Food
Food is any substance that is or can be consumed by living organisms especially by eating in order to sustain life or you can define it as anything we eat and drink that gives us energy as well as maintain and helps to repair our body. Food helps us grow strong and healthy. Without food, we cannot survive in this life that’s why every living organism needs energy to function properly and this energy comes from the food we eat.
We will now discuss about the different kinds /types of foods the body requires to perform various activities.
Food can be classified into 3 main categories, which are:
- Energy givers:Carbohydrates nd lipids
- Body builders:Proteins
- Food that helps to repair our body and maintains good health: proteins, vitamins nd minerals
Carbohydrates:
These are made up of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen.
These types of food are simply called sugars and there are two types of sugar; simple and complex sugar. Simple sugar are sweet to taste, they’re soluble in water e.g glucose, fructose and sucrose, while complex sugar are not sweet, they are insoluble. Carbohydrates are stored as complex sugar and complex sugars are converted to simple sugars when they are needed to produce energy
E.g of foods containing simple sugars :grapes, sugar, onions etc
E.g of foods containing starch: wheat, rice, Maize, millet, potatoes, cassava, yam bread etc, all carbohydrates.
Lipids: Fats and Oils
Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The quantity of oxygen is lower in lipids than in carbohydrates. Example of lipids (fats and oils ) :butter, margarine, oil of all types, wax etc.
Proteins
It has carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur in their molecules. They form the muscles of the body, they also form the enzymes that carry out all the body functions, they are body builders and help in repair of worn out tissues. Examples are egg white, pulses, soybean, meat, fish, yoghurt, milk, cheese, beans, etc…
Vitamins
It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, they are made by plants or animals, they help the enzymes to perform their work. Deficiencies of specific vitamins produces specific disorders. E.g: carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, mangoes, orange colored vegetables and fruits etc.
Minerals
Minerals are any in organic that is essential to nutrition. It is required by the body to maintain good health, they assist in metabolism, they boost the immune system, they re required for normal growth e.g milk and milk products like yoghurt and cheese, eggs, green vegetables and soy products etc.
