What is Nutrition ? 

Nutrition is the good we get from all the food we eat and it helps our bodies work. Food is made up of different types of nutrients that contribute to our food being nutritious! These nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.

If our bodies fail to get all the nutrients they need this is called malnutrition. If a person suffers from malnutrition they can be more likely to catch diseases and it can effect the functions of their body such as brain, eyesight, organs, height, weight, as well as the formation of body parts if the child is still in their mother's womb.

Children queue for lunch at a primary school in Zimbabwe
© UNICEF/HQ02-0298/Giacomo Pirozzi

In the developing world the biggest concerns often lie with the lack of vitamins and minerals, as well as the access to clean drinking water. For information on water see our resource, water and sanitation. In this resource we will focus on vitamins and minerals. When a person lacks these they are said to be suffering from micronutrient malnutrition.

Malnutrition can occur in developed countries but is most likely to be seen in children in developing countries. It is believed that almost one third of children in developing countries are malnourished (Source: www.unicef.org). Breastfeeding is a vital source of micronutrients for babies.

The solution to a lack of nutrients is to improve people's diet. This can be done naturally – this is the ideal, however, often people do not have access to the right types of food, and in some cases any food at all! As a result groups of people are fed 'supplementary food', this is food extra to their diets which contain the nutrients they lack. Another method of providing the needed nutrients in countries where a population as a whole is lacking a certain vitamin or mineral it is added to a staple food such as flour or salt, this is called fortification.

Answered by Jitendra at 2:45 AM on September 10, 2008

Nutrition is the study of the body and the study of food and how food affects the body. The goal is to make healthy choices so that we get vitamins, minerals, fiber, water and other food components so that we stay healthy.

Nutririon is VERY important. Nutrition includes eating healthy food. Here is a sample daily chart for children:

6 servings of grains

3 servings of veggies

2 servings of fruits

3 servings of dairy products

2-3 servings of meat

eat sweets & fat sparingly

Don't forget to exersize :-)

According to Nutritional Sciences by Michelle McGuire And Kathy A. Beerman (my textbook), nutrition is "the science of how living organisms obatin and use food to support processes required for life."

Answered by Prashant at 5:06 PM on September 03, 2008

Nutrition is the study of the body and the study of food and how food affects the body. The goal is to make healthy choices so that we get vitamins, minerals, fiber, water and other food components so that we stay healthy.

Nutririon is VERY important. Nutrition includes eating healthy food. Here is a sample daily chart for children:

6 servings of grains

3 servings of veggies

2 servings of fruits

3 servings of dairy products

2-3 servings of meat

eat sweets & fat sparingly

Don't forget to exersize :-)

According to Nutritional Sciences by Michelle McGuire And Kathy A. Beerman (my textbook), nutrition is "the science of how living organisms obatin and use food to support processes required for life."

Answered by Anju Devi at 6:08 PM on September 02, 2008

Nutrition (also called nourishment or aliment) is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition.

The diet of an organism refers to what it eats. Dietitians are health professionals who specialize in human nutrition, meal planning, economics, preparation, and so on. They are trained to provide safe, evidence-based dietary advice and management to individuals (in health and disease), as well as to institutions.

Poor diet can have an injurious impact on health, causing deficiency diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, and kwashiorkor; health-threatening conditions like obesity and metabolic syndrome, and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Answered by Chandra at 1:23 AM on September 02, 2008

Well Nagendra

Nutrition is the good we get from all the food we eat and it helps our bodies work. Food is made up of different types of nutrients that contribute to our food being nutritious! These nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.

If our bodies fail to get all the nutrients they need this is called malnutrition. If a person suffers from malnutrition they can be more likely to catch diseases and it can effect the functions of their body such as brain, eyesight, organs, height, weight, as well as the formation of body parts if the child is still in their mother's womb.

In the developing world the biggest concerns often lie with the lack of vitamins and minerals, as well as the access to clean drinking water. For information on water see our resource, water and sanitation. In this resource we will focus on vitamins and minerals. When a person lacks these they are said to be suffering from micronutrient malnutrition.

Malnutrition can occur in developed countries but is most likely to be seen in children in developing countries. It is believed that almost one third of children in developing countries are malnourished (Source: www.unicef.org). Breastfeeding is a vital source of micronutrients for babies.

The solution to a lack of nutrients is to improve people's diet. This can be done naturally – this is the ideal, however, often people do not have access to the right types of food, and in some cases any food at all! As a result groups of people are fed 'supplementary food', this is food extra to their diets which contain the nutrients they lack. Another method of providing the needed nutrients in countries where a population as a whole is lacking a certain vitamin or mineral it is added to a staple food such as flour or salt, this is called fortification.

It is important to realise an inadequate supply of food is often caused by war (where people working in fields are unable to work for fear of violence or landmines, or people have had to flee their homes and so leave food supplies) or poverty (where food is available but people do not have the money to buy it or land to grow it). The situation can be especially bad if a country has suffered a combination of factors, for example, a drought and a civil war.

As well as the shortage of food, disease also causes malnutrition. Diseases such as diarrhoea cause the body to loose essential nutrients, by flushing them out of the body. They can take a long time to replace and may affect a child's growth and development. Another important fact is that malnutrition is increasing in developed countries. This is caused by people choosing to eat the wrong types of food, not by a lack of adequate supply.

Answered by Priyanka C at 3:42 PM on August 31, 2008

Nutrition is the study of the body and the study of food and how food affects the body. The goal is to make healthy choices so that we get vitamins, minerals, fiber, water and other food components so that we stay healthy.

Nutririon is VERY important. Nutrition includes eating healthy food. Here is a sample daily chart for children:

6 servings of grains

3 servings of veggies

2 servings of fruits

3 servings of dairy products

2-3 servings of meat

eat sweets & fat sparingly

Don't forget to exersize :-)

According to Nutritional Sciences by Michelle McGuire And Kathy A. Beerman (my textbook), nutrition is "the science of how living organisms obatin and use food to support processes required for life."

Answered by jaivir at 3:57 PM on August 30, 2008

well, Good nutrition can help prevent disease and promote health. There are six categories of nutrients that the body needs to acquire from food: protein, carbohydrates, fat, fibers, vitamins and minerals, and water.

There exists a large category of disease which are thought to be caused, at least in part, by malnutrition, or the lack of proper nutrition (see Dr. Joel Fuhrman). These include :

* heart disease
* some cancers
* diabetes
* beriberi
* rickets
* scurvy
* vitamin deficiency disease
* kwashiorkor
* pellagra
* poor immune function, potentially leading to a wide range of other illnesses.

Additionally, several diseases directly or indirectly are impacted by diet, and require very close attention to the nutrient content of food.

The science of nourishment, including the study of the nutrients that each organism must obtain from its environment to maintain life and health and to reproduce. Although each kind of organism has its distinctive needs, which can be studied separately, a far-reaching biochemical unity in nature has been discovered which gives vastly more coherence to the whole subject. Many nutrients, such as amino acids, minerals, and vitamins, needed by higher organisms may also be needed by the lowest forms of life—single-celled bacteria and protozoa. The recognition of this fact has made possible highly important developments in biochemistry.

http://www.an swers.com/topic/nutrition

Answered by Romi at 10:55 AM on August 17, 2008

well;
Nutrition is the science that deals with all the various factors of which food is composed and the way in which proper nourishment is brought about. The average nutritional requirements of groups of people are fixed and depend on such measurable characteristics such as age, sex, height, weight, degree of activity and rate of growth.
Food is anything solid or liquid that has a chemical composition which enables it, when swallowed to do one or more of the following

1. Provide the body with the material from which it can produce heat, or any for m of energy.
2. Provide material to allow growth, maintenance, repair or reproduction to proceed.
3. Supply substances, which normally regulate the production of energy or the process of growth, repair or reproduction.

Good nutrition requires a satisfactory diet, which is capable of supporting the individual consuming it, in a state of good health by providing the desired nutrients in required amounts. It must provide the right amount of fuel to execute normal physical activity. If the total amount of nutrients provided in the diet is insufficient, a state of under nutrition will develop.
The council on Food and Nutrition of the American Medical Association defines nutrition as “The science of foods, the nutrients and the substances therein, their action, interaction and balance in relation to health and diseases. Nutrition science is the area of knowledge regarding the role of food in the maintenance of good health. Thus nutrition is the study of food at work in our body.
Health is defined by the World Health Organization of the United Nations as the “ State of complete physical, mental and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity (or ill- health/illness)”
Nutrition is one key to developing and maintaining a state of health that is optimal for you. In addition, a poor diet coupled with a sedentary lifestyle are known to be risk factors for life- threatening chronic diseases and death: Heart disease, Stroke, Hypertension, Diabetes and some forms of Cancer. Together these diseases account for two- thirds of all deaths in the United States. The major health problems in the United States are largely caused by excessive energy intake and not enough physical activity.

Answered by Kishore at 2:09 PM on August 13, 2008

Eating is a source of considerable pleasure and an important part of our lives. The food we eat keeps us alive, gives us energy, makes us grow, and repairs our bodies. So what is it in the food that serves the above functions?

Within the delicious food we eat, there are different types of nutrients. Nutrients are classified into five major groups: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Each group plays a special role in our bodies. Fats and carbohydrates provide us with the energy we need for our activities, but also make us gain weight and become fat if taken in excess. Proteins supply us with building blocks for growth and reparations within our bodies. Vitamins and minerals keep us healthy. It is necessary to take enough (but not an excess!) of each group of nutrition each day to keep ourselves healthy.

In this section we will talk about the different aspects of nutrition that you should know. For each major class of nutrition, we will cover how it affects us and also provides food sources.

* Energy
* Carbohydrates
* Fats
* Proteins
* Vitamins
* Minerals
* Water

Answered by Gyan Singh at 1:53 PM on August 12, 2008

WHAT IS NUTRITION
These nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. it can effect the functions of their body such as brain, eyesight, organs, height, weight, as well as the formation of body parts if the child is still in their mother's womb.So you eat more green vegetable, salad,fresh fruits ,milk,cheese,egg and drink a lot of water.

Answered by Seema at 1:28 PM on August 12, 2008