Nutrition

P1

The aim of this assignment is to explain concepts associated with nutritional health. Initially the task will show how language of nutritional health is understood. An explanation on the following terms will be provided food, diet, meals, snacks, nutrients, additives, nutritional supplements, fortification of food, malnutrition, under – nutrition, deficiency, dietary intake guidelines, recommended intakes, dietary reference values, overweight, obesity, nutritional balance, energy balance, food groups, five a day, eat well plate and effect of food preparation or food processing methods.

Food

This refers to any material which is usually a plant or animal origin that consists of nutrients such as, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins or animals. Food is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth and maintain life. Some foods tend to heal or harm, for example, apples are a good source of vitamin C as it’s essential for collagen formation and helps maintain the integrity of skin, bone and dentine (Parker S 2007).

Diet

This is the kind of food consumed by a person or animals. A diet needs to be a balanced intake meal. For example, the athlete who burns calories and the pensioner enjoying a leisurely retirement are poles apart in their energy requirements but both need a balanced intake of nutrients to remain health (Michie,2004).

Meal

A meal is any regular occasion in a day when an amount of food is eaten. Meals are specifically taken on a specific time. There are three common types of meals which are breakfast, lunch and dinner (Barrow, 2014).

Snacks

This is a small portion of food eaten or drink between meals (Farlex, 2013). Snacks are essential for people especially teens who are always on the go. Many people snack for many positive reasons, in many cases that act of snacking has been linked to boredom and to comforting oneself during a period of emotional turmoil. Many people chose unhealthy snacks because it is convenient and attractively packaged. This has been one of the risks why obesity is on the rise. The unhealthy snacks are cheap and easy to access. Nowadays healthy snacking is being preached everywhere on televisions, internet and newspapers (Michie,2004)

Additives

Additives are any natural or synthetic material added to any production of a food item to enhance the final product. There are various types of additives, for example, ascorbic acid which is used to prevent from going off, emulsifiers which help to mix oil and water together and active packaging that improves the quality that improves the quality or safety of food. Food additives allowed in United Kingdom (UK) are generally considered safe, but there are some chemicals used in food that certain people should look out for. According to the Lancet study (2007), cited on BBC Health (2014), suggest that additives such as colourings or sodium benzoate can adversely affect the behaviour of children aged between three and nine years old (DR Macnair, 2015)