Nutrition Fundamentals Flashcards

Question 1

What is a nutrient, and why does the body need it?

Accepted Answer

A nutrient is a substance in food that the body uses for energy, growth, repair, or regulating body processes. Nutrients are needed in amounts that vary, and the body cannot make most of them on its own, so they must come from food or drink.

Question 2

What is the difference between essential and nonessential nutrients?

Accepted Answer

Essential nutrients are those the body cannot make in sufficient amounts, so they must be obtained from food or drink. Nonessential nutrients are those the body can produce on its own from other substances, so they are not required from the diet.

Question 3

What distinguishes macronutrients from micronutrients in terms of the amounts the body needs?

Accepted Answer

Macronutrients are nutrients the body needs in relatively large amounts, measured in grams. They include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and they supply energy as well as building material. Micronutrients are needed in much smaller amounts, measured in milligrams or micrograms, and include vitamins and minerals, which support many processes without supplying energy.

Question 4

What is a calorie in nutrition, and how is it used?

Accepted Answer

In nutrition, a calorie is a unit of energy, and the calories listed on food labels usually mean kilocalories. The energy in food is released when the body breaks down carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and alcohol during metabolism. Energy balance compares calories taken in from food and drink with calories the body uses.

Question 5

What is a serving size, and how does it differ from a portion?

Accepted Answer

A serving size is a standardized amount of food, listed on nutrition labels, used as a reference for reporting nutrient content. A portion is the amount of food a person actually chooses to eat at one time, which may be larger or smaller. Comparing the two helps people notice when they are eating more than the labeled reference amount.

Question 6

What does energy density mean, and why does it matter for everyday food choices?

Accepted Answer

Energy density is the number of calories a food provides for a given weight, often expressed as calories per gram. Foods with high energy density supply a lot of energy in a small volume, while foods with low energy density, including vegetables with high water content, provide fewer calories for the same weight.

Question 7

What does the term bioavailability mean when describing nutrients in foods?

Accepted Answer

Bioavailability describes the share of a nutrient in food or a supplement that the body can actually absorb and use. Two foods can contain the same amount of a nutrient yet deliver different amounts, because factors such as food structure and other foods eaten alongside affect absorption.

Question 8

What does metabolism mean in general nutrition terms?

Accepted Answer

Metabolism is the full set of chemical reactions by which the body breaks down nutrients to release energy and builds or repairs tissues using nutrients. It is often divided into catabolism, which breaks substances down, and anabolism, which builds them up.

Question 9

What are the main functions of carbohydrates in the diet?

Accepted Answer

Carbohydrates are the body's most readily available source of energy, and they supply glucose, which cells use for fuel. Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, and fiber. Starches and sugars provide about four calories per gram, while dietary fiber, which the body digests only partially, contributes less usable energy.

Question 10

What are proteins made of, and what are their main roles?

Accepted Answer

Proteins are chains of smaller units called amino acids, linked together in specific sequences. The body uses proteins to build and repair tissues, to make enzymes and some hormones, and to support immune function and transport of substances in the blood. Protein also supplies about four calories per gram.

Question 11

What are the main types of dietary fat, and how do they differ?

Accepted Answer

Dietary fats include saturated fats, unsaturated fats, and trans fats, and they all provide about nine calories per gram. Unsaturated fats, found in foods such as olive oil, nuts, and fish, are generally liquid at room temperature. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature, while trans fats are mostly made industrially.

Question 12

Why is dietary fiber important, and which foods contain it?

Accepted Answer

Dietary fiber is the part of plant foods that the human digestive system does not fully break down into absorbable sugars. It supports regular bowel function and can help moderate how quickly glucose enters the bloodstream. Fiber is found in whole grains, beans, lentils, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

Question 13

Why does fat provide more energy per gram than carbohydrate or protein?

Accepted Answer

Fat provides about nine calories per gram, compared with about four calories per gram for carbohydrate and protein. The difference arises from its chemical structure, since fat molecules have a higher proportion of carbon and hydrogen relative to oxygen, which allows them to store more energy per unit of weight.

Question 14

Which fatty acids are considered essential, and why must they come from food?

Accepted Answer

Linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are considered essential fatty acids because the body cannot make them, so they must come from the diet. They serve as components of cell membranes and as starting points for other fatty acids that the body builds. Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish are common sources.

Question 15

What does it mean that a diet is balanced across macronutrients?

Accepted Answer

A diet is described as balanced across macronutrients when it provides carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in proportions that meet energy needs and supply essential nutrients without excess from any one source. No single ratio suits everyone, because needs depend on factors such as age, body size, and physical activity.

Question 16

How do simple sugars and starches differ in their chemical structure?

Accepted Answer

Simple sugars are small carbohydrate molecules, such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose, that the body can absorb quickly. Starches are long chains of glucose units that must be broken down before the body can use the glucose. Both provide energy, but the difference in size affects how rapidly they are digested.

Question 17

What is the difference between fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins in the body?

Accepted Answer

Fat-soluble vitamins, which are vitamins A, D, E, and K, dissolve in fat and are stored in body fat and the liver to a meaningful degree. Water-soluble vitamins, which include the B vitamins and vitamin C, dissolve in water and are generally not stored in large amounts, so regular intake matters.

Question 18

What role does vitamin C play in the body?

Accepted Answer

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is needed to form collagen, a protein that supports skin, bones, and connective tissue. It also acts as an antioxidant, helping protect cells from damage caused by reactive molecules, and it helps the body absorb iron from plant foods. Citrus fruits, peppers, and berries are good sources.

Question 19

Why do minerals matter in the diet, and how do they differ from vitamins?

Accepted Answer

Minerals are inorganic elements, such as calcium, iron, and potassium, that the body cannot make, so they must come from food. Unlike many vitamins, they are not destroyed by heat or light, though they can be lost in cooking water. They support processes such as bone structure, fluid balance, nerve signaling, and oxygen transport.

Question 20

What is the main role of water in the body?

Accepted Answer

Water is the main component of body fluids and serves as the medium in which most chemical reactions take place. It helps transport nutrients and waste products, regulates body temperature through sweating and other processes, and cushions joints and tissues. Water is obtained from drinks and foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Question 21

What is a trace mineral, and how does it differ from a major mineral?

Accepted Answer

Major minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium, are needed in relatively larger amounts. Trace minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, and selenium, are needed in much smaller amounts. Both categories are essential, and the difference refers only to the quantity the body requires, not to importance.

Question 22

What does a percent Daily Value on a nutrition label tell a reader?

Accepted Answer

A percent Daily Value shows how much one serving of food contributes to the reference amount of a nutrient for a typical adult. The figure helps people compare foods within the same category, but it does not reflect any one person's needs, which vary with age, sex, body size, and activity.

Question 23

What is a provitamin, and what is an example from food?

Accepted Answer

A provitamin is a compound that the body can convert into an active vitamin. Beta-carotene, found in orange and dark green vegetables, is a common example because the body converts it into vitamin A as needed. Because conversion varies between individuals and foods, the usable vitamin A from a serving can differ from its beta-carotene content. Provitamins are a useful reminder that nutrients in food are not always present in their final active form.

Question 24

Which common food components can increase or decrease how well the body absorbs iron?

Accepted Answer

Vitamin C, found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, can increase the absorption of non-heme iron from plant foods when eaten in the same meal. Compounds such as tannins in tea and coffee, and calcium from some foods, can reduce how much iron the body absorbs.

Question 25

What are the main stages of digestion in the body?

Accepted Answer

Digestion begins in the mouth, where chewing breaks food into smaller pieces and saliva starts to moisten it. Food then moves through the esophagus to the stomach, where churning and stomach acid continue breakdown, and into the small intestine, where most digestion is completed with help from pancreatic enzymes and bile.

Question 26

What is the difference between digestion and absorption?

Accepted Answer

Digestion is the process of breaking food into smaller molecules, using mechanical action and chemical enzymes. Absorption is the movement of those smaller molecules, such as simple sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids, across the intestinal lining into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Digestion comes first, and absorption depends on it.

Question 27

Into what basic units are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats broken down during digestion?

Accepted Answer

Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, most commonly glucose. Proteins are broken down into amino acids, and fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol. Each of these smaller units can be absorbed through the intestinal lining and then used by the body for energy, building materials, or storage.

Question 28

Why does the body need digestive enzymes to process food?

Accepted Answer

Digestive enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions that split large food molecules into smaller ones. Without them, many nutrients would pass through the digestive tract largely unchanged, too large to be absorbed efficiently. Different enzymes act on different molecules: amylase works on starch, proteases on proteins, and lipases on fats.

Question 29

What is the role of the large intestine in nutrition?

Accepted Answer

The large intestine absorbs much of the remaining water and some electrolytes from undigested material. It also hosts a community of gut bacteria that ferment certain fibers into short-chain fatty acids, which colon cells can use. The remaining material is compacted into feces and eliminated.

Question 30

How does bile help the body digest and absorb fats?

Accepted Answer

Bile is a fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, and it is released into the small intestine after a meal containing fat. Bile salts break large fat globules into smaller droplets, a process called emulsification, which increases the surface area available to digestive lipases.

Question 31

What role does the lining of the small intestine play in absorption?

Accepted Answer

The lining of the small intestine is covered in folds and microscopic finger-like projections called villi, which greatly increase the surface area available for absorption. Cells lining these projections move nutrients into the blood or lymph, using a mix of diffusion, active transport, and facilitated transport.

Question 32

Why do nutrient absorption and digestion rates vary between foods?

Accepted Answer

Digestion rates vary because foods differ in structure, fiber content, fat content, and how much they have been cooked or processed. Cooking can soften plant cell walls and gelatinize starch, making some nutrients easier to access, while whole foods with intact structures may release nutrients more slowly.

Question 33

What information appears in the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged food?

Accepted Answer

The Nutrition Facts panel lists the serving size, the number of servings per container, calories per serving, and the amounts of nutrients such as total fat, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein. It also shows percent Daily Values for many nutrients, and the ingredient list appears separately.

Question 34

In what order are ingredients listed on a food package's ingredient statement?

Accepted Answer

Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the ingredient present in the largest amount appears first. This helps shoppers judge what a product is mainly made of, though it does not show exact proportions. Ingredients present in small amounts, such as flavorings or some additives, appear near the end of the list.

Question 35

What are dietary patterns, and why are they studied instead of single nutrients?

Accepted Answer

Dietary patterns describe the overall combination of foods and drinks a person usually consumes, such as a Mediterranean-style pattern or a plant-forward pattern. Studying patterns recognizes that people eat foods together, and nutrients interact within whole diets rather than in isolation.

Question 36

What is the purpose of food group guidance in public health nutrition?

Accepted Answer

Food group guidance translates nutrition science into practical categories, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, protein foods, and dairy or alternatives, so people can build balanced meals. Each group contributes a set of nutrients, and guidance usually recommends amounts from each group across a typical day.

Question 37

How can a person compare two similar packaged foods using labels?

Accepted Answer

Start by checking the serving size on each label, because the amounts listed for calories and nutrients refer to that serving. Next, compare the same measures side by side, such as calories, sodium, added sugars, and fiber. Finally, consider the ingredient lists and the percent Daily Values to judge which product fits your goals.

Question 38

What is a food additive, and why are additives used in packaged foods?

Accepted Answer

A food additive is a substance added to food for a technological purpose, such as preserving freshness, maintaining texture, adding color, or enhancing flavor. Additives do not automatically make a food healthy or unhealthy, so the overall nutrient profile of a product remains the main consideration.

Question 39

Can cooking change the nutrient content of foods, and in what ways?

Accepted Answer

Yes, cooking can change nutrient content in several ways. Heat and water can cause some water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and certain B vitamins, to leach into cooking water or break down. Other nutrients, such as some carotenoids, can become easier to absorb after cooking, while minerals are generally stable.

Question 40

How can a food record help a learner study nutrition concepts?

Accepted Answer

A food record lists what was eaten and drunk, with approximate amounts and times, so the learner can practice identifying nutrients, food groups, and serving sizes in real meals. Comparing the record with label information and guidance helps connect textbook definitions to everyday choices.

Nutrition Fundamentals Flashcards

1Core Nutrition Vocabulary

2Macronutrients and Energy

3Vitamins, Minerals, and Water

4Digestion and Absorption Basics

5Applied Nutrition and Labels

Learning Resources