Lesson 1 (Basic Concepts and Components of Food and Nutrition)

Let’s first understand some terminologies that we will continue to come across throughout this course on food and nutrition.

Food

You all know very well about the term ‘Food’. Food is something that we eat and which can be utilised by our body. So, not anything that we eat can be termed as food. It should be utilized by our body.

Nutrition

The process by which the food is utilized by our body is called Nutrition. In this process, the food is first eaten, digested, absorbed, transported into the blood, stored in the body, metabolized and then unabsorbed waste is eliminated from the body.  This whole process occurs in our body for the purpose of maintenance, growth, and normal functioning of organs and production of energy.

Nutrients

Now, we understood that food is that which is utilized by our body. But what in the food is utilized in our body. If we see all kinds of foods, we will find only six types of components in the food that are utilized by our body for its maintenance and survival.  These components are called Nutrients and are six in numbers. These are Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, Vitamins, Minerals and Water.

Nutritional Status

As these nutrients have different functions in the body, which will be discussed in next lessons, their excess and deficiencies influence our health condition which is called nutritional status. For example, state of our health because of excess of fat, i.e. obesity and overweight. Similarly, state of health because of deficiency of protein and calcium- reduced weight and height.