Food Nutrition Report: Scientific Method, Health, and Assessment

This report delves into the realm of food nutrition, providing a comprehensive overview of essential concepts. It defines nutrition and nutrients, categorizing them into macronutrients and micronutrients, and elucidates their respective roles in the body. The report explores health promotion and disease prevention, highlighting the significance of the scientific method in understanding the health effects of food and its nutrients. It discusses factors influencing health status, including genetics, environment, life cycle, and lifestyle, emphasizing their impact on disease vulnerability. Furthermore, the report suggests personal health assessment methods, such as measuring height and weight and assessing blood sugar levels, to monitor and maintain well-being. Finally, the report cites several sources to support its information.

Running head: FOOD NUTRITION 1
Food Nutrition
Name of Author
Institution of Affiliation
Date of Submission

FOOD NUTRITION 2
Food Nutrition
Definition
 Nutrition- Nutrition is defined as the study of nutrients in food and how the body utilizes
them. It focuses on how individuals make choices of their diets to lower the risk of
illnesses and how too much or too little nutrient can affect the functions of the body
 Nutrient- Nutrient can be defined as any substance that the body system uses from food
to promote growth, provide nourishment, or repair body tissues. These nutrients are
classified into two groups, namely, macronutrients which are also referred to as energy
giving food and micronutrients such as vitamins, fibers, and minerals. Macronutrients
include protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
 Health promotion- Health promotion can be described as a behavioral science that’s
drawn from medical, psychological and biological sciences to promote health and prevent
disorders. It involves the approach of enabling people to increase control over their health
to reduce the risks of developing diseases and their complications.
 Disease prevention-Disease prevention is defined as an approach through which people
specifically those with risks of getting a disease are treated or vaccinated to prevent the
occurrence of disease. Treatment can be patient education, medications, or change of
lifestyle.
 The scientific method-Scientific method is referred to as the scientific approach or
process of observation, asking questions and seeking answers via experiments or tests.
Classification
of nutrients
Major functions in the body
Carbohydrates To provide energy, store energy, help in breakdown of fatty acid and help in

FOOD NUTRITION 3
building of macromolecules
Protein Helps in growth and maintenance of tissues, helps in transportation of
molecules within the cell and speeds up chemical reactions within the body.
Lipid Serve as structural components of cell membranes, stores energy, plays and
key role in signaling of molecules (Freitas et al., 2019).
Vitamins Help in healing of wounds and bolstering of immune system.
Minerals Help in body growth, develop and makes it to stay healthy.
Water Regulation of body temperature, cushioning of vital organs and maintenance
of bodily functions
Example of Scientific method
Scientific methods promote health and prevent illnesses by discovering the health effects of food
and its nutrients via observation, coming up with a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis and then
interpreting the results (Bharadwaj et al., 2016). Eg hypothesis was used to find medication of
Ebola.
Factors that involved in health status
Genetics, environment, life cycle, and lifestyle play a crucial role in health status in that, genes
affect one’s chances of having or not having certain illnesses. The status of environment
determines one’s risk of having illnesses and one’s lifestyle can cause or prevent one from illness
(Lin, Chen & Shen, 2017). All these factors play key role in determining one’s vulnerability to
specific diseases and the ability.
Personal health assessment
One way is measuring height and weight. This provides important information about healthy
development. Unintended weight loss can be a sign of serious disorder and excess weight gain
can raise risks of diabetes and heart disorder (Hejazi et al., 2017). Another way is through the
assessment of blood sugar levels. A high or low blood glucose level can be a sign of diabetes.

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References
Bharadwaj, S., Ginoya, S., Tandon, P., Gohel, T. D., Guirguis, J., Vallabh, H., ... & Hanouneh, I.
(2016). Malnutrition: laboratory markers vs nutritional assessment. Gastroenterology
report, 4(4), 272-280.
Freitas, A., Figueiredo, H. R. S., dos Santos Garbim, T. H., & Vieira, K. M. (2019). Conceptions
of Brazilian Elementary and High School Students about Food Nutrients. Creative
Education, 10(5), 862-873.
Hejazi, N., Mazloom, Z., Zand, F., Rezaianzadeh, A., & Amini, A. (2016). Nutritional
assessment in critically ill patients. Iranian journal of medical sciences, 41(3), 171.
Lin, Y., Chen, J., & Shen, B. (2017). Interactions between genetics, lifestyle, and environmental
factors for healthcare. In Translational Informatics in Smart Healthcare (pp. 167-191).
Springer, Singapore.