needs to grow and function properly. There are six general types of nutrients. These include carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Carbohydrates are a major source of energy for the body. Your body needs this energy to perform daily activities such as riding a bike or playing basketball. Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products. Carbohydrates are either simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars, like fruit and milk. Complex carbohydrates are starches, such as those found in cereal, rice, pasta, potatoes, and corn.
Dietary fiber is a tough complex carbohydrate that the body is unable to digest. Rich sources of dietary fiber include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. Fiber helps lower cholesterol, too much of which can cause heart disease or a stroke.
The body uses protein to build and maintain all of its cells and tissues. Protein helps build muscle, make strong bones, and keep skin, hair, and nails healthy. Proteins are made of smaller units called amino acids. The body produces some of these amino acids, called nonessential amino acids. Other amino acids, called essential amino acids, are only found in particular foods. Some foods contain some, but not all essential amino acids, including beans, peas, nuts and seeds, and some fruits and vegetables. These are called incomplete proteins.
The majority of proteins that contain all nine essential amino acids are found in animal-based foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish, milk, or cheese. These are complete proteins. A few sources of complete proteins are found in plant-based foods, including quinoa, buckwheat, and whole soy. Because complete proteins are mostly found in animal-based foods, people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet should include a wide variety of foods in their diets to provide their bodies with all nine essential amino acids every day.
Like carbohydrates, fats provide a valuable source of energy for the body. Fatty acids are a particularly important energy source for muscles. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature and are found in foods like meat and dairy products.
Unsaturated fats are found in plant-based foods such as nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, peanut butter, or olives. These fats are liquid at room temperature.
Trans fats used to be found in processed foods, such as packaged cookies, crackers, and chips. In 2015, the FDA declared that trans fats were not generally recognized as safe. Food companies now must remove artificial trans fats from their food products.
The body stores excess dietary fats as body fat. Body fat is important to your physical health. Fat acts as a cushion to protect internal organs and provides a layer of insulation to help maintain body temperature.
Vitamins are substances that come from plants or animals that are necessary for normal growth and development. Your body requires 13 different vitamins, each of which has different functions in your body. Your body only requires a very small amount of vitamins. Eating a balanced diet that contains a variety of foods can easily provide you with the vitamins you need.
Some examples are Vitamin C, which is found in citrus fruits, broccoli, or spinach, and promotes healing in the body; Vitamin D, found in fish, egg yolks, cereals, and sunlight, and helps absorb calcium, regulates cell growth, and reduces inflammation; and Vitamin B6, which helps the body develop the skin and nerves, and can be found in avocados, bananas, meats, nuts, and whole grains.
Minerals are inorganic elements found in the soil and water. You can absorb minerals from the water you drink, or from plant or animal sources that have absorbed the minerals. Two very important minerals are iron and calcium. Iron helps blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, and calcium helps the body build bones and teeth. Iron can be found in leafy vegetables, beans, fish, eggs, whole grains, and red meat.
Calcium can be found in dairy products, eggs, canned salmon or sardines, leafy vegetables, nuts, or tofu.
The final type of nutrient is water. Water is necessary for the body to work properly and be healthy. People can live up to months at a time without taking in the other types of nutrients, but can survive only a few days without water.
Your body loses water every day through urination and sweat. For this reason, if you do not replace this by drinking more water, you can become dehydrated. Individuals should drink 8 1/2 to 11 1/2 cups of fluids per day to stay hydrated.
In particular, you should drink water when you are outside in hot weather for an extended period of time or are engaging in physical activity.
Your body needs nutrients in order to maintain its growth and functions. A healthful diet includes proper amounts of the six general types of nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.