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The topic I have chosen is Osteoporosis and how it is related to a deficiency of calcium. Throughout my human nutrition course the importance for proper nutrition and adequate dietary supplements has been constantly emphasized. Nutrition is the science that deals with food and how the body utilizes it. All living things need food to live.
Food supplies energy, which people need to perform certain actions and bodily functions. Food also provides substances that the body needs to build and repair its tissues and to regulate its organs and organ systems. (Sizer&Whitney) Food provides certain chemical substances needed in order for a person to maintain good health. These chemical substances are called nutrients. Nutrients can perform three important functions.
They provide materials for building, repairing, or maintaining body tissues. They help regulate body processes. They serve as fuel to provide energy. The body needs energy to maintain all its functions.
The foods we eat contain thousands of different chemicals. Our body, however, only needs only a few dozen of these chemicals in order to stay healthy. These are the nutrients that the body needs. Nutrients are divided into six main groups, they are (1) water, (2) carbohydrates, (3) fats, (4) proteins, (5) minerals, (6) vitamins.
Water, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are called macro nutrients. Since macro means large, the body needs these four nutrients in large amounts. Minerals and vitamins are called micro nutrients (micro means small). The body needs only small amounts of these nutrients. Water is the most important nutrient. The body needs water to carry out all of its life processes.
Watery solutions help dissolve other nutrients and carry them to all of the tissues. The body also needs water to carry away waste products and to cool itself. Adults should drink about 2 1 / 2 quarts of water every day. (Encarta) The carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are needed because they have nutrients, which provide energy. Carbohydrates include all sugars and starches. They are the main source of energy for living things. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates include sugars and have a simple molecular structure. Complex carbohydrates include starches and have a larger and more complicated molecular structure. Fats are a highly concentrated source of energy. There are three types of fatty acids. They are saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Fats aid in the absorption of calcium.
Proteins serve as one of the main building materials for the body. Skin, cartilage, muscle, and hair are made up largely of proteins. Protein also contains enzymes, which speed up chemical reactions. Cells could not function without these enzymes. Proteins also serve as hormones (chemical messengers) and as antibodies (disease fighting chemicals). Proteins are large, complex molecules made up of smaller units called amino acids.
The body must have a sufficient supply of twenty amino acids. It can produce eleven of them in sufficient amounts. The nine others are called essential amino acids. The body cannot make these amino acids.
They must come from food. The best sources of protein are cheese, eggs, lean meat, fish, and milk. The proteins in these foods are called complete proteins. They are called this because they contain adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. Cereal grains, legumes (plants of the pea family), vegetables, and nuts also supply proteins to the body.
These proteins are called incomplete proteins because they do not have adequate amounts of one or more of the essential amino acids. (Nadakavukaren) Although the vitamins and minerals are only needed in small amounts, they are still important to the body. Minerals are needed for growth, to maintain tissues, to regulate body functions, and maintenance of body structures. These minerals are not to be confused with rock minerals. Minerals are inorganic compounds.
This means that living things do not create them. The required minerals are calcium, magnesium, phosphorus chlorine, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus are important for the bones and the teeth. Calcium, which is mostly found in milk products, is also necessary for blood clotting. Cereals and meats provide phosphorus. Whole grain cereals, nuts, and lettuce, are good sources of magnesium.
People need only small amounts of minerals each day. Vitamins are needed in order for a person to have good health. Vitamins regulate chemical reactions by which the body converts food into energy and tissues. There are 13 vitamins. The main vitamins are A, B- 1, B- 2, B- 12, C, D, E, and K. Vitamin A is necessary for healthy skin and development of the bones.
This vitamin can be found in liver, green and yellow vegetables, and milk. Vitamin B- 1 is necessary for changing starches and sugars into energy. It is found in meat and whole grain cereals. Vitamin B- 2 is needed for complicated chemical reactions that take place during the body's use of food. This is found in milk, cheese, fish, liver, and green vegetables.
Vitamin B- 12 is needed for forming red blood cells and for a healthy nervous system. B- 12 is found in animal products such as liver. Vitamin C is needed for the maintenance of the ligaments, tendons, and other supportive tissues. Vitamin C is found in fruits and potatoes.
Vitamin D is necessary for the body's use of calcium. Vitamin D is found in milk and fish. Vitamin E helps maintain cell membranes. It is found in vegetable oils, whole grain cereals, meats, fruits, and vegetables. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting and is found in lettuce. A balanced diet is the key to having good health.
A balanced diet includes every kind of nutrient. The food we eat directly effects our health. A good diet will help prevent certain illnesses and help in the recovery from others. An improper diet increases the risk of various diseases.
Nutrition experts recommend that the daily diet include a certain number of servings from each of the five food groups: (1) vegetables, (2) fruits, (3) breads, cereals, rice, and pasta, (4) milk, yogurt, and cheese, and (5) meat, poultry, fish, dried beans and peas, eggs, and nuts. Improper nutrition can lead to a deficiency of calcium and a disease called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis means "porous bones. " Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle so brittle that even mild stresses, such as bending to pick up a newspaper, lifting a vacuum or coughing, can cause a fracture. Lower levels of calcium, phosphorous and other minerals in your bones cause them to weaken.
The disease causes more than 1. 5 million fractures every year in this country usually in the spine, hip or wrist. Half of all white women age 50 and older can expect to have a bone fracture due to osteoporosis sometime during their remaining years. About 8 million American women and 2 million men have osteoporosis. As many as 18 million more Americans may have low bone density.
Osteoporosis is a bone condition characterized by a decrease in mass, resulting in bones that are more porous and more easily fractured than normal bones. Fractures of the wrist, spine, and hip are most common; however, all bones can be affected. White females are the most susceptible, but other risk factors include low calcium intake; inadequate physical activity; certain drugs, such as corticosteroids, and a family history of the disease. Secondary osteoporosis may be caused by bone disuse as a result of paralysis or other conditions, including weightlessness in space; endocrine and nutritional disorders, including anorexia nervosa; specific disease processes; and certain drug therapies. The good news about osteoporosis: Its never too late for action. If you havent reached menopause, you can prevent osteoporosis from silently draining your bones of strength.
And if youre past menopause, you can detect the early signs of the disease and halt the bone drain before debilitating fractures rob you of your mobility and independence. Ever wonder if you should be taking a c...
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