food components

The calorie is a unit of energy.[1][2] For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius (or one kelvin).[1][3] The small calorie or gram calorie was defined as the amount of heat needed to cause the same increase in one gram of water.[3][4][5][1] Thus, 1 large calorie is equal to 1000 small calories.

FOOD COMPONENTS

The purpose of this page is to dig deeper into the purpose of each component of diet and nutrition, providing a glossary of terms.

What is the purpose of a nutrient? A supplement? What effect is it expected to bring about?

These are questions I attempt to answer here.

Below is a table of the full spectrum of nutrients in the Materia Prima diet experiment. Calculations are based on data from the USDA SR28 Nutrient Database. Comparison is made to the current USDA DRI to provide an idea of how the diet stacks up against the current US Government Daily Requirements for a male of my age.

WHY

Below is a table explaining the role of nutrients, supplements, and other food components. What is the purpose of this item? Why am I taking this, or eating this? What does it matter?

Whenever possible, a link is provided at the bottom of the summary to a more complete and in-depth article or website resource.

The calorie is a unit of energy.[1][2] For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius (or one kelvin).[1][3] The small calorie or gram calorie was defined as the amount of heat needed to cause the same increase in one gram of water.[3][4][5][1] Thus, 1 large calorie is equal to 1000 small calories.

In nutrition and food science, the term calorie and the symbol cal almost always refers to the large unit. It is generally used in publications and package labels to express the energy value of foods in per serving or per weight, recommended dietary caloric intake,[6][7] metabolic rates, etc. Some authors recommend the spelling Calorie and the symbol Cal (both with a capital C) to avoid confusion;[8] however, this convention is often ignored.[6][7][8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie

Water (chemical formula H2O) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent[1]). It is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides neither food, energy, nor organic micronutrients. Its chemical formula, H2O, indicates that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. The hydrogen atoms are attached to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.45°.[2] "Water" is also the name of the liquid state of H2O at standard temperature and pressure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water

Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein

In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.[1]

The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple esters of glycerol), that are the main components of vegetable oils and of fatty tissue in animals;[2] or, even more narrowly, to triglycerides that are solid or semisolid at room temperature, thus excluding oils. The term may also be used more broadly as a synonym of lipid—any substance of biological relevance, composed of carbon, hydrogen, or oxygen, that is insoluble in water but soluble in non-polar solvents.[1] In this sense, besides the triglycerides, the term would include several other types of compounds like mono- and diglycerides, phospholipids (such as lecithin), sterols (such as cholesterol), waxes (such as beeswax),[1] and free fatty acids, which are usually present in human diet in smaller amounts.[2]

Fats are one of the three main macronutrient groups in human diet, along with carbohydrates and proteins,[1][3] and the main components of common food products like milk, butter, tallow, lard, salt pork, and cooking oils. They are a major and dense source of food energy for many animals and play important structural and metabolic functions, in most living beings, including energy storage, waterproofing, and thermal insulation.[4] The human body can produce the fat it requires from other food ingredients, except for a few essential fatty acids that must be included in the diet. Dietary fats are also the carriers of some flavor and aroma ingredients and vitamins that are not water-soluble.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat

A carbohydrate (/ˌkɑːrboʊˈhaɪdreɪt/) is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n (where m may or may not be different from n). However, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition (e.g., uronic acids, deoxy-sugars such as fucose), nor are all chemicals that do conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates (e.g. formaldehyde and acetic acid).

The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide, a group that includes sugars, starch, and cellulose. The saccharides are divided into four chemical groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides and disaccharides, the smallest (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars.[1] The word saccharide comes from the Ancient Greek word σάκχαρον (sákkharon), meaning "sugar".[2] While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose, which was originally taken from glucose, from the Ancient Greek word γλεῦκος (gleûkos), meaning "wine, must", and is used for almost all sugars, e.g. fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (cane or beet sugar), ribose, lactose (milk sugar), etc.

Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve as an energy store (e.g. starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g. cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods). The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component of coenzymes (e.g. ATP, FAD and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule known as RNA. The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Saccharides and their derivatives include many other important biomolecules that play key roles in the immune system, fertilization, preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

Dietary fiber (British spelling fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes.[1] Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by their solubility, viscosity, and fermentability, which affect how fibers are processed in the body.[2] Dietary fiber has two main components: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber, which are components of plant foods, such as legumes, whole grains and cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts or seeds.[2][3] A diet high in regular fiber consumption is generally associated with supporting health and lowering the risk of several diseases.[2][4]

Food sources of dietary fiber have traditionally been divided according to whether they provide soluble or insoluble fiber. Plant foods contain both types of fiber in varying amounts, according to the fiber characteristics of viscosity and fermentability.[1][5] Advantages of consuming fiber depend upon which type of fiber is consumed and which benefits may result in the gastrointestinal system.[6] Bulking fibers – such as cellulose and hemicellulose (including psyllium) – absorb and hold water, promoting regularity.[7] Viscous fibers – such as beta-glucan and psyllium – thicken the fecal mass.[7] Fermentable fibers – such as resistant starch, xanthan gum, and inulin – feed the bacteria and microbiota of the large intestine, and are metabolized to yield short-chain fatty acids, which have diverse roles in gastrointestinal health.[8][9][10]

Soluble fiber (fermentable fiber or prebiotic fiber) – which dissolves in water – is generally fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active by-products, such as short-chain fatty acids produced in the colon by gut bacteria. Examples are beta-glucans (in oats, barley, and mushrooms) and raw guar gum. Psyllium – a soluble, viscous, nonfermented fiber – is a bulking fiber that retains water as it moves through the digestive system, easing defecation. Soluble fiber is generally viscous and delays gastric emptying which, in humans, can result in an extended feeling of fullness.[2] Inulin (in chicory root), wheat dextrin, oligosaccharides, and resistant starches[11] (in legumes and bananas), are soluble non-viscous fibers.[2] Regular intake of soluble fibers, such as beta-glucans from oats or barley, has been established to lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol, a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.[2][4][12]

Insoluble fiber – which does not dissolve in water – is inert to digestive enzymes in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Examples are wheat bran, cellulose, and lignin. Coarsely ground insoluble fiber triggers the secretion of mucus in the large intestine, providing bulking. Finely ground insoluble fiber does not have this effect and can actually have a constipating effect.[2] Some forms of insoluble fiber, such as resistant starches, can be fermented in the colon.[13]

Dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides and other plant components such as cellulose, resistant starch, resistant dextrins, inulin, lignins, chitins (in fungi), pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides.[2][1][3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber