Final short essay (3 pages)

Basically, nutrition can also be related to many other things and it can be more broadly talked about or blog about. Nutrition can be related to other issues such as obesity and overweight problem in the U.S. Many people lack the knowledge of nutrition and they do not even have basic ideas of what nutrition is. Many people do not have simple knowledge about nutrition such as what carbohydrate, protein and fat are. They also do not have any idea about what vitamins and minerals are. So although not directly related to health issues, nutrition can be indirectly related to health issues. And although I did not blog about health issues, and I only blogged about nutrition, health issues can definitely be linked to nutrition. For example, many things that I blogged about are about general nutrition information. So when people read it, they can use it and apply it to their life-style. People can use the nutrition information and adjust their own nutrition plan so that they can eat healthier and better.

In my blogs, I made them so that they can be educational. I put much information about nutrition and along with that; I posted many pictures and images that are related to the things that I was blogging about. For example when I blogged about carbohydrate, I put up a few pictures of carbohydrates. In my blogs, I was being really specific about the images and the links that I put up. I made sure that the links, the images, and the contents that I put on my blogs are closely related and that they are complimenting each other. In my blogs, I put up many links at different places to make sure that the readers who read it can have an easier understanding by just clicking on the links.

When I put up my blogs, I tried not to make them complicated and I made it easier to look at and to understand. In my opinion, I believe that good blogs should have at least a few catchy images, have a good amount of content on it (paragraphs should not be too long or too short), and the entire information should be straight forward and easy to understanding. When the readers look at the blog, it should capture the readers’ attention and make them want to read it. I think that images and videos can and should be included in the blogs and that would make the blogs that much better.

When I was creating my blogs, it was not all that difficult because I have much prior knowledge about what I was going to put up. Although I have had some prior knowledge about nutrition, I had to do a little research to come up with more contents to put up on my blogs. From the research, I have learned a lot more things and they were all interesting to me in many ways. The easy part about blogging was the part that I use the knowledge that I already have and used them on my blogs. The little harder part for me about blogging was the part that I had to do more research on the topics. Even though it was hard, I was able to learn a lot of things while doing the research.

There are many blogs that I put up that I enjoyed creating. In fact, I enjoyed creating all of the blogs. I also enjoyed the part that I had to put up images that show the content of the blogs. At first designing the blogs was a little challenge for me because I had an idea of what I wanted to blog about but I just didn’t know how to design, create and integrating the blogs. But as I was going along with the first blog, more ideas came to me and I was able to develop more things to put up in the following blogs. From my first blog until my 11^th blog, the ideas were connected one after another. All the blogs are connected and the readers will be able to read all the blogs and make connections from one to another.

Food and Nutrition ( Series # 11) , Choline and Vitamin C

The next two water-soluble vitamins that I will be talking about are choline and vitamin C. Choline can be absorbed from the small intestine. It can be transport via proteins. It can be stored in all tissues contain choline. It can be excreted in urine. The functions of choline are precursor for acetylcholine, precursor for phospholipids, involvement in the export of VLDL from the liver and precursor for the methyl donor betaine. The choline daily need is 550 mg/day for adult male and 425 mg/day for adult females. Choline in foods can be found in eggs, soy, milk, yogurt, cheese, fish, chicken, beef, liver, peanuts, wheat germ, fruits, orange, grapefruit, grapes, banana, vegetables, broccoli, peppers, corn, and peas. Choline deficiency disease can be liver damage. High doses of choline are associated with fishy body odor, vomiting, salivation, sweating, hypotension, and GI effects.

The last water-soluble vitamin is vitamin C. this vitamin can be absorbed through active transport and passive transport. The absorption can be decreased with high intake. The storage places for it are in pituitary and adrenal glands, white blood cells, eyes, and brain. It can be excreted in urine. Functions of vitamin C are collagen synthesis, antioxidant activity, increase iron absorption, biosynthesis and immune functions. The need for vitamin C is 90 mg/day for male adults and 75 mg/day for female adults. Vitamin C can be found in foods such as citrus fruits, potatoes, peppers, dark green leafy and potatoes. The deficiency of vitamin C can be scurvy and sign and symptoms can be fatigue, pinpoint hemorrhages, bleeding gum and joints, impaired wound healing, bone pain, fractures and diarrhea.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 10), Vitamin B6, B12, and Folate

In this section, we will continue to discuss more on water-soluble vitamins. The next water-soluble vitamin is B6. Vitamin B6 can be absorbed passively. It can be transported in blood. B-6 can be stored in the liver and muscle tissue and it can be excreted in urine. There are many functions of vitamin B-6. Those functions are participation in 100 and more enzymatic reaction, homocysteine metabolism, transamination reaction, heme synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and neurotransmitter synthesis from amino acid, conversion of tryptophan to niacin and immune function and lipid metabolism. The need of vitamin B-6 is 1.3-1.7 mg/day for adults. The food sources of vitamin B6 are meat, fish, poultry, banana, water melon, spinach, potato, acorn squash, avocado, and sunflower seeds. Vitamin B6 deficiency diseases are rare but can include microcytic hypochromic anemia, seborrheic dermatitis, convulsion, depression, confusion, reduced immune response, and peripheral nerve damage. The susceptible populations are alcohol abusers, people with genetic defect that cause anemia, and medication interactions.

The next water-soluble vitamin is Folate. The absorption of folate can be active during low to moderate intake. It can be passive absorbed during high intake. That transportation of folate is that it can be delivered to the liver where it is changed back to the polyglutamate form. It can be stored in the liver. It can be excreted in urine. Functions of folate are DNA and RNA synthesis, neurotransmitter formation, interconversion of amino acids and homocysteine metabolism. The folate daily need is 400 micrograms per day for adults. The foods that folate can be found in are beans, lentils, asparagus, broccoli, turnip, beets, dark green leafy, spinach, romaine, white grains, other fortified foods, sunflower seeds, and liver. Folate-deficiency diseases are megaloblastic anemia and neural tube defects. The susceptible populations are pregnant women.

The next water-soluble vitamin is vitamin B12, the transportation of vitamin B12 is that vitamin B12 is taken up by liver, bone marrow and red blood cells. About 50 to 90 % of body’s vitamin B12 supply is stored in the liver. It can be excreted through bile and 98 % can be reabsorbed by enterohepatic circulation. The functions of vitamin B12 are first it acts as a coenzyme that move 1-C groups. Second, it acts as nervous system functions maintenance of myelin sheath. Vitamin B-12 needs is about 2.4 microgram per day for adults. The food sources of vitamin B-12 are animal products such as meats, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese and fortified foods. The signs and symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency diseases are megaloblastic anemia, nerve degeneration, weakness and confusion, paralysis and death. The susceptible populations are infants, vegans, and people with malabsorptive diseases.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 9 ) Water-soluble vitamins, Niacin, Pantothenic acid and biotin

This blog will focus on some more water-soluble vitamins. The next vitamin is Niacin. Once consumed in the body, niacin can be readily absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into hepatic portal vein. It then will be transported from the liver to all of the tissues where it is converted to enzymes. It can be stored in small amounts in the liver in coenzyme form. It then can be excreted in urine. The functions of niacin are that first it participates in over 200 reactions in cellular metabolic pathways and the citric acid cycle. The niacin needs are 14 NE/day for women and 16 NE/day for men. Food sources of niacin are mushrooms, enriched grains, beef, chicken, turkey, and fish. The disease that is associated with niacin deficiency is pellagra where the symptoms are diarrhea, dementia, dermatitis and death. The susceptible populations are those who consume (untreated) corn as main staple. They need to be treated with calcium hydroxide (or soak in lime water) to release the niacin bound to a protein.

The next water-soluble vitamin is pantothenic acid. This water-soluble vitamin can be absorbed as slight derivative of pantothenic acid in small intestine. It then can be store in the liver but very minimal amount. It then can be excreted in urine. The function of pantothenic acid is that it is a part of coenzyme-A forms Acetyl-coA. It is essential for metabolism of glucose, fatty acids, amino acids, and alcohol which then enter the citric acid cycle. The amount of pantothenic acid that is need is 5mg/day. Pantothenic acid can be found in the foods such as liver, chicken, beans, egg yolk, sunflower seeds, peanuts, yogurt, milk, acorn squash, mushrooms, broccoli, and fortified foods. The deficiency diseases of pantothenic acid are rare but it includes burning foot syndrome, listlessness, fatigue, headache, sleep disturbance, nausea, and abdominal distress.

Another water-soluble vitamin is called biotin. Biotin exists in free (biotin) and protein-bound (biocytin) forms. It can be absorbed in the small intestine. It can be stored in small amount in muscle, liver, and brain. It can be excreted via urine and bile. The daily needs for biotin is about 30 microgram per day for adults. The food sources of biotin are peanut butter, peanuts, liver, egg, milk/cheese, salmon, and cauliflower. Biotin deficiency diseases are rare.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 8) Water-soluble vitamins, Thiamin and Riboflavin

Water-soluble vitamins are vitamins that can be dissolved in water. They can be easily leached into water when the foods that contain them are cooked. Water-soluble vitamins’ functions in the body are that it is coenzymes that are necessary for enzyme activity and it participate in energy metabolism. There are several types of absorption of water-soluble vitamins including passive, facilitated, and active and endocytosis.

There are many more water-soluble vitamins than there are fat-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, B6, Folic acid, B12, choline, and vitamin C. This blog will focus on a few water-soluble vitamins and the rest will be covered in the later blogs.

First, let’s start off by talking about thiamin. Thiamin is absorbed in the small intestine called jejunum. It is then transported by red blood cell in the blood. It is poorly stored; small reserve in liver and muscle. It is then will be excreted in the urine. The amount of thiamin needs for adults are 1.1 mg/day for women and 1.2mg/d for men. Any surplus amount will be rapidly lost in urine. Usually athletes have greater thiamin need. Thiamin can be found in variety of foods such as enriched grains/whole grains, pork, beans, watermelon, orange juice, corn, peas, acorn squash, and soy. The diseases that are associated with thiamin-deficiency are wet beriberi or edema or dry beriberi or muscle wasting and wernicke-korsakoff syndrome. The consequences of deficiency can be involuntary rapid eye movement, double vision, ataxia:staggering, poor muscle coordination, mental confusion and drunken stupor.

Another water-soluble vitamin is riboflavin. Riboflavin can be absorbed with the action called active or facilitated transport. It can be transported by a protein carrier in the blood. It can be stored in a small amount in liver, kidneys and heart. It can be excreted in small amount via urine making the color of the urine to be bright yellow. The functions of riboflavin are energy production, synthesis and it involved in antioxidant system for the enzyme glutathione reductase. Riboflavin can be found in foods such as milk product, enriched grains, liver, oyster, and brewer’s yeast. The riboflavin-deficiency diseases include glossitis, cheilosis, seborrheic dermatitis, stomatitis, eye disorder, throat disorder, nervous system disorder. More water-soluble vitamin will be further discussed in the next blogs.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 7) Fat-soluble vitamins, A,D,E,K

What are fat-soluble vitamins and how many fat-soluble vitamins are there? Fat-soluble vitamins are basically vitamins that can be absorbed in human body through the process that required the body’s ability of fat absorption. And those vitamins will be absorbed with the fat absorption.

The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, D, E and K. Different vitamins have different function on our body. Vitamin A is also known as Retinoids and carotenoids. About 90 % of vitamin A can be stored in the liver. The functions of Vitamin A are gene expression, cell differentiation, cell growth, immunity, and vision. The require amount of vitamin A for adults are 900 RAE for men and RAE for women. The source of vitamin A from food are liver, fish oils, eggs, fortified milk, dark leafy green, yellow-orange vegetables and fruits. The deficiency of vitamin A can occur in people who lack the intake of fruits, vegetables and milk in their diet. The deficiency can occur also in people who have liver disease because that will lead the limitation of the storage of vitamin A. Deficiency can also occur in people who are fat malabsorption.

For vitamin A, the signs and symptoms of deficiency are night blindness, decreased mucus production, decreased immunity, xerophthlmia, and follicular hyperkeratosis. The toxicity of vitamin A includes gastrointestinal tract effects, headaches, blurred vision, poor muscle coordination. The long term effect of vitamin A toxicity includes the reduced bone mineral density, liver damage, headache, dry skin, hair loss, and vomiting   

For Vitamin D, 80 % of it that is consumed is absorbed in the small intestine. Fat malabsorption can impair vitamin D absorption. Functions of vitamin D are cell differentiation. The food sources of vitamin D are fatty fish, fortified milk, and some fortified cereal. The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include rickets (poor bone mineralization in children) and osteomalacia (poor bone mineralization in adult). Vitamin D can come from the exposure of sunlight.

For vitamin E, the function in the body is antioxidant. The food sources of vitamin E are plant oils, wheat germ, asparagus, peanuts, margarine, nuts and seeds. Vitamin E deficiency symptom is rare but can include hemolytic anemia. The susceptible populations are premature infants, people with fat malabsorption and people on very low-fat diets.

For vitamin K, about 80 % of dietary vitamin K is absorbed in small intestine. Function of vitamin k is formation of osteocalcin. The dietary sources of vitamin k are liver, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, peas and green beans.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 6) Micronutrients, vitamins and minerals

Beside macronutrients that are part of nutrition as a whole, there are also micronutrients. Micronutrients as the named suggests, are the nutrients that are in the micro-level or very small level of nutrient. The main difference between micro and macro nutrients is that macro-nutrients such as protein, fat and carbohydrate provide us with calories. To be accurate, each gram of carbohydrate or protein gives 4 calories. Each gram of fat gives 9 calories. However, micro-nutrients are nutrients that are necessary and vital for our bodies, yet it does not provide our bodies with any calories.

Another big difference between micronutrients and macronutrients is that as human, we need macronutrients in large amount; usually we need to consume them in amount of grams. However, we need to consume micronutrients in a very small amount, only in amount of milligrams. 

Micronutrients are as important as macronutrients, and although micronutrients do not provide our bodies with calories, it is important and required for all the process that occurs in our bodies. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that we ingest from the food we eat. There are many vitamins and minerals that are important and vital to our survival.

For us as humans, there are certain vitamins and minerals we need in our bodies in order to survive. Moreover, we also need specific amount of those vitamins and minerals. If we ingest too high the amount, it can be toxic to our bodies, if we ingest too little, we can have symptoms and diseases caused by deficiency.

Micronutrients are way more complex than macronutrients because there are many vitamins and minerals. Vitamins can even be divided up into 2 groups, fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. Different vitamins have different responsibility for body’s functions. Vitamins and minerals can be stored in the body, and can be kept for later use. For example, some vitamins can be stored in the liver or muscles so that when our body needs to use it, those vitamins and minerals can be secrete from the storage place.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 5) different types of fat

How many types of fats are there? What are they? And how are they different from each other? So far, we have learned about the two macronutrients in details, carbohydrates and proteins, yet we have not touched up on fat yet. This blog will be all about fats, good fats, bad fats, and what their roles are.

Fats as we know actually composed of fatty acids that are linked together. Fats can be found in human body as storage of energy. In foods, fats can be found in many types of food. Foods that contain fats are cheese, animal products such as animal meats, and milk. Fats can also be found in oil, such as vegetable oil and animal oil.

There are two types of fats, the good fat and the bad fat. The good fat is called unsaturated fat. The bad fat is called saturated fat. Let’s start off by talking about the unsaturated fat or the good fat. Unsaturated fat can be found in foods such as nuts, seeds, beans, and fish oil. Some of the nuts that contain unsaturated fat are peanut, almond, pistachio, walnut, and macadamia nut. Unsaturated fat can also be found in some fishes, such as salmon, and tuna fish. The reason that this type of fat is called “good fat” is because it has good benefits to our health and body. Unsaturated fat can help our body reduce cholesterol, reduce and heart attack and heart diseases.  

However, the bad fat or the saturated fat can be found in animal products such as animal meat especially beef and lamb, milk, cheese and butter. This type of fat is called “bad fat” because it has bad effects on our health and body. Once consume in high amount, saturated fat can lead us to many diseases such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart diseases and more.  

So in order for us to stay healthy, we should consume more unsaturated fat such as nuts and seeds and consume less saturated fat such as animal products such as beef, lamb, cheese, and butter. With more unsaturated fat and less saturated fat, we will be able to live healthier and have less health risks. 

Food and Nutrition (Series # 4) how protein helps us lose weight and stay fit

How can high protein diet help us lose weight, stay in shape and burn more calories? To make it simple and easy to understand, one must know what protein does to our bodies and how can it affect the way our bodies functions.

To begin, proteins help our bodies building muscles and sustain muscles mass. The more muscles we have or the more muscles we sustain, the more calories we will burn throughout the day. Why is that? Because muscles in our bodies are active tissues, which means that they are alive, active, and they need a lot of energy for their movements. And energy equal calories. So when our muscles need to make movements such as when we walk, run, move around and even when we sit down, the muscles demand the use of calorie and therefore will burn up more calories.

            So now we have a better understanding as to why high protein diet can ultimately help us lose weight and stay in shape. Furthermore, when we consume high-protein diets, we will feel more satisfy and we will be able to control our appetite according to studies.

In the media nowadays, there are so many recommendations for people who want to lose weight and stay in shape to consume diets high in protein. Many diet plans or meal plans offer foods that will help people burn fat and lose weight and stay fit. But all there is to it is the high protein foods. Often time, high- protein foods need to be combined with low-carbohydrate foods in order for people to lose weight and stay in shape. 

Ultimately, studies after studies have suggested that high-protein and low-carbohydrate diets are the best diets to help people lose weight and stay in shape. So for anybody who tries to lose weight and stay fit, he or she should consume high-protein diets such as a lot of meats, eggs, and stay away from high-carbohydrate foods such as pancakes, white bread, pastries and heavy pastas.

Food and Nutrition (Series # 3) Types of protein and it’s importance

What is protein? Protein is one of the 3 macro nutrients that we as humans consume. When protein is mentioned, many people will think about meats, eggs, milk. In fact, those foods definitely contain protein. But this blog is not just about the types of foods that contain protein, in this blog, we are going to dig deep into protein and really get to know what is protein and what is it made of and why should we care about protein?

Proteins are building blocks of life; it is one of the most vital substances that are necessary for life to exist. Protein is basically made out of many amino acids combined together in a form of chains and they are connected by bonds called poly-peptide bonds. Together in total, there are about 23 amino acids, in which 9 of them are essential and 14 of them are non- essential. Essential amino acids mean that they cannot be made in the human body and they have to be consumed through foods. Non-essential amino acids mean that those amino acids can be made in human body and they are not necessary needed to be consumed through diet.

The 9 essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. And the 14 non-essential amino acids are alanine, arginine, asparagines, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, ornothine, proline, selenocysteine, serine, taurine and tyrosine.

The 9 essential amino acids can be found in many foods such as animal meats, eggs, beans and other foods that contain protein. However, many nutritionists suggest that eggs, especially egg whites are the excellent source of those 9 essential amino acids.

            What is the importance of protein and why do we need to consume it? The muscles of humans are made up of protein and we need to consume protein to sustain muscles in our body.   Not only does protein helps us sustain muscles in our bodies, it also helps us build new muscles when we exercise. When we exercise, such as when we lift weights, run or play sports, we tear apart some of the muscles in our bodies. So that is why we need to consume high protein diet in order to help our bodies build back the muscles. Protein not only can help is build and sustain muscles in our bodies but it can also help us lose weight and burn more calories throughout the day. How can protein help us lose weight and stay in shape? The following blog will explain that in details.